'We have to get this photo!': Nebraska funnel cloud creates epic wedding picture backdrop
The usual wedding photos can include a couple's first kiss, first dance and pictures with family. But for Austin and Hailey Bode, some of the pictures from their wedding day also include an unusual sight: a tornado funnel.
The couple was married July 20 in Norfolk, Nebraska, coincidentally the same weekend that the disaster flick "Twisters" hit theaters. They knew some storms were in the forecast, the couple's photographer Alyssa Wallace told USA TODAY, but all they had seen so far that day was just some rain, which is frequently considered to be good luck on a wedding day.
After the ceremony, the bridal party headed to take pictures, which included some in downtown Norfolk, located about 115 miles northwest of Omaha.
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Wallace said a groomsman pointed out the funnel cloud to her, and her first thought was to stop the trolley they were riding and snap some pictures.
"I was partially excited to see the tornado myself, but then it clicked: I'm at a wedding, and I have a bride and groom here," Wallace said. "I said, 'hurry up, we have to get this photo!' I got them just in time to snap the photo."
Wallace said the picture of the couple posing with the funnel cloud in the background was a "symbol of their love," with the pair looking at each other amidst all the weather chaos happening around them.
Luckily, the storm did not disrupt the rest of the Bode's wedding day. Wallace said the funnel cloud was far enough away, no sirens were heard and it was "pretty quiet," adding that some people she talked to later had no idea a tornado had even been spotted.
The National Weather Service in Omaha, which provides forecasts for the region, noted several reports of funnel clouds in the Norfolk area on July 20, though none were confirmed to have hit the ground - which is when they officially become tornadoes.
And after Wallace posted some pictures on her social media, they began to go viral.
"It was such an incredible thing for me to witness," she said. "Ever since I was a little girl I was always in love with tornadoes."