LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — Monday marks 20 years since an EF-3 tornado ripped through the northwest end of Lexington, specifically Masterson Station, leaving behind scars that are felt to this day.
To most people, May 27 is just a regular day, but to former LEX 18 reporters Heather Higdon and Chris Lupien, it's a day that's haunted them for the last 20 years.
It was a sunny day for Heather and Chris, spending it at the pool and finishing up chores around the house.
"I was actually in the middle of cleaning the house when I got the call from the desk that it was time to come in because the storm had elevated, it had escalated and that it was going to be a big deal," explains Higdon.
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That storm lasted into the night, eventually forming into an EF-3 tornado. Ripping through the Masterson Station neighborhood.
"The executive director had walked in to me and she said, 'don't worry about what you're doing.' She knew at that point that my house had been hit," recalls Higdon.
Lupien was also called into work that stormy day, "You know I've covered the aftermath a million times, but I've never sat in those people's shoes."
Lupien had to park several blocks away from his home due to the significant damage. "I thought you knew what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna call my house, and I'm gonna think my house is okay if my answering machine picks up. So I called, and it didn't pick up."
"As we rounded the corner, it was almost like I had admitted a silent scream. I remember squeezing his [Brian Gilbert] hand and then I just got out of the car," described Higdon.
The home looked normal and untouched from the front, but the back was a different story.
"It had looked like, basically like Godzilla had just taken the back part of it out," Lupien explains.
Leaving people like Heather and Chris without a home. The two kept a book of pictures from that day after all these years, memories of when the tornado tore through parts of their home.
"I remember things now, 20 years later in moments. I remember walking into our bedroom and seeing our wedding photo laying in a puddle of water, insulation blown everywhere," Higdon says.
"I take it very seriously, so I mean it was scary. It was one of those things, you never think it could happen to you, and boy it did," says Lupien.
By a miracle, there were no fatalities, and only six people were injured in the Fayette County tornado that day.
"It was done and gone in five minutes," explains LEX 18 Chief Meteorologist Bill Meck. "A cell developed south of Lexington and started moving into the line coming in from the northwest, and as that cell merger occurred is when we got that spinup that started in McConnell's Trace and went into Masterson Station."
Higdon says, Bill Meck is a big reason so many lives were saved that day. Alongside, LEX 18 being the only station that aired the moment the tornado touched down.
"He was on top of this tornado when it happened. And I don't know if people realize the importance sometimes of that position. But he takes his job very seriously and in moments like this people need for him to," Higdon explains.
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"You need to be in a safe spot and there's just no two ways around it. If you can get underground terrific, that's the optimal place to be. If not, just have that safe spot in your house," Meck lists off.
Heather and Chris describe how every tornado warning, the terror of that night creeps back in. They make sure their own kids are prepared for anything.
"Be aware. Be safe. Don't take anything for granted. We kind of pound it into them to be honest with you," says Higdon. "What I lost in that tornado was my sense of security. My sense that home could protect me and that's something I've had to carry with me for 20 years now. Every storm, I'm terrified.
"When you hear the warnings, take them seriously. You know, it's an inconvenience for 15 minutes or 20 minutes but it can save a life," Bill Meck says.
According to Meck, the last time Lexington saw a tornado was May 27, 2004, but it's best to always be weather aware.
