FRANKLIN, Tenn.- Saturday was another ordinary day at the ballpark. The families watching the
baseball games wouldn't have it any other way, especially after what happened
Thursday evening.
"The six o'clock game was going to be postponed, but the seven o'clock;
the (referee) said hang around and maybe it will blow through," parent
Jessica Wyatt explained.
It did blow through wreaking havoc in its path. A tornado touched down right
before their eyes forcing everyone to quickly seek cover.
"I didn't want to believe it was a tornado," student Kathryn
Connally said. "I knew it was a tornado and the car kept rocking and it
was really scary."
"I put it in park, we got down over my children," Wyatt recounted about
what she did after seeing the funnel cloud. "My boys in the back, I said
unbuckle them and get down in the back, get down now."
"I saw the Jeep get picked up, lifted over one car and fall on the
other," parent Craig Connally remembered. "And a couple of SUVs
flipped like they were toys in the wind."
All of the commotion was over within minutes.
"And then I heard this like explosion," Kathryn Connally said.
"I looked at my brother because he's really scared of tornadoes, so I
looked to see if he is alright. He's staring at the back window and I looked
back and realized there is no window."
The National Weather Service estimates winds were between 65 to 85 miles per
hour.
"Fifteen minutes before that I thought we would be playing baseball.
The weather shifted just that quickly," Craig Connally said.
With sunshine and blue skies few remnants of the storm remain.
"Always heed the caution of severe weather threats," Wyatt said
about what she's learned. "You just never know. You can't be too
cautious."
"I'm a little nervous," Kathryn said. "Little nervous coming
out here but you know you just have to realize it's a once in a lifetime thing
at least you hope it is," her father continued.
Overall there was also an overwhelming sense of gratitude and relief because
no one was seriously hurt.
