‘It got to be pretty scary’: Witnesses describe watching Colorado tornado barrel toward them
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WELD COUNTY, Colorado (KCNC) — Dozens of residents in northern Colorado stared a destructive tornado in the eye as it tore its way through Weld County between Firestone and Platteville. Homes were destroyed, trailers uplifted, structures overturned and cattle killed. First responders said there were no reports of injuries or loss of life to any residents.
Moments after the tornado returned back up into the sky, residents told CBS4’s Dillon Thomas they had watched as it tore through farming communities.
“We heard it when we came outside, then the big cloud started coming down,” said Adrian Escudero Montes, a witness. “The cloud started coming down all fast, and then pure chaos.”
The tornado came within a mile of ripping through the region’s power plant. Debris was scattered through corn fields and power lines were downed.
“I could see a funnel was forming from a big white cloud up high. The more I looked at it the wider it got and the more ominous it got,” said Scott Meining, a local farmer and witness.
Meining said he was working on his tractors as the tornado approached his property. He took out his phone and recorded for a couple minutes before feeling the threat was too great.
“I was feeling pretty brave for a while, then pretty soon I thought I better get my escape route planned,” Meining said. “The closer it got the scarier it was. You could see a lot of the debris falling and it got darker and darker.”
Meinging quickly drove away from the tornado to seek shelter. Others hid in their basements as a safety precaution.
“You could tell it had a lot of power behind it,” Meining said. “I could see sparks when the power lines were crossing. It got to be pretty scary.”
Escudero Montes said this was the second time he saw a tornado in the region, the last being when he was an elementary school student in the Town of Windsor.
“It’s amazing. I think it is amazing. Nature is wild,” Escudero Montes said.
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