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Oregon woman shares harrowing moments a tornado hit her home

Tami Wyrick said if her husband hadn't been with her that day, she may not have reacted fast enough to protect her 3-year-old grandson.

BOISE, Idaho — On Nov. 5, Tami Wyrick and her family were relaxing on a Sunday afternoon. Her husband was watching football on the TV, and her 3-year-old grandson was playing in the playroom.

Wyrick was telling her husband she saw it was hailing in town (John Day, Oregon), so she opened up the door to look out and see what was going on outside.

"I saw the cows running, I saw the tornado and the barn roof, and I was like, 'what's that?' He's (her husband) like, 'tornado.' My mind went, 'oh, yes, that's what it is.' So, I took off running for the baby, my husband took off running to our back door," Wyrick said. "Then, you hear it. I mean, if you've heard it, you know, I could have never fathomed from television, it's a little bit different. So, I grabbed the baby and I got back to the middle of the house – the hallway."

Wyrick continued explaining the scary situation, including how a closet hallway she hoped to enter with the 3-year-old in her hands wouldn't open as the tornado hit.

"I put my foot up on the wall and I just pulled, and that door swung open and it hit the back of a wall," Wyrick said. "I just threw him in there and I kind of jumped on him. I hear my husband and one of the worst sounds you will ever hear in your life is just him saying, 'no, no, no, no.'"

Wyrick stayed in the hall closet with her grandson until the tornado passed. She said it took her a while to be able to get up because she was so shaken.

"My darling neighbor came and helped me. I was in shock. I'm the oldest of three, so I'm good under pressure, but no, I lost it," Wyrick said. "I mean, I've been in some hairy situations, you know, I grew up on a ranch, but never anything like that. Not where my grandson is concerned."

Wyrick's home was damaged, and so was her mother-in-law's destination trailer. Both homes will need repairs to skirting and the tornado tore the porch off the back half of Wyrick's house. 

Funnily enough, despite the damage the powerful winds created, Wyrick said her pumpkin that was sitting on her porch hadn't been moved at all. Amidst everything, Wyrick is choosing to have a positive outlook.

"I told my husband, 'buy a lotto ticket,' because a lot of people think this could have been bad – and it could have," Wyrick said. "We're just choosing to look at it like, 'aren't we lucky?'"

When asked what she wants people to learn from her experience, Wyrick said, "have a disaster plan." She said if she hadn't run by the hall closet, she doesn't know where her and her grandson would have ended up, and she doesn't know if they would have been safe.

Wyrick also said there was broken glass across the floor of her home following the tornado. Some of the pieces were about 8 inches long, certainly enough to hurt someone at the least.

The tornado ended up being rated an EF-0 with an estimated peak winds of 85 mph. It's uncommon for a tornado to touch down in this part of Oregon. The last time Grant County had one was in 1890.

"My mom's been here 30 years. You know, this doesn't happen up here," Wyrick said.

This tornado was on the ground for about five minutes and a quarter of a mile, before it dissipated. Oregon sees an average of three tornadoes each year.

"What I'm wondering is, what does this mean for our future? You know, this is unheard of, the weather's different," Wyrick said. "People have to be aware of this. They have to be aware to look for the unexpected, whether it be a snow storm, an ice storm, (laughs) a tornado, heat – any of it. Mother Nature is a cruel mistress."

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