The first tornado we had here we didn't know was a tornado. Who thinks about tornados in the southwest desert? It didn't touch down near us but we got the rest of it. We thought it was just an unbelievably violent summer storm, we do get those.
The coop is partially protected because it's in a little nook between two buildings and a cinderblock fence. We got the chickens inside and stood there holding onto the coop for dear life, trying to prevent it from being sucked up and blown to bits. We were pelted with icy rain and hail and debris from all directions. I was yelling at the top of my lungs against the wind, trying to keep my grip on the coop. I don't know what I was yelling, I just yelling.
Everything in the yard was pulverized or disappeared. The entire chicken run vanished before our eyes. It was there, then it wasn't. Part of our roof was gone and about 35' of fence went down. We found parts of our roof several blocks away but we never did find any of the run.
We were soaked through to the bone and covered in bruises but we survived and all of the chickens did, too. When we got inside and started peeling off our soaked clothes my roommate said that had to have been a tornado. I said it couldn't have, we don't get those in the desert.
We do now. The first U.S. tornado of 2026 was also in Tucson.
So I have stood outside during a tornado but I didn't know that's what I was doing at the time. It's not something I want to do again!
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