Well that day of the storm, I was actually getting ready to go to my friend’s HUGE party that she has every year…and since I “loved” driving in the rain I begged mom to let me go pick up my brother Jack at his friend’s house. (I’ll never offer to drive in the rain AGAIN!)
When I got to the house it was hailing pretty bad. We went back and forth deciding to head home or wait out the storm. We actually turned around 3 times before the sirens went off, making our final decision to head back to the house for cover. By the time we got to the house, the huge tornado was only a half a mile out and you could see it clearly coming STRAIGHT towards us! Locking my purse in the car we ran into the house. I grabbed Jack and made him take off his shoes for courtesy – prob. the dumbest thing I ever did. 
While we were downstairs we started in one room with cement walls. I was on the phone with my friends when Brian’s dad came running and told us to run into a smaller room. We were able to fit 7 of us and a dog in a very tiny and dark room! The second we stepped in my ears popped, which I thought was very weird!
When the tornado went over us, I launched my body over my brother’s and two little girls and the dog the best I could. While everyone was kind of panicking I remained calm for Jack. I yelled prayers into his ear and reassured them God would keep us safe. It felt like an airplane landed right over top of us.
Debris from the wall was falling on us and I remember thinking that if the wall collapsed I would never forgive myself for Jack’s sake and that I should’ve just gone home instead. It’s weird when people say they saw their life flash before their eyes, because it’s truly what happens. You see your friends and your family but most of all you try to keep hope and not dwell on everything – but just as soon as the tornado came it was gone.
We headed outside and what we saw was unbelievable. Their neighbor yelled for help while the girls cried for their home. I panicked at first, thinking if there was another storm coming I would get Jack safe and make a run for it! So I ran out to the next street and stopped a truck to ask about the weather. I felt bad leaving Jack for even that moment, ‘cause he was yelling at me to come back to him.
I realized that day that your life isn’t about the newest iPod to buy or even winning a game, but about loving your family and doing everything in your power to make sure they knew it! I went through my mind soooo many times trying to remember the last things I said to people. Looking out at Parkersburg the first time outside of the destroyed house I literally believed all my friends were dead. That was by far the worst part of it all, believing there was no hope.
If we would’ve stayed in the very first room we me would not be here today. The first room was completely caved in. That’s when you KNOW God did so many miracles by pulling families into the right place at the right time! The tornado changed so many things. I wasn’t able to sleep for weeks ‘cause I couldn’t get the sound out of my head or forget Jack pleading me to stay with him.
My relief only came to find out that all my classmates and friends were accounted for, and now my love for my little brother could never be stronger. Cleaning up was difficult. We didn’t go through people’s houses but all their memories, not just possessions but pictures of things they’ll never see again.
Coming home and sleeping in my bed was the worst. We opened our home for MANY of my friends to stay, and it never took away the guilt inside of me knowing I still had a place to live.
The F5 tornado knocked down my school, friends’ houses, my car, softball field, and MANY others, but honestly, all those things didn’t really matter in the big picture because they can ALWAYS be replaced. What mattered was it took away so much more than that, but allowed us to realize how much we truly loved everyone in our community.
Many changes were made after the storm and not once can you go through your day without thinking about the gigantic tornado that stripped Parkersburg of about everything. There are just so many reminders around you. I even have the scars all the way up my right leg to prove it. 
I am a survivor of an F5 tornado and I am and will always be proud to be an A-P Falcon!
Ann Marie F. 
