College of DuPage meteorology professor Paul Sirvatka shows video images of the tornado that hit Earle, Ark. on Friday during the chase team's stay in the Best Western Inn in Dyersburg overnight. On Saturday morning the team was returning to eastern Arkansas to survey the damage.

"We were north of it and behind it a little bit, watching the clouds," said College of DuPage meteorology professor Paul Sirvatka, whose team stopped overnight in Dyersburg after chasing storms across the Great Plains for the last week. "Then I said to them, there should be a tornado descend in about 20 seconds. About 20 or 30 seconds later, it did."

Sirvatka called 911 and alerted authorities to the tornado formation. There we no sirens, he said.

Sirvatka said debris was in there air and as the team drove north of the city, the destruction was evident. There were no deaths reported in Earle, but more than 100 homes were destroyed.

Two deputies had crawled from beneath their patrol car that had flipped were standing by the vehicle, said Sirvatka.

"They seemed pretty shaken," he said. "But they said they were alright."

Sirvatka said he was bothered by the number of school buses on the road near the tornado.

"There were busloads of kids literally four minutes away from the tornado," he said. "And we saw that again and again."

The college offers the nation's only undergraduate degree in meteorology. The spring storm-chasing trips are open to independent scientists and weather enthusiasts and students, said Sirvatka.

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After following the twister that hit Earle until it dissipated before crossing I-55 about 10 miles north of Marion, Ark., the team crossing the Mississippi River at Dyersburg "and try to get in front of the storm."

The chasers caught swirling formations over the Crockett County area, but saw no more tornados on Friday.

The team overnighted at the Best Western in Dyersburg. They were planning to assess the damage in Earle on Saturday and return to Chicago on Sunday.

Sirvatka said his team had noticed the "Storm Ready" posting at the Dyersburg welcome signs.

"Congratulations for being a Storm Ready community," said Sirvatka. "That means Dyersburg takes dangerous weather seriously. You should."