A devastating tornado trapped two Missouri men inside their car as powerful storms brought an onslaught of high winds, fires and hail to the Midwest on Friday evening.
Dramatic video footage shows forceful winds sweeping over a QuikTrip gas station in Rolla, where the men sought cover under the fuel station’s overhang.
‘Oh my god. God**** tornado is hitting us. Woah!’ Richard Peters exclaimed as roaring winds can be heard from inside the parked vehicle.
Intense rain and stunning flashes of light surrounded the desolate gas station as the men feared for their safety.
‘Is this coming…. oh it’s here!’ Tad Peters, who posted the video to Facebook on Friday, can be heard yelling as debris smacked the vehicle.
Across the street, shrubbery can be seen violently shaking as winds, reportedly up to 157 miles per hour, sent loose-laying debris flying.
‘Look at all that debris,’ Richard said as the video’s audio was consumed by fiercely-blowing winds.
‘OH MY GOD! We are in a tornado,’ Tad shouts as he rolls down the window to inspect the conditions.
Dramatic video footage shows forceful winds sweeping over a QuikTrip gas station in Rolla, where the men sought cover under the fuel station’s overhang
A devastating tornado brought an onslaught of high winds, fires and hail to the Midwest on Friday evening. Pictured: Cracked roadways and a destroyed storefront stand in the aftermath of the powerful Friday night storm
The gut-wrenching footage shows gas station pump lines trembling, large unidentifiable objects soaring through the air as extreme wind conditions relentlessly overwhelm the parked car.
Heavy rain and flying debris continued to lash their car as the camera points to at another vehicle taking shelter at the gas station.
Despite the close call with the twister, Peters said he was not injured but said a nearby gas station took a hit, FoxWeather reported.
‘A tornado just went over us in Rolla, Missouri at the Quick trip on I44 and knocked out power and caused damage to Loves across the road,’ he wrote in the post.
Maries County Emergency Management asked residents to ‘avoid the area’ after the supercell swept through the region.
‘Our thoughts are with the community of Rolla tonight, as they experienced a tornado touchdown. We kindly ask everyone to avoid the area and allow first responders to carry out their essential work,’ a statement from the Maries County Emergency Management reads.
The same storm system has also reportedly been ‘ripping up wildfires’ in Texas and Oklahoma on Friday as the low pressure system continues eastward, threatening tornadoes in the Plains and beyond.
‘OH MY GOD! We are in a tornado,’ Tad shouts as he rolls down the window to inspect the conditions
An estimated 138 million people are at risk of severe storms in the nation’s midsection throughout the weekend.
Strong nighttime tornadoes at EF2 on the tornado strength scale, defined by winds of 113 to 157, are possible from southern Iowa to Jackson, Mississippi.
The worst of the system is also threatening damaging winds and hail Friday into Saturday.
The storm on Friday is also churning in Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, and beyond, and is expected to produce more forceful winds through at least Saturday morning.
