A storm chaser in Nebraska saw up-close and personal on Friday what it’s like to be affected by the high winds near a tornado.
Ben Ahrens shared a clip on X of what appeared to be dash-cam footage from his vehicle showing an 18-wheeler being blown over on the highway in front of him, knocking his vehicle off the road and into a field.
Luckily, Ahrens said he was uninjured in the accident, which occurred in David City, Nebraska, about 50 miles northwest of Lincoln.
“A semi ended my chase early today,” he wrote in the post. “I’m okay.
“What really matters is the devastating damage these storms have done and are continuing to do,” he added.
A semi ended my chase early today. I’m okay. What really matters is the devastating damage these storms have done and are continuing to do. #newx #wxtwitter pic.twitter.com/KbMnhKY2VE
— Ben Ahrens (@BDAhrensWX) April 26, 2024
The semi-truck that impacted Ahrens’ vehicle wasn’t the only one apparently blown over in Friday’s storms.
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X user Sean Mitchell shared a video on the platform that showed another group of storm chasers encountering an overturned semi as they captured footage of a tornado Mitchell said was “near Omaha.” (Another X user replied saying that the footage was “West of Lincoln on I-80, not Omaha.”)
In the video, the group follows a tornado closely as it crosses the road in front of them, until one of the riders announces, “Semi’s overturned up here.”
The group stops near the overturned truck to see if they could help, but quickly turned back to their vehicle upon learning that the driver was uninjured.
“This is one of the craziest things I have ever seen,” Mitchell wrote.
Mitchell posted other images showing the aftermath of the storm, including a video of what appeared to be drone footage.
— The Sean Mitchell (@TheSeanMitchell) April 27, 2024
Lincoln’s KLKN-TV reported on Saturday that at least two tornadoes hit the area, one an EF-3 with winds of 135 to 165 mph, and another a slightly weaker EF-2 with winds of 110 to 135 mph.
No deaths or serious injuries were reported, though the number of homes “damaged or destroyed” in the area ranged into the hundreds.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
