A horrifying video of storm chasers trapped inside a tornado has become popular on social media. Turner Charles, a content creator, filmed the heart-stopping moment when a tornado knocked down a power line beside a road, putting their car in the path of the incoming storm. According to Newsweek, Mr Charles of Minneapolis is a professional storm chaser with over 15 years of expertise chasing down tornadoes. Nothing, however, could have prepared him and his crew for what they encountered in Lewiston, Illinois.
“On April 4th, 2023 my friends and I were impacted by some damaging inflow winds ahead of the Lewistown, IL EF3 that brought down the powerlines and trapped us in the path of the tornado. Where we then took a direct hit,” Mr Charles wrote on YouTube on Tuesday, uploading the clip.
The Video Begins with The Team’s Car Getting Battered by Hail as They Approach the Twister
The video reveals the team’s car getting battered by hail as they approach the twister. A large rotating cloud develops in front of them as they drive towards it. “It’s heading straight for us. “It is coming right at us. We are immediately downstream of it,” one of the crew members can be heard saying.
The group then comes to a halt and gets out of the car to photograph the cyclone before continuing to pursue it. Then, all of a sudden, a blast of wind drops power wires directly on top of their vehicle, essentially trapping them as sparks fly.
As if that wasn’t enough, the group then notices that the tornado has appeared right next to them. They come to a complete halt as the electrical line continues to flare around them.
The Group Can Be Heard Praying in The Video as The Twister Passes Over Them
The group can be heard praying in the video as the twister passes over them, rocking the car and breaking the rear glass with debris. When one of the members exits the car towards the end of the video, the vehicle is shown substantially damaged and thrown off the road into a nearby ditch.
This horrific video has since gone popular on the internet. It’s received millions of views and likes. One user said, “I’ve never heard anyone pray so hard in my life!”
“God was with y’all FOR SURE!!!” said another.
