Four-thirty A.M. on the Bar-J Ranch came too early for Jake Coleman, as he awakened and sat on the side of his bunk, trying to pull his best and only pair of boots on.

It had been a long night. Coyotes had been howling and stalking the herd, and about fifty head of cattle spooked and scattered into the black night. Jake and three other ranch hands spent most of the early hours of the morning riding through cactus and mesquite brush rounding them up.

But it was the beginning of just another day for the cowpokes, and there was plenty of work to be done, like every day on the Bar-J.

It was also the first day of spring, and the wildflowers and cactus had already started to bloom. The winter had been pretty mild, and what usually came as snow fell as rain; so spring started wet and early.

Unfortunatly, spring in Texas also brings thunderstorms with lightning, large hail, heavy rain, and occasionally TORNADOS.

Tornados, or 'twisters', as they are sometimes called, are best not taken lightly. They are one of Nature's most destructive forces, and not easy to predict.

Today was starting out like so many other spring days: clouds were already gathering overhead, and a light rain was falling, making a steady tapping on the tin roof of the bunk house.

Jake ate a quick breakfast, slipped into heavy raingear and saddled up. There were still several strays scattered in the brush and ravines that were not found last night. He had to round them all up and bring them back to the rest of the herd.

About four miles away from the ranch, he spotted three stray calves grazing on prairie grass. They all spotted him, and scattered away from him in three different directions!

"This ain't gonna be easy," Jake thought. He picked up his lariat and rode toward the closest calf. The maverick must have known what was about to happen, and darted between two large mesquite bushes. Jake followed, and the thorny brush scraped his face, as he tossed a loop of rope around the evasive animal's neck.

"That's one," Jake said to himself, as he attached the lariat to his saddlehorn. The calf tossed his head a few times, but gave to the tautness of the rope and followed closely behind. Jake figured he could tie it off to a mesquite bush after he spotted the other elusive bovines.

As Jake looked for another runaway, the sky suddenly turned darker; the clouds were an unusual greenish color. The rain started to get heavier, and the wind shifted, getting stronger. Small hailstones were now pelleting the countryside. There was no time to round up the remaining two calves; Jake knew he needed to find shelter for himself, his horse and the captured calf -- pretty quick!

A small ravine was just over the next hill; there was a natural rock bridge covering part of it, and was the ONLY place he knew of in the open range where he might find safety.

At the top of the hill, he could see the ravine in front of him; it was about a hundred yards to a trail going down into it.

The wind, rain and hail suddenly stopped, and there was an ominous stillness in the air. Jake slowed his horse to a trot and looked around.

A small circle of dust slowly began twirling about two hundred yards to his right. Just another whirlwind, Jake thought, and he continued riding toward the ravine, with the calf in tow behind him.

The circle began rotating rapidly and expanding; it was now twenty feet in diameter, and appeared to be attached by a curved, twisting rope hanging from the murky sky. As it reached into the swirling black clouds above it, Jake could hear a deepening roar, like a freight train rolling above him.

The rotating cloud became much larger and funnel-shaped, and started rapidly moving TOWARD Jake! This was no WHIRLWIND -- this was a TWISTER!

A bolt of blue-white lightning crackled, turning the darkness into daylight. Jake's horse spooked and broke into a run. The lariat, still attached to the saddlehorn, slipped off, and the calf was a runaway again.

Rain and two-inch hail started beating down! Jake was in trouble!

He reached the trail leading into the ravine, and rode toward the safety of the area under the bridge. The ravine was about fifteen feet deep and twenty feet wide, and rain was beginning to form a stream about six inches deep. His horse responded to the force of the running water as they rode through it, almost slipping down a couple of times.

By now, the hail had pelted Jake and his horse, and both had several bruises on their bodies to show it. They finally reached the bridge, and climbed up on the bank under it.

Now Jake felt safe. He had almost forgotten what he had been running from; but he got a REMINDER when mesquite brush, sand and fence posts started smashing into the vertical rock walls around him -- THE TORNADO WAS CROSSING THE RAVINE, DIRECTLY OVER THE BRIDGE ABOVE HIM!

Jake's ears popped from the sudden drop in air pressure. He grasped some tree roots growing out of the wall of the ravine. His horse was pressed against him by the violently swirling winds. Jake could have been PULLED UP INTO the black funnel, if he had not been pinned by his horse!

The storm left about as fast as it came. The funnel had lifted back into the dark clouds it had been spawned from.

The dust hadn't settled yet, but the sun was already coming out.

It was calm.

If you've never experienced or heard about tornados, they're about as bad as bad gets! They're VERY destructive, violent, twisting, roaring funnel-shaped clouds with winds sometimes in excess of 300 MPH!

The base of a tornado can vary from a few yards to more than a MILE wide. Nearly everything in its path is destroyed: buildings stripped to their foundations; automobiles tossed about like tumbleweeds; 18-wheelers lifted off the road and twisted into scrap metal; huge trees pulled up, roots and all, reduced to splinters in seconds.

Sometimes huge strips of pavement are ripped off highways and disintegrated by the tremendous winds of the catastrophic funnels!

Entire towns have been leveled in minutes by the killer storms!

The safest place to be during a tornado is UNDERGROUND, such as a basement, a cellar or a parking garage. Otherwise, protect yourself by either getting in a closet nearest the middle of a house or cover yourself, your children and your pets, with pillows or cushions, and lie down in a BATHTUB -- NOT A SHOWER with a GLASS DOOR!

Another way to protect yourself is to get under a desk or other heavy furniture, such as a bed or large table.

Stay away from outside walls or windows, also away from rooms with glass mirrors, buffets or display cases.

Again, the safest place to be during a tornado is UNDERGROUND, such as a basement, tornado shelter or a parking garage.

Large public restrooms are usually well-built, and may offer some safety from tornados.

Stay away from glass-covered buildings, or businesses with large plate glass windows.

If you are in a supermarket during a tornado alert, take shelter in a meat, produce or frozen food vault in the back of the store.

If you are outside in an open area, and a tornado is eminent, find a low spot: a ditch, a ravine or river bed, and lie flat -- but be sure to watch for rising water. Another possibility is to find a large culvert -- unless there is a heavy rain accompanying the storm (the culvert may flood with strong water currents.)

Your CAR will NOT protect you from a tornado! Leave it and seek shelter elsewhere! Many times vehicles are lifted up, then dropped and smashed! If, however, you can see the funnel cloud approaching directly at you AT A DISTANCE, and there is sufficient time to avoid being in its path, drive in a direction that is at a 90 degree angle (left or right) from the approaching storm. If it is NEAR you, and it appears to be getting LARGER, you are IN ITS PATH -- FIND SHELTER IMMEDIATELY!