A family from Mitchell is safe and sound at home after a harrowing experience Wednesday evening. 

Alwina Kube says her husband and three young children, ages 8,7 and 4, were driving from Winnipeg to Portage La Prairie around 7 p.m. when they encountered the severe thunderstorm which produced several tornadoes in southern Manitoba. Kube says her husband, Alex, was driving and had to slow down to 20 km/hr after hitting a wall of heavy rain, low visibility, and strong winds. She adds they were trying to find shelter from the wind when the fifth wheel RV they were towing flipped.

"It lifted up the [pickup] truck in the back and my husband, he thought, I have to do something. So he pulled the truck and it ripped off the hitch from our camper so we lost the camper and it flew sideways over the road. We were lucky there were no cars coming [because] it would have ended badly."

Kube says they kept driving slowly to find shelter from the storm adding the truck was shaking and lifting off the ground. Not far down the road, she notes they found a forested area where they were able to take advantage of a shelter belt for about an hour, until the storm died down.

"They [Kube's children] were yelling at first because they were so scared of the whole shaking of the pickup. When my husband got out of the truck to look at the damage after the storm, it was still windy, and my kids started screaming, they were so scared that he would fly away."

Afterwards, the RCMP and a tow truck came along; the RV, which had drifted 150 feet down the highway was righted and towed, and the family was able to return home late Wednesday night. She adds the box of the truck is badly damaged and the RV appears to be a write-off.

Recalling the experience Kube says her husband, who has driven in many summer and winter storms, noted he had never seen such strong winds. She notes it feels like a dream and she remembers wanting to wake herself up from the dream during the experience.

On a positive note, Kube notes there were many people who stopped to offer their assistance.

Gallery photo credit: Alwina Kube