Storm chaser's wife sees her first tornado hours after buying home
By
Mark Puleo, AccuWeather staff writer
Updated Jun 9, 2021 2:09 PM EDT
AccuWeather Meteorologist Tony Laubach and his wife Dania had just received the keys to their new home in Milliken, Colorado, on June 7, when they spotted a tornado spinning off in the distance.
Tony Laubach has seen hundreds upon hundreds of tornadoes. Before Monday his wife, Dania, had seen zero.
But as the couple was unpacking a storage pod as they moved into their new home in Milliken, Colorado, Dania looked off into the distance and knew she was witnessing something sensational.
“Tony! Tony,” she yelled. “Is that a funnel? Is that a tornado?" she recalled. "And I pointed past his shoulder, he turned around, stopped for a second and then just moves into action.”
The Laubachs were in the midst of moving their mattress out of the pod when Dania first caught a glimpse of the funnel and Tony, having more than 20 years of storm chasing experience, knew exactly what to do.
AccuWeather National Reporter Tony Laubach and his wife dropped everything they were doing to capture the evolving tornado. (AccuWeather/Tony Laubach)
Dragging the mattress inside as quickly as possible, he ran around the house closing doors and windows for safety before grabbing his camera.
Dania said Tony grabbed her by the hand and, without taking her purse, keys or anything else, they began to chase. "We went down the road as far as we could, on some dirt road about a mile away from our house, and then we saw my first tornado!”
Tony, an AccuWeather National Reporter, said they had just finished closing on the house two hours before spotting the twister, a beautiful coincidence and an absolute fright for the new homeowners.
The tornado, twisting in Platteville, caused damage to multiple farms and properties. (AccuWeather/Tony Laubach)
On Tuesday morning, he joked with co-workers about wondering when his homeowners' insurance begins.
"I was thinking, ‘You have to be kidding me, right?’" he said outside his house. "So we were starting to unload the mattress but I kept an eye on [the tornado] because I was thinking, ‘Do I need to worry about this thing coming to hit my house, like two hours after we bought it?’”
While the Laubach couple was unaffected by the tornado, residents in the nearby town of Platteville couldn't say the same. Though the tornado looked picturesque from a distance, it wreaked havoc where it touched down.
Captured from the property of their brand new home, Tony Laubach and his wife had a move-in day they will never forget. (AccuWeather/Tony Laubach)
No human injuries were suffered, but multiple properties sustained damage including numerous farms. Livestock was killed, according to reports from the National Weather Service. The twister reportedly covered a path of 14 miles, downing many power lines, including one that triggered a house fire.
Other damage to roofs and vehicles was also reported in the Weld County area.
From their home in Milliken, Tony and Dania were thankfully unaffected and got to appreciate the beauty of Mother Nature from both their trained and untrained perspectives.
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“It started off really spindly and really cute and then it got really big and mean at the end," Dania said. "There was a mini tornado inside or you could see the funnel. I don’t know all the terminology, but it was really beautiful and I was honored to see my first tornado with my husband.”
Tony added the couple had previously lived in Kansas, where he was always hopeful for her to get to see her first twister.
Dania Laubach shared her excitement about seeing her first tornado, which she watched develop in the distance just hours after closing on their new home. (AccuWeather/Tony Laubach)
The couple picked the location in Milliken, he said, in order to be closer to the airport and for affordability. But Weld County's title as the most prone tornado county in the country wasn't a bad perk, either, for the veteran storm chaser.
"We'll just call that a happy accident," he said with a wink.
While most couples find themselves overwhelmed by the stress, frustration and physical toll that comes with moving into a new home, Tony said Monday's move was as magical as it could get.
"The fact that it happened yesterday within 90 minutes of us getting the keys to our new place is so ridiculously poetic, I'm still in complete disbelief over it," he said in a message. "What a special moment ... We watched that thing together for 20 minutes. It was magic."
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News / Severe Weather
Storm chaser's wife sees her first tornado hours after buying home
By Mark Puleo, AccuWeather staff writer
Updated Jun 9, 2021 2:09 PM EDT
AccuWeather Meteorologist Tony Laubach and his wife Dania had just received the keys to their new home in Milliken, Colorado, on June 7, when they spotted a tornado spinning off in the distance.
Tony Laubach has seen hundreds upon hundreds of tornadoes. Before Monday his wife, Dania, had seen zero.
But as the couple was unpacking a storage pod as they moved into their new home in Milliken, Colorado, Dania looked off into the distance and knew she was witnessing something sensational.
“Tony! Tony,” she yelled. “Is that a funnel? Is that a tornado?" she recalled. "And I pointed past his shoulder, he turned around, stopped for a second and then just moves into action.”
The Laubachs were in the midst of moving their mattress out of the pod when Dania first caught a glimpse of the funnel and Tony, having more than 20 years of storm chasing experience, knew exactly what to do.
AccuWeather National Reporter Tony Laubach and his wife dropped everything they were doing to capture the evolving tornado. (AccuWeather/Tony Laubach)
Dragging the mattress inside as quickly as possible, he ran around the house closing doors and windows for safety before grabbing his camera.
Dania said Tony grabbed her by the hand and, without taking her purse, keys or anything else, they began to chase. "We went down the road as far as we could, on some dirt road about a mile away from our house, and then we saw my first tornado!”
Tony, an AccuWeather National Reporter, said they had just finished closing on the house two hours before spotting the twister, a beautiful coincidence and an absolute fright for the new homeowners.
The tornado, twisting in Platteville, caused damage to multiple farms and properties. (AccuWeather/Tony Laubach)
On Tuesday morning, he joked with co-workers about wondering when his homeowners' insurance begins.
"I was thinking, ‘You have to be kidding me, right?’" he said outside his house. "So we were starting to unload the mattress but I kept an eye on [the tornado] because I was thinking, ‘Do I need to worry about this thing coming to hit my house, like two hours after we bought it?’”
While the Laubach couple was unaffected by the tornado, residents in the nearby town of Platteville couldn't say the same. Though the tornado looked picturesque from a distance, it wreaked havoc where it touched down.
Captured from the property of their brand new home, Tony Laubach and his wife had a move-in day they will never forget. (AccuWeather/Tony Laubach)
No human injuries were suffered, but multiple properties sustained damage including numerous farms. Livestock was killed, according to reports from the National Weather Service. The twister reportedly covered a path of 14 miles, downing many power lines, including one that triggered a house fire.
Other damage to roofs and vehicles was also reported in the Weld County area.
From their home in Milliken, Tony and Dania were thankfully unaffected and got to appreciate the beauty of Mother Nature from both their trained and untrained perspectives.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP
“It started off really spindly and really cute and then it got really big and mean at the end," Dania said. "There was a mini tornado inside or you could see the funnel. I don’t know all the terminology, but it was really beautiful and I was honored to see my first tornado with my husband.”
Tony added the couple had previously lived in Kansas, where he was always hopeful for her to get to see her first twister.
Dania Laubach shared her excitement about seeing her first tornado, which she watched develop in the distance just hours after closing on their new home. (AccuWeather/Tony Laubach)
The couple picked the location in Milliken, he said, in order to be closer to the airport and for affordability. But Weld County's title as the most prone tornado county in the country wasn't a bad perk, either, for the veteran storm chaser.
"We'll just call that a happy accident," he said with a wink.
While most couples find themselves overwhelmed by the stress, frustration and physical toll that comes with moving into a new home, Tony said Monday's move was as magical as it could get.
"The fact that it happened yesterday within 90 minutes of us getting the keys to our new place is so ridiculously poetic, I'm still in complete disbelief over it," he said in a message. "What a special moment ... We watched that thing together for 20 minutes. It was magic."
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Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier, Spectrum, FuboTV, Philo, and Verizon Fios.
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