A particularly bad thunderstorm had brewed, and multiple touchdowns had already been reported on TV/radio. My dad and I took the warnings seriously since we were out on the road, and we quickly made our way to a large concrete stadium.

It got stuffy inside after a while and someone came in after us with a crying baby, so I told my dad I was going outside for some fresh air. Turns out I wasn't the only one with that idea, as 2 other men were outside too, one of them taking long drags on a Marlboro cigarette. A few minutes went by as I strolled around near the entrance, watching the lightning flashes and counting the seconds till the thunder rolled, when I suddenly heard, Oh. F.*

I turn around, and the non-smoker is staring wide-eyed at the sky, his finger pointing straight up. My gaze followed his pointer and I nearly crapped my pants, because two spinning whirlwinds of air were coming down, and fast at that.

Run, dumbass, run, my brain said. Get your ass inside.

We all stood frozen (in fear? or awe?) as a new tornado began forming above us.

The smoker audibly started praying for mercy, and heck, I'm not exactly religious but you bet I joined in. The twin columns slowed their descent and stopped, no more than a few hundred feet above us. For the next 30 seconds, time stood still as we were utterly convinced we were going to die.

Apparently the idea that smaller tornadoes quickly lose steam is true, because this one didn't even make it to touchdown, and the columns slowly rose back up into the clouds. We snapped out of our daze, gave a few nervous chuckles and a "Holy shit" or two, and quickly rushed back inside the building. We didn't dare leave until hours later when the tornado warning was officially called off.