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Tornado Hunt Team Takes Direct Hit by Tornado
June 1, 2013
The Weather Channel Tornado Hunt Team is safe, but shaken up after their chase vehicles took a direct hit by a violent tornado west of Oklahoma City.
Meteorologist Mike Bettes was chasing the monster rain-wrapped tornado near El Reno, Okla. when he says the storm picked up the heavy chase SUV and threw it an estimated 200 yards.
"We were ahead of the storm. We stopped to broadcast and I saw a large violent wedge tornado," Bettes said in a live phone interview after he established phone connection after the incident.
"What we were trying to do was just get away from it and get to the south side of it," Bettes said. "But what ended up happening was all three of our vehicles that we chase with were all hit by it."
He remembers being thrown into the air.
"It was like we were floating. We were tumbling. We were airborne at least one point and we were floating. Then we weren't tumbling anymore and we came down hard."
He says the airbags deployed and everyone had their seat belts on.
Bettes and his team members are alive, but they do have minor injuries. Bettes received stitches in his hand.
"My life flashed before my eyes."
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He reported seeing other vehicles that had also been thrown by the storm.
Go to the weather.com severe tracker for the very latest on watches and warnings.
High winds snapped this power pole on from Highway 81 just south El Reno Okla. on Friday May 31, 2013. Tornadoes rolled in from the prairie and slammed Oklahoma City and its suburbs on Friday, killing a mother and baby and crumbling cars and tractor-trailers along a major interstate. (AP Photo/The World-Herald, Chris Machian)
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