GREENWOOD, Del. - One year ago, on April 1, 2023, an EF-3 tornado tore through Sussex County, bringing with it a 14 mile path of destruction. Many homes were damaged or destroyed as winds peaked near 140 miles per hour.
One woman, whose home was leveled during the tornado, continues to recover a year later. Staci Warrington lost her home as the tornado neared its peak intensity over her house, but thankfully she was not injured as she was in Ocean City at the time of the tornado.
“Luckily I wasn’t home as I don’t know how it would have turned out, you know. They tell you to get into the bathtub or something because I didn’t have a basement and there really wasn’t any place to go. The bathtubs, both were in the backyard with parts of the house laying on top of them,” reminisced Warrington.
Warrington’s four pets were home that day, but all survived the harrowing experience. She said her pets remain traumatized from their experience. Her three dogs and one cat each shake and hide anytime a heavy rain or thunderstorm passes through the area.
Material possession-wise, Staci lost everything when the tornado ripped through her home. Over the past year she has been staying in a furnished rental about an hour from where her home once stood, as a new home is built in its place.
Staci Warrington hopes to move into her new home in the coming months.
The hope is for Staci and her pets to move into their new home, which her dad is building, within the next few months.