| Website © Lisa Selner "Buffalo Annie" |
| Tornado |
I survived a tornado-like event that occurred at the end of my first week on the
Pryor Mountains. Fellow interns, our supervisor, her boyfriend and I were
preparing domestic horses for a trail ride at the cabin and wild horse corrals when
we noticed storm fronts coming in from different directions. I took pictures of
cloud tendrils above, teasing each other before they started moving in a circular
motion.
As soon as the hail began to fall, four of us ran for cover under an overhang with
the trail horses while one gal remained in one of the paddocks under a 3-sided
shed with her own horse. I will never forget the sound of the powerful winds and
the sight of wreckage being heaved toward us as we stood there in a state of
shock! Our supervisor mentioned later on that she thought this might be the end
and we weren’t going to survive what was unfolding in front of our eyes.
Surprisingly the horses remained calm until a feed bucket came smashing by and
spooked the boyfriend’s horse. His horse dragged him through the mud and away
from the overhang. Moments later pieces of that 3-sided shed landed on the spot
they were standing. If it weren’t for that bucket spooking his horse, they may have
been seriously injured or even killed. The 3-sided shed was actually picked up by
the wind right over our fellow interns head and tossed over to the cabin area. The
three of us still remaining under the overhang eventually moved to the front of the
cabin, hoping it would remain standing and shield us from threatening debris.
This overwhelming incident made the front page of the local Lovell, WY
newspaper. Fortunately everybody involved survived the event and there was
minimal damage to the cabin. However other living quarters were completely
destroyed, along with damage to the wild horse corrals. Our first week literally
ended with a bang!
Pryor Mountains. Fellow interns, our supervisor, her boyfriend and I were
preparing domestic horses for a trail ride at the cabin and wild horse corrals when
we noticed storm fronts coming in from different directions. I took pictures of
cloud tendrils above, teasing each other before they started moving in a circular
motion.
As soon as the hail began to fall, four of us ran for cover under an overhang with
the trail horses while one gal remained in one of the paddocks under a 3-sided
shed with her own horse. I will never forget the sound of the powerful winds and
the sight of wreckage being heaved toward us as we stood there in a state of
shock! Our supervisor mentioned later on that she thought this might be the end
and we weren’t going to survive what was unfolding in front of our eyes.
Surprisingly the horses remained calm until a feed bucket came smashing by and
spooked the boyfriend’s horse. His horse dragged him through the mud and away
from the overhang. Moments later pieces of that 3-sided shed landed on the spot
they were standing. If it weren’t for that bucket spooking his horse, they may have
been seriously injured or even killed. The 3-sided shed was actually picked up by
the wind right over our fellow interns head and tossed over to the cabin area. The
three of us still remaining under the overhang eventually moved to the front of the
cabin, hoping it would remain standing and shield us from threatening debris.
This overwhelming incident made the front page of the local Lovell, WY
newspaper. Fortunately everybody involved survived the event and there was
minimal damage to the cabin. However other living quarters were completely
destroyed, along with damage to the wild horse corrals. Our first week literally
ended with a bang!
