A Texas pastor shared a stirring New Year's Day message on YouTube after a tornado with winds of 138 miles per hour — an EF-3 — capsized his fishing boat last weekend.
"God can see you through the storm," Brian Johnson of First Baptist Church Winnie said in the video. "You can trust him. You can count on him."
'Many of you are in a storm, or maybe you’re just coming out of one or maybe there’s one on the horizon.'
The harrowing ordeal commenced while Johnson, his dog, and a friend of Johnson's named Tony were fishing in the Stanolind Reservoir on Dec. 28, KTRK-TV reported. The reservoir is about 10 minutes south of Winnie, and Winnie is about an hour east of Houston.
Johnson said in his video that the barometric pressure was changing and the thought was that it would provide "good fishing" — plus, the storm appeared to be headed north.
But neither assumption came to pass, and the tornado soon engulfed the fishing boat — and Johnson's YouTube video captures how quickly things became life-threatening.
KTRK said Johnson and his friend tried to anchor the boat in the reeds and ride out the storm — but the boat soon capsized.
"I'm holding on to the boat 'cause I'm holding onto it from the bottom now, 'cause the wind is just ripping," Johnson later explained to the station. "And I'm like, 'It's gonna pick me up out of this water any second.' So I'm trying to hold on, but I can't find Tony. So I'm hollering for Tony, and now I'm thinking, 'Oh my gosh, my friend is dead. He's drowned under this boat or something.' So I'm pulling on the boat, trying to lift it up. I'm hollering for him, beating on the boat, and nothing."
Turns out that Johnson's friend was hiding under the boat, and both and Johnson and Johnson's dog were unharmed, KTRK reported.
You can view the station's video report here about Johnson's ordeal.
Johnson titled his YouTube video, "Tornado in my boat... the rest of the story" — and in it he's seen on a sunny day with his fishing pole in hand and right back at the reservoir where all the action happened.
But he also acknowledged to viewers that he didn't make a good choice that Saturday: “I made a poor decision that put me in the middle of a storm."
However, Johnson added that God showed him a much greater spiritual truth.
“Let me tell you something, my friends: In life, we all make poor decisions," Johnson said. "And in life, we all go through some storms. But I want you to know that even though this was my fault that I was out here, God was with me in the middle of the storm."
He added, "Many of you are in a storm, or maybe you’re just coming out of one or maybe there’s one on the horizon. I want you to know, whether it’s your fault or not, God can see you through the storm. You can trust him. You can count on him. He loves you so much that he sent his son to die on a cross for you. If you trust in him, he’ll give you everlasting life.”
Johnson also said he believes this particular storm was God-ordained and that now it's "all about me being able to give you the testimony and [being] able to share with you that God saw me through a storm.”
“It’s not about me. It’s about God,” he also said. “The God that I serve is amazing, and he loves you, my friends …"
Johnson couldn't resist a little bit of practical advice to close things out: "On a side note, don’t go fishing in tornadoes."
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Parts of Nebraska and Iowa were ravaged by powerful tornadoes on Friday. Weather experts predict that new storms could bring even more destruction to the Midwest region.
Hundreds of homes and businesses were damaged or destroyed by the ferocity of the storm's fury, especially in a suburb of Omaha, Nebraska.
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On Saturday, residents of Elkhorn were sifting through the rubble after a tornado decimated the area.
“We watched it touch down like 200 yards over there and then we took shelter,” said Pat Woods – who lives in Elkhorn. "We could hear it coming through. When we came up, our fence was gone and we looked to the northwest and the whole neighborhood's gone.”
Kim Woods, Pat's wife, added, “The whole neighborhood just to the north of us is pretty flattened.”
Jason Sunday – a resident of Elkhorn in Omaha – told KETV, "We saw it coming from the southwest, and when it got too close for comfort, we headed downstairs quickly. We were in the downstairs bathtub, and it was just like the movie said, it was like a freight train."
Three people were hurt with non-life-threatening injuries when a tornado caused an industrial building to collapse in Nebraska’s Lancaster County. There were 70 people inside, but they were able to be evacuated.
Omaha police Lt. Neal Bonacci said and police and firefighters were going door-to-door to help residents.
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Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen toured the area worst affected by the tornadoes in his state.
Pillen said on the X social media platform:
Suzanne and I extend our deepest prayers to all those impacted by today's storms. I have ordered that state resources be made available to assist with the emergency response and to support local first responders as they assess the damage. Nebraskans are tough, resilient people, and our neighbors and communities will rally around affected families and businesses to assist them. Nebraskans are no strangers to severe weather and, as they have countless times before, Nebraskans will help Nebraskans to rebuild.
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In Iowa, the small towns of Minden and Harlan were some of the hardest hit by the destructive tornadoes.
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There were nearly 80 reports of tornadoes on Friday across five states that were corroborated by weather service data and storm chaser recordings.
There have been several reports of injuries but thankfully no fatalities have been reported.
More updates on the severe weather in the Midwest:
Threats of severe weather – including damaging winds, possible flooding, and large hail – are in play for Nebraska, Texas, Oklahoma, and Iowa on Saturday and Sunday.
More than 50 million people are under the threat of severe weather on Saturday.
Approximately 18 million people across Nebraska, Iowa, and Texas, are under flood watches until Sunday afternoon, according to the National Weather Service
There were tornado warnings issued for the Midwest.
A tornado watch has been issued for parts of Kansas and Nebraska until 7 p.m. CDT.
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More than a dozen tornadoes touch down across Texas, Oklahoma and Nebraska www.youtube.com
Hyperpoliticization doesn't sell like it used to. Cowboy hats, community service, and storm-chasing might be the way forward.
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America's heartland torn apart by tornado outbreak
America’s heartland was devastated by 144 confirmed tornadoes on Friday and Saturday, leaving many injured and much property lost.
The tornadoes ranged from EF-0 to EF-3 and destroyed communities all the way from Texas to Iowa.
In one video that a brave civilian captured, a tornado crosses the path of a train in Nebraska, absolutely obliterating everything it touches — except for the train. While the tornadoes in Nebraska were devastating, there were thankfully no casualties reported.
“How did everyone survive this in Nebraska?” Keith Malinak says, astounded.
“Yeah, it’s amazing,” Pat Gray agrees.
In another video, a man stands outside to capture video of a tornado approaching his home while his wife begs him to come inside. He records until the last minute when the tornado breaks into two separate tornadoes — which is absolutely terrifying.
“Their home got destroyed, by the way,” Malinak says, adding that one tornado came within a half a mile of his family’s home in Elkhorn, Nebraska.
“Makes you count your blessings, doesn’t it?” Gray says.
While there were luckily many survivors, there was much property damage, many homes destroyed, and unfortunately some casualties in other places, like Oklahoma.
Those victims can be helped at Mercury One, where 100% of donations go to those in affected areas.
“If you can contribute, it would be greatly appreciated. There’s a lot of rebuilding to do,” Gray says.
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