A Placedo, Texas, woman drove down the highway, seeing storm clouds in the distance. The situation quickly turned terrifying when she found herself driving in the middle of a tornado.
In a video with over 42,000 views, TikToker Amanda Marie (@amandamarie_78) shared dashcam footage from her drive. At first, the road in front of her is completely clear, with dark storm clouds to her right. She speeds up the footage, showing the swirling clouds approaching with lightning in the distance.
Her car is quickly engulfed by hail and heavy rain, and she can barely see in front of her. However, she keeps driving. In a comment, she explains that she was afraid to stop in case a car hit her from behind due to low visibility.
Suddenly, she can’t see in front of her at all. Brief breaks in the wind and rain show that she pulled over into a grassy patch. Then the storm stops almost as quickly as it started, and she emerges from the grass back onto the highway. Most cars are stopped in the road with their hazards on.
“The left had a rail and I couldn’t pull over until I could see grass and prayed someone else wasn’t stopped,” she wrote in a comment. “You couldn’t tell but my vehicle was moving as if it wanted it wanted to lift and flip.”
What Should You Do If You’re Driving In A Tornado?
According to the National Weather Service, staying in your car during a tornado might not be a safe option. The service recommends driving quickly to the nearest shelter or abandoning the car altogether to duck and cover in a “ditch or ravine.”
On the r/preppers subreddit, members discussed how to keep yourself safe if you find yourself in your car during a tornado.
One explained the logic of getting out of your seemingly safe car in favor of a ditch. They wrote, “Because as the pressure changes with the funnel cloud, air can get around you and either slam you against the structure or suck you into the tornado. In a ditch, you eliminate the surface area under you and reduce the amount of lift.”
“Drive car into ditch, opposite side of power lines. Pray to your favorite deity on the floor boards,” a second remarked.
Others shared how they kept themselves safe during a tornado while staying in their car.
“Duck down and cover your head and neck with something in case flying debris breaks your windows. In our case, clay roof tiles all came flying off and smashed our rear window in,” another recounted. “I held a backpack over the back of my wife’s head and crouched down, and neither of us were injured.”
Viewers React To The Scary Moment
Commenters on the viral TikTok shared their own scary experiences getting stuck in a tornado on the highway.
“This has happened to me before, I saw it from miles away, unfamiliar area driving cross country…it was the scariest experience ever,” a viewer shared.
“Guuuurl I couldn’t even tell if you were still on the road,” another said. “We’ve got caught in a tornado before and omggg scariest thing ever!!”
Some Texas residents suggested the situation is unfortunately common in their state.
A commenter wrote, “GIRL…as a Texas resident… I’ve been here MORE than once. And it’s number 1 on my horror list…”
“As a fellow Texan… you just gotta turn on your hazards and proceed a bit slower than normal or people behind you will get pissy,” a second joked.
@amandamarie_78 A tornado passed right through and I happened to get caught right in the middle- scariest thing ever #tornado #texas #weather #hail #tornadotok
♬ Have You Ever Seen The Rain – Creedence Clearwater Revival
BroBible reached out to Amanda Marie via TikTok direct message and comment. We will update the story when she replies.