Very determined man mows the grass as a tornado swirls nearby
What, was the grass supposed to cut itself?
A particularly diligent man in Alberta, Canada, was recently photographed mowing his lawn as a tornado swirled menacingly in the distance.
Theunis Wessels told the Canadian Press that he was "keeping an eye on it" and that the twister was moving away from the house as he pushed the red mower along. His wife, Cecilia, said she snapped the photo to show her parents in South Africa, who rarely see tornados.
"My beast mowing the lawn with a breeze in his hair," Cecilia Wessels wrote in the photo caption of a June 2 Facebook post.
She later told Mashable that the photo's viral success "has been strangely wonderful, overwhelming, crazy, super fun, exhausting, highly educational, and just superb."
"At best, we are happy that we could share a huge smile on people's faces for a weekend," she said in an email, adding, "Keep an eye on your goals no matter the storm."
Wessels wasn't the only resident of Three Hills, Alberta, to capture the two-toned tornado as it swirled through the small town last Friday.
Videos cropped up in recent days showing the 31-mile-an-hour twister rattling trees and ripping across the grass.
No injuries were reported from the tornado, though some photos show downed trees and a barn with its roof ripped off, the Canadian Press reported. Other images showed driveways slick with tiny spheres of hail.
Just 27 minutes after the first tornado alert was issued, Alberta emergency officials reported the tornado threat was over.
UPDATE: June 7, 2017, 9:55 a.m. EDT This story was updated to include Cecilia Wessels' photo and comments.
Maria Gallucci was a Science Reporter at Mashable. She was previously the energy and environment reporter at International Business Times; features editor of Makeshift magazine; clean economy reporter for InsideClimate News; and a correspondent in Mexico City until 2011. Maria holds degrees in journalism and Spanish from Ohio University's Honors Tutorial College.
