(Photos by Randy M. Cauthron) A 300-year old cottonwood tree on the Mark and Robyn Larsen property was ripped from the ground when a tornado rolled accross their property Wednesday evening - the anniversary of the record setting tornado day in Spencer on June 11, 2004. [Order this photo]

More than a half-dozen tornado warnings had been issued in northwest Iowa by the time an intense line of storms reached the Mark and Robyn Larsen farm, about 3 1/2 miles south of Spencer.

In less than 10 seconds, nearly everything they knew from three decades was gone. Shards of metal were lodged in trees, power lines were snapped. The funnel ripped away a garage and sucked the gas cap off the Larsens' new Infinity.

Altogether, six buildings and almost all of the trees were flattened -- but save a shattered window or two, the house survived the storm virtually unscathed. Robyn was the only one home when the tornado found her farmstead.

"I never go in the basement," she admitted. "I like to stay out here and watch and, if it is coming, I run to the basement. This time, I was listening to the radio station -- I don't know which radio station it was -- but he said 'don't wait until you hear it. Don't wait until you see it, because it is shrouded in rain and you won't see it or hear it.'"

The advice sent Robyn Larsen down the stairs. In less than three minutes, the basement went dark and she heard the brief "boom" of toppled trees and collapsing barn walls.

"I don't think it lasted 10 seconds," she said. "And it didn't sound anything like you would think a tornado sounded like. It just sounded like a strong wind and it was done."

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She used the word "amazing" more than once to describe what she saw when she climbed back up the stairs.

"I don't know why it didn't hit the house because it went on both sides and it took down a cottonwood that was probably 300 years old," she said. "There's some damage to the roof and one broken window. Most of the evergreens are snapped off in half. The cattle were all out in the pasture, so they're fine. We didn't happen to have hogs in the building this week, so that was good. There were two horses in the building that is partially standing and they both appear to be fine, too."

Meteorologists at the Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Okla., had their eyes on the Upper Midwest. Flooding has ravaged the state, but Wednesday night, tornados were the first concern: At 3 p.m. the National Weather Service issued a tornado watch for all of northwest Iowa.

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The area's first tornado warning was issued at 4:16 p.m. for western Plymouth County. The potential funnel cloud formed about 11 miles north of Sioux City and was moving northeast. The line of storms continued to intensify as it made its way east. In a 40-minute time frame, seven different tornado warnings were issued for residents in northwest Iowa and southwest Minnesota.

The watch turned into a warning for western Clay County, extreme northeastern Buena Vista County, northeast Cherokee County, eastern O'Brien County and southwest Dickinson County at 6:28 p.m. A tornado was indicated about six miles south of Hartley.

A grain bin and an auger four miles east of Royal sustained damage. Trained spotters also identified a tornado five miles north of Dickens, where a pole barn in the area sustained damage. Radar indicated a tornado-like storm cell about eight miles southeast of Webb.

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"What we had tonight was an incredibly intense storm that spawned a lot of tornados," said Clay County Emergency Management Director Eric Tigges. "We had one fairly significant storm, but we'll wait for the National Weather Service to judge how severe it was."

Despite the significant damage, both Tigges and Clay County Sheriff Randy Krukow report no injuries.

"There's scattered reports -- I think we had multiple tornados out here along with straight-line winds," Krukow said. "We're checking out all of the places we can."

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By 8:50 p.m., the area's tornado watch had been cancelled. Work was already well under way at the Larsen farm -- less than an hour after storm sirens sounded in the city of Spencer, chain saws were buzzing, a skid loader was making its way up and down the drive and a farm couple began trying to piece their lives back together.

"I'm just thankful that my wife's OK and the house is here," Mark Larsen said. "I don't know what else to say. There's not a lot to say. Everything you've done your whole life is just gone."

The tornado that devastated the Larsen farm came on the four-year anniversary of another violent outbreak. At least nine, and possibly 11, tornados were reported in Clay County alone on June 11, 2004.

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Most of the trees on the farm were planted by the Larsens. Wednesday night the couple was reminded of roots no storm can dislodge.

"It's really amazing," Robyn Larsen said. "Somebody stopped within minutes of it happening and asked if we were OK. "Within another 5 or 10 minutes there were people here patching up the windows, pushing stuff out of the way and checking on fuel tanks, checking the electricity -- lots of neighbors here seeing what they can do to help."

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If there is such a thing as being fortunate when a tornado devastates the better part of your property, Mark and Robyn Larsen understand it. Despite losing all of their out buildings and almost every tree on the property, the Larsens' home (below) with destruction all around it, sustained a broken window as the only immediately visible damage. Mark (right) grabbed a Bobcat shortly after the tornado hit his property and began attempting to clear the rubble from the farm. Robyn (below right) shared the story of what happened with friends and neighbors who began showing up at the home, located three-and-a-half miles south of Spencer on Highway 71. The landscape of the property looked more like a war zone than the nicely manicured property regularly maintained by the Larsens. Even their vehicles (bottom right), which were initially sheltered, suffered considerable damage when the twister ripped across the property. The Larsens were thankful to all those who showed up, bringing equipment and offering to assist in the large magnitude clean-up process. Video from Wednesday's storm and the Larsen farm, including an interview with Robyn Larsen, is online at www.spencerdailyreporter.com.