One Florida grandmother survived the unthinkable when this tornado lifted her entire house into the air

A 76-year-old woman is calling it a miracle after walking away from what should have been certain death.

She was sitting in her mobile home when nature unleashed its fury in the most terrifying way imaginable.

And one Florida grandmother survived the unthinkable when this tornado lifted her entire house into the air.

Doorbell camera captures the impossible

Residents of Largo, Florida went to bed Wednesday night thinking they’d weathered another typical summer storm.

But Martha Hicks discovered something extraordinary when she checked her doorbell camera footage the next morning.

Her security camera had recorded the moment when powerful tornado winds picked up her neighbor’s entire mobile home and sent it airborne.

“There was a lady in there, and I guess when the house went up, it stayed up for a second and came back down,” Hicks told WFLA.

The elderly woman was home alone when the twister struck the Ranchero Village mobile home park at 7:20 p.m.

What happened next shocked everyone who witnessed it.

The tornado’s powerful winds lifted her entire home into the air before slamming it back to the ground.

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“The Lord truly cared for this woman”

Tracey McClelland witnessed the terrifying event from her window and was among the first neighbors to help.

“She was shaking, in shock, but incredibly, she was standing. The Lord truly cared for this woman and saved her,” an emotional McClelland declared.

McClelland described the chaos of those frightening moments.

“I saw it rise into the air. I grabbed my dog and we took cover. It all happened so fast, but you knew it was serious,” McClelland said.

When McClelland found the elderly woman after the tornado passed, she was disoriented but miraculously mobile.

“She was standing, shaking, calling for her cat. I went over and told her over and over again that God had saved her. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing,” he said.

The woman’s daughter, Stephanie Glenn, spoke to ABC News about her mother’s incredible survival.

“I don’t know how she survived,” Glenn said. “She got thrown around and beat up pretty bad, but is OK.”

The woman sustained only minor injuries despite being tossed around inside her home as it was lifted and slammed back down.

Devastating damage but no fatalities

Weather officials from the National Weather Service in Ruskin surveyed the damage Thursday morning.

Their assessment revealed that 65 homes suffered various levels of damage from the tornado.

The Ranchero Village community bore the brunt of the destruction, with more than 40 homes damaged in that area alone.

What made this tornado particularly dangerous was the lack of advance warning.

Meteorologist Paul Close explained that radar detected the tornado formation too late to issue a proper tornado warning.

Officials had only managed to issue a special weather statement about 50 mph winds and large hail before the twister formed.

The NWS had established a Marginal Risk zone for severe thunderstorms in western and southwestern Florida that evening, warning of possible intense wind gusts and hail.

A bittersweet miracle

While the woman survived her terrifying ordeal, the story has a heartbreaking element.

Her cat, which was with her in the mobile home at the time of the disaster, remains missing.

The loss of her home is total, with debris scattered throughout the neighborhood.

Neighbors continue searching for the missing pet while helping the woman cope with losing everything she owned.

The quick response from neighbors like McClelland and Hicks proved crucial in providing assistance until emergency crews arrived on scene.

Growing weather concerns in Florida

Severe weather events like this tornado remind Floridians that extreme weather can strike with little warning.

Mobile home communities face particular risks during tornadoes because of their lightweight construction.

Weather forecasters continue monitoring conditions across the region as cleanup efforts begin in Largo.

Meteorologists are tracking additional severe weather systems that could bring more tornadoes to the Upper Midwest through Friday.

A story of survival and community

For residents of Ranchero Village, this woman’s survival story represents hope in the face of devastating loss.

The quick action of neighbors who rushed to help demonstrates the strength of community bonds during times of crisis.

Emergency responders and weather officials continue working to ensure the safety of residents as cleanup efforts begin.

The search continues for the missing cat, with neighbors holding onto hope for another miracle.

This remarkable survival story serves as a reminder of both nature’s incredible power and the resilience of the human spirit.

In a world where natural disasters seem increasingly common, stories like this offer a glimmer of hope that sometimes, against all odds, miracles do happen.