The roof of the Brumleys’ bird room had major damages after a tornado caused a tree to fall down.

Nelson Brumley said everyone thinks it’ll never happen to them — until it does.

Brumley’s home was damaged by a tornado that touched down in on Hussey Circle in Winona on Monday morning. In just 30 seconds, the tornado struck his house and left a mess in its wake.

“You hear everybody talk about what it sounds like when they see one or when they’re in one, I guess this time it was my turn,” Brumley said. “I looked out the window and you could see our belongings flying. It was almost like we took a direct hit.”

Brumley said it can be hard to know if a severe storm has produced a tornado “until it reaches you.”

“I used to say it’s never going to happen to me, and now I got a mess to clean,” Brumley said.

His wife Shelly Brumley was sitting on their front porch when she heard the roaring twister approaching. As an Oklahoma native, she said she is used to this type of situation and responding to tornado warnings.

But Monday was the first time a tornado directly affected her.

“When I heard the wind and the sound of an 18-wheeler approaching, I instantly knew it was a tornado,” she said. “By the time I got inside the house, everything was flying. It happened extremely fast.”

A bird room where the Brumleys keep about 20 birds had major damage, causing the family to move the birds inside. The roof of the house and part of the dining room were also damaged by the tornado.

Winona resident Pat Dye said being in her home during the tornado was one of the scariest things she has ever experienced. Dye was quilting when she heard the tornado’s roar coming at her front door.

The tornado downed trees and broke windows at Dye’s home, but there was no major damage.

“I’ve seen the results of tornadoes before, but I never thought it was this scary,” Dye said. “My house suffered a couple of damages, but at the end of the day we have to be grateful that no lives were lost.”

Emergency crews responded to the tornado just minutes after it touched down at the Winona High School football field at 10:36 a.m. Monday. Jay Brooks, Smith County fire marshal , said four homes saw damage, with the Brumleys’ receiving the most severe damage.

A warehouse for football equipment and another small building were damaged at the high school.

Brooks said the fire marshal’s office followed three steps to help residents that were affected by the tornado. Phase 1 was to check if there were any reported injuries; Phase 2 to help mitigate water from getting inside the affected houses, and Phase 3 reaching out to insurance companies that will take care of property damages.

“This was relatively a small storm but it is traumatic when you’re the one affected by it,” Brooks said. “People who were affected by this will probably need around a year to recover from this.”

Brooks urges residents to be cautious on the roads, as flooding from the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex could become a threat to East Texas.

“The biggest advice I would have for people is to get to a higher ground if your house starts to flood,” he said. “If you’re driving and you come across a road that’s flooding, even if it’s just a few inches, turn around. It’s not worth putting your life at risk just to save a little bit of time.”

Smith County remains under a burn ban, but Brooks said the commissioners court will discuss the possibility of lifting it at Tuesday’s meeting.

“This is not my decision but it is something that is pretty likely at this point,” Brooks said. “Long range, not only our drought is looking to improve with the rain we’re getting, but we are also looking at a reduction in fire risk and danger.”