SALT LAKE CITY — In Utah, tornadoes are rare. But when they do hit, they're usually small and cause little damage.

For many people who have lived in the state their entire lives, it's hard to imagine what it's like to hear a tornado siren, practice tornado drills or run for shelter. But Utah native Machele Huckabee found out exactly what it's like when a tornado touched down near Wichita, Kan., just weeks after she moved there.

Huckabee and her boyfriend recently moved to Wichita for a summer job. They arrived on May 1, and less than three weeks later she was able to describe the shock of seeing collapsed roofs, split trees and smashed-in car windows around her neighborhood.

It was around 4 p.m. Sunday afternoon when Huckabee and her boyfriend left their hotel to grab a bite to eat.

"You could hear the storm moving in, and it sounded almost like an enormous freight train that was barreling toward us. So we went outside, and the sky went from gray to black almost immediately, with an eerie green tint," she said.

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Huge tornado hits Oklahoma City suburb, kills 51

A monstrous tornado at least a half-mile wide roared through the Oklahoma City suburbs Monday, flattening entire neighborhoods and destroying an elementary school with a direct blow as children and teachers huddled against winds up to 200 mph. At least 51 people were killed, including at least 20 children, and officials said the death toll was expected to rise.

Hail the size of ping pong balls started pouring down, she said, and wind was thrashing them in every direction.

"That's when the hotel staff was very urgent in ushering everyone inside the inner-most part of the hotel," Huckabee said.

Wind speeds reached up to 110 miles per hour during the storm, and thousands of homes lost all power.

"You could feel the electricity of the thunder and lightning. It was vibrating the whole building," Huckabee said.

Within an hour and a half, the storm passed. Huckabee's hotel was undamaged, and no one in Wichita was seriously injured.

In one to two weeks, Huckabee and her boyfriend are planning to move again, this time to Oklahoma City — an area that was hit with a deadly 2-mile-wide tornado Monday. That storm destroyed entire neighborhoods and left dozens dead.

Huckabee's not sure if she'll be near the devastation, but she said she and her boyfriend will be more prepared.

"We know what to look for — the difference between a tornado watch and a tornado warning — and some of the different precautions to take when you see a tornado coming," she said.

Contributing: Jordan Ormond

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