“There was one a couple of years ago in Topeka that knocked a highway patrol tower into an apartment complex. There where limbs and trees everywhere, so it was really hard to get around. I saw one tree that fell on someone's truck.”

— Brock Snyder, unemployed, Topeka

“Probably when I was a freshman here. My dorm got hit by the microburst, and the bleachers at the soccer field nearby were all twisted up and it damaged the roof on our cafeteria.”

— Deepa Sampat, Kansas University junior, Lawrence

“Thursday's, for me. I'm a California guy and the weather there never changes. The ground just shakes. Scared doesn't cover it; I was terrified.”

— Bobby Bass, car salesman, Pasadena, Calif.

“When I was 6 or 7, I was on my way to Manhattan and we got caught in a big one. Once we stopped the car to run inside, my dad had to carry my sister and I because the winds were too strong for us to walk on our own.”

— Megan Blevins, Kansas City Kansas Community College sophomore, Leavenworth