‘It was bad, bad’: Family’s barnyard gets destroyed by EF-1 tornado

HOLTON, Kan. (WIBW/Gray News) - A tornado tore through a barnyard in Kansas, leaving a longtime resident’s family barn heavily damaged.

Holton resident Marlin Zibell said he first believed a grain bin had struck the home after receiving a call from his daughter, who lives on the property.

“Our daughter lives here, and we got a call from her and she said, ‘The grain bin hit the house.’ And so I was going to come out, and I just thought it was a grain bin,” Zibell said.

When he arrived, Zibell said the scene showed the tornado caused far more destruction.

“I got here, and this was it. Stuff was just splintered, actually. I mean, it was bad, bad,” he said.

The family barn was left unrecognizable.

Zibell said his daughter, Amy, was not injured, and the family’s livestock was not affected.

Still, the sudden storm left those shaken.

“People were shook up a little bit. How could it not kinda shake you to your core? When something kind of life-threatening like that happens, and just all of a sudden, I think it came on so quick,” said Bryan Bowser, Zibell’s son-in-law.

Cleanup and rebuilding efforts are already underway.

“It’s not the end of the world. Life goes on. Going to roll with the punches. It’s one of those things, and nobody was hurt, and that’s fortunate,” Zibell said.

The National Weather Service’s (NWS) preliminary report has categorized Monday night’s tornado as an EF-1, with winds of about 100 mph.