WASHINGTON COUNTY, Mo. – A tornado near Potosi destroyed two homes along Highway 185 on Wednesday. 

Teacher Jenna Long was at home with three kids when her husband called, saying he saw a tornado headed her way. 

“I then got into our cellar that we made for a storm cellar, and we were not even in there for seconds and we could hear everything crashing above us and our house being blown away,” she said. 

What she saw next, she said, was surreal. 

 “I just remember looking out of stairwell and it was just sunlight. There was no roof and no house and that’s when I realized how bad and how devastating it was to our home,” Long said. 

Her roof is missing and the whole back of the house is gone. The farm the Longs live on is littered with downed trees and debris. 

Fire Chief Roger LaChance said his crew spent hours clearing trees from roads so they could rescue three people trapped in their homes. 

 “I’d like to thank the public because they came out and supported us and helped get the people out. There’s a lot of people with chainsaws. A couple of guys brought their skid steers out,” he said. 

The long family built their home themselves, thankfully with a storm cellar. As they look to rebuild, they are warning others to take tornado warnings seriously. 

“Take it seriously and get into a safe place. I honestly hesitated at first and I’m happy I went ahead and went down when I did, as quickly as I did, because we probably would not be here right now,” Long said. 

Ameren crews were out on Highway 185 Thursday afternoon, restoring downed power lines.