(Twitter / @vuhsacequeen)

Yesterday, Twitter user @vuhsacequeen was dragged through a Walmart parking lot by a tornado in her Texas hometown. She revealed her bloody and bruised legs to her small list of followers shortly after, but little did she know that her story would go viral, receiving attention for the random setting and raw optics.

In less than 24 hours, @vuhsacequeen's tweet earned over 220,000 likes, following reports of increased tornado warnings in Dallas, Austin, Houston, New Orleans and Jackson, among other Southern cities. Apparently, the news of tornadoes in the area did not reach @vuhsacequeen, however, who still went out shopping along with many others unaware of the impending dangerous weather in the area. Meteorologists reportedly predicted the weather pattern well before her voyage to Walmart.

A video of the Walmart parking lot tornado was captured by a different bystander, circulating Twitter yesterday along with @vuhsacequeen's tweet. The video racked up over 700,000 views in less than a day. In it, one can see debris flying and people yelling profanities in the background. One Twitter user even thought they saw someone flying in the air.

Inherently, memes were made about the situation, harking on classic, tornado tropes like the ineffectiveness of tornado drills in elementary school. Others noted how "Walmart" was in Twitter's "Trending" bar, humorously noting how, out of all the words, that was the one associated with the tweet. One meme creator even overlayed a Nicki Minaj music video over tornado footage.

The general concern regarding the effectiveness of tornado warnings is palpable in this recent Twitter story. In the end, the buzzword "Walmart" was what it took to spark the conversation. Going forward, perhaps some internet users have learned it's best to abide by the weather warnings that pop up on their phones after all.


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Comments 1 total

El Lugubre

Maybe it doesn't apply in this case, but i dislike when people undermine an effort or initiative to make people aware of something and, just because someone was an idiot, the whole thing is deemed a failure.
Someone thought they were invincible and, that things happen to other people, no amount or lack of tornado drills would have made much of a difference.

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