Live Coverage From Windsor- 5:30 p.m.

Ten Minutes of Live Team Coverage From Windsor Tornado

Deadly Tornado Hits Northern Colorado - Lauri Martin Live

Deadly Tornado Hits Northern Colorado

The best view of a tornado’s destruction is from the very skies where the storm originated. The ground was a swath of devastation a mile wide.

“It was all black, I couldn't see my fence, so I grabbed my dog and headed for the cellar," said resident Joel Moore.

The town of Windsor took a direct hit: unexpectedly.

"It's very surprising," said Linda Cumpton. "We just don't get tornadoes in Windsor."

It came with no warning.

"We're just stunned," Cumpton said.

A look from the ground in the immediate peace following the storm shows it's power. Fences were toppled. Trees older than most residents in Windsor were ripped from the ground like weeds, and homes were destroyed or displaced.

"Most of the roof and fence of this house, is in that house," said Adel Mascarena.

Mascarena and her mother Sherry came home to find it shaken to its foundation and, for the near future, unlivable.

"It's disheartening," Sherry said.

For the Mascarenas, life will move forward.

"It's just stuff," Sherry said. "We'll go on. Everyone's okay."

From the destruction comes the next step: cleaning up a devastating wound.

"I don't know how expensive this will be," said Mayor John Vazquez. "I can tell you it will be a long time before the community recovers from this."

It's a wound, which will leave a lasting mark on a small community.