'We Got Out Just In Time': Mayes County Family Shares Tornado Survival Story

A Mayes County family is grateful for the advance warnings they got on their phones before an EF3 tornado hit Claremore and then Pryor Saturday.

"And if we didn't get the notification within the certain time we woke up, you know, we could have been one of those lives lost," said Brady Phillips, who lost his home.

Brady and his wife, Hunter, are still in disbelief that their home is gone and that they have to start over.

Walking around their property, looking at what's left, Brady points to his shower head in the grass. It's littered across the property with clothes, pieces of furniture, and other belongings that were destroyed.

"We can scavenge a little bit, but most of all, it's all gone," Brady said while looking out at all of the mess.

Their dog Daisy finds one of her toys in the wooded area behind the home, happy to have found a "treasure" of her own.

Brady and Hunter turned to News On 6 Saturday night when the weather started to get bad. 

"Yeah, we were watching Travis, and I probably watched it for about 5 minutes, and after about that 5-minute mark, everything just changed. Got around, got everything we could, loaded our animals up, and started heading more towards Pryor, " Brady said.

The couple had to leave their farm animals and most of their belongings behind and weren't sure what they would find when they came back.

"We were kind of really just thankful that we got out just in time," Brady said.

The family's animals all survived except one of their chickens. Had they stayed home, the Phillips' don't believe they would have survived.

"Just very thankful. In a matter of minutes, it could have changed our life forever. Just really thankful for the news team information we got," said Brady.