Nearly three years after a tornado destroyed the barn at Stokely Farms near Battlefield, Mo., another tornado decimated the farm’s replacement barn on Sunday night (March 12). One horse was killed during the storm, and several were injured. Owners David and Christine Stokely and their family are safe, and their home was spared.

Springfield’s News-Leader.com reported the twister broke fences, demolished the newly replaced barn (it was completed last fall), and flung debris everywhere (Click here to read the News-Leader.com article.). That same night, tornadoes in Missouri destroyed 195 homes and damaged 323 in six counties, although teams have been surveying damage in up to 30 counties.

According to the article, the Stokelys “heard the tornado from their home, which is about a mile from the farm, and came to the barn as soon as they believed the twister was gone.” They began looking for their horses immediately, and all were located by Monday morning. Stokely said that the dead horse was found out in a field and was suspected to have been killed by flying debris or by running into a metal post.

“We are all OK, but the devastation is complete and totaled our family business,” wrote David Stokely in a March 15 e-mail he sent to a list that has received periodic updates since 2003 (The Horse is on the list). “As of right now, we are just dealing with the immediate emergencies. I am sorry to know that some of you getting this were affected as much or more than we were