A tornado destroyed all four homes in a rural Nebraska subdivision while leaving surrounding properties untouched, according to The New York Times. Packing winds of 160 miles per hour, the tornado carved a path of just over six miles before lifting, spending a total of 11 minutes on the ground in Howard County, which lies north of Grand Island.
Dirt Road, a small development where each lot spans three acres amid surrounding farmland and cornfields, had seen all four of its homes constructed in the preceding twelve months.
Residents Christina Parden and her 20-year-old daughter Graci Boersen had been living in the newly constructed house for only a couple of weeks when the storm hit. Their basement, where they rode out the tornado, was the sole portion of the building left standing, CBS News reported.
"It was the most terrifying thing I've experienced in my life," Boersen told CBS News. According to Parden, she was bringing in groceries when the weather turned; a glance out the kitchen window showed her the funnel taking shape, at which point the two headed downstairs.
The route the tornado traveled lined up with each of the four properties one after another, a coincidence noted by Howard County emergency manager Allen Wilshusen, The Times reported. Community members showed up following the tornado to assist the family in gathering whatever belongings remained, CBS News reported.
CBS News reported that the same weather system generated a total of at least 22 tornado reports spanning five states between Kansas and Minnesota.