Page 41 - AAA Magazine – AAA Ohio Auto Club – November 2019

A Terrifying Touchdown
One of AAA’s own who survived the Memorial Day Celina tornado tells of lessons learned. By William J. Purpura
On May 27, as folks were taking part in Memorial Day activities, the weather across the Midwest took a wild turn. Forecasters believe 55 twisters touched down that day across eight states. Ohio was among them.
For Celina resident Kelly Harbaum, it was a day she will never forget.
Kelly and her boyfriend, John Shreves, had spent the Memorial Day weekend camping but had returned home Monday to attend
two high school graduations. A thunderstorm rolled in during the first graduation and quickly bugged out. At about 8 p.m., the couple arrived in Van Wert for the commencement
of Kelly’s daughter’s boyfriend. A second storm had moved in, bringing with it rumbling and pounding rain. Uncharacteristically, Kelly suggested that her daughter stay at her boyfriend’s parents’ home rather than chance the 30-minute drive back to Celina. She took the advice.
“We’re driving home, and John says, ‘Get off your phone. This storm’s pretty bad,’” said Kelly. “The sky is like this gray-black. The clouds are like fat. It was like nothing I’d ever seen.”
According to Kelly, John “basically ran a red light,” rushing to pick up his 5-year-old granddaughter Paisley and his 8-year-old daughter Bristol.
“John’s like, ‘I just want to get home. I feel uneasy about this,’” said Kelly. “He’s never a
panic guy. He’s always kind of calm. But he wasn’t.”
When they arrived home, the winds had picked up and the rain was coming in sideways.
“The skies are real, real dark,” said Kelly. “Real dark. Oddly dark.”
As soon as they got into the house, their phones started sounding weather alarms. Kelly ushered the girls down to the basement, then returned to the first floor to retrieve a TV remote.
“It’s funny,” said Kelly, “but when I went back upstairs, it was oddly calm. I was like, it’s over. Everything was so still. You could hear a pin drop. All the wind had
Kelly Harbaum stands on what is left of her house.
stopped. The rain had stopped. You could hear the sirens, but it was oddly still.”
While making her way back down to the basement, the lights began to flicker, the wind picked up, banging sounds filled the house, and John jumped down the stairs.
“The lights are off and you can’t see a thing,” said Kelly. “People say it’s a freight train. If it’s like a freight train, it’s a freight train in your face. Like literally inches from your face.
“We knew it was bad because the house was shaking. After the initial impact, it was like a machine gun going
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