Surviving a Tornado on the Appalachian Trail

Before the Storm

Stingray and I happened to be hiking together this afternoon. We stopped at a brook to gather and filter water. Our phones started going off with alerts for a severe thunderstorm. Thinking that it’s hard to seek shelter in the middle of the woods, I said, “let’s try to get to the road and walk down to lower elevation.” Stingray replied, “let’s wait it out here and see what happens.”

It got more serious with a follow up tornado warning. Not even a minute later we could hear the rain coming at us like a massive wave of sound. “Let’s get in this little ditch,” Stingray said. “No, let’s get up next to that big rock,” I countered. He agreed.

The Storm Cometh

We could now here a siren coming from town, warning of the approaching storm. I gathered my pack, water bottle, and trekking poles and ran up to the rock as quickly as I could in the now pouring rain. We tried to get as low and close to the rock as possible. Not a minute later, the wind shifted directions and it started hailing with the rain.

I shifted my position to get lower and more comfortable. As I settled on my knees, the wind started swirling faster and faster, the rain let up momentarily, and the sky seemed to lighten. Then all at once the wind grew to a roar and pushed the trees down almost to the ground. We heard loud cracks and booms as trees all around us snapped, broke, and crashed to the ground. A tall tree fell right next to us, almost kissing our rock.

Aftermath

The storm was over as quickly as it started. It continued to spit rain, but the sky was getting brighter again. We stayed huddled next to the rock a while longer, adrenaline coursing through our veins. Stingray lit another cigarette, despite just smoking one as we filtered water just before the storm. I strongly considered asking him for one, but I refrained. 

After seeing some rays of sun and waiting until the end of the warning period we ventured out to see the damage. Seeing the tree that fell next to us and how close it was to where we had hid was almost as terrifying as living through it. There was debris everywhere. As we continued up the trail to the nearby road crossing, two massive trees had fallen exactly where the trail had been. One of the trees had double blazes indicating which way we needed to go. 

Hiking On

We were out of the tornado, but the severe thunderstorm warning was still in effect. We debated whether to walk the road down to safety or continue on the trail. Stingray said we should try to take the trail and make sure there was nobody hurt who needed help ahead.

There were more blow downs on the trail, but not as bad as by the brook. I found an email address to let the ATC know about the storm damage and fired off a quick note to them. We didn’t see any other hikers on the trail and had a mostly uneventful walk to camp.

Reflecting on the Event

While preparing for the AT, tornados were not on my list of things that could happen. Growing up in the Midwest, we always had drills at school and plans at home for tornados. None of them covered what to do if you’re in the woods and can’t get inside.

I’m glad I was with Stingray to talk through a plan of action. Hiding behind that rock may have saved our lives. I feel lucky to be alive. Going through something like that on trail has had a mixed effect on me mentally. On the one hand, I feel like if I survived that, then I can take on anything! On the other hand, I’m now a bit anxious when the wind is blowing and the trees are creaking.

I haven’t been able to confirm that a tornado actually touched down where I was. Even if it wasn’t a full on tornado, it was still a severe weather event and an extremely dangerous situation. Everyone we know on trail around us is safe and sound, and we haven’t heard of anyone else caught in what Stingray and I experienced.