COPE, Colo. — A farmer feels grateful to be alive after he was forced to lay in a ditch when he found himself surrounded by three tornadoes Monday.
Aaron Brown told KDVR he was out finishing work in his field near Cope, on the eastern plains of Colorado, when he saw the weather around him take a turn.
“The storm was coming up pretty quick,” said Brown.
Brown and three others tried to drive to safety, but their truck was stuck in the sand in the field. He watched as a tornado touched down in front of him. He turned around to see two more tornadoes on the other side of his truck. The group of four ran to a dry river bank because it was the lowest and safest place they could get to.
“It was pretty intense. I was pretty scared,” said Brown.
Eventually, the threat passed, and Brown and his crew walked away unscathed.
“God is good. That’s all I can say. We were very lucky and blessed,” said Brown.
In Cope, the Hill’s garage was destroyed during the severe storm. The Hill family was in Greeley when it hit and they found out the extent of the damage when a neighbor called to alert them that their garage was pressed against their house.
“We are cleaning up, hoping to rebuild. See what the insurance says and go from there,” said Linda Hill.
On Monday, they spent the day cleaning up and sorting through the debris.
“Very overwhelming,” said Linda Hill.
The National Weather Service said there were 14 tornadoes reported between 5 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. in Colorado. The experts were working to confirm the actual number of tornadoes that formed during the severe weather outbreak.
