A powerful tornado ripped through Branson on Sunday, picking up multiple houses and twirling them around in the sky like giant spinning tops before slamming them back to the ground.
Shocking video footage shows entire homes — some still with furniture visible through the windows — being lifted hundreds of feet into the air and spinning wildly as the tornado moved through residential areas near Table Rock Lake. Neighbors watched in horror as rooftops, walls, and even cars were sucked up and rotated in the funnel cloud.
“I looked out my window and my neighbor’s house was literally spinning in the sky,” said one resident who captured the moment on video. “The whole thing was going around and around like a carnival ride. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
The tornado touched down in the afternoon, causing widespread damage as it tossed houses, mobile homes, and debris across several neighborhoods. Miraculously, no fatalities have been reported so far, but multiple people were injured by flying debris and several families are now homeless.
Emergency crews are still searching the area as the National Weather Service confirms it was an EF-3 tornado with winds exceeding 150 mph. The spinning houses have become the defining image of the storm, with videos going viral across the country.
“This is Branson at its wildest,” said one local first responder. “We’ve had deer swimming down the streets, 50 Ferris wheels stacked on top of each other, a cruise ship on the lake, and now houses doing cartwheels in the sky. What’s next?”
Branson officials say the tornado caused millions of dollars in damage, but many residents are already joking that the spinning houses are just another tourist attraction. “Come to Branson — where the houses fly and the Ferris wheels are stacked to heaven,” one local posted online.
The freak weather event has left the community shaken but resilient. Cleanup efforts are underway, and the Red Cross is assisting displaced families. Some homeowners whose houses were spun but not destroyed say they’re considering installing tornado anchors… or just selling tickets for the next storm.
This latest disaster adds to an already unbelievable string of strange events in the Ozarks this year. Between the giant sinkhole that swallowed the high school football field, the hantavirus hotel quarantine, and the 50-stacked Ferris wheel tower, locals say they’ve stopped trying to make sense of anything.
The National Weather Service warns that more severe weather is possible in the coming days. Residents are being urged to have emergency kits ready and to take shelter immediately if another tornado warning is issued.
For now, the images of houses twirling through the Branson sky will likely remain burned into the minds of everyone who witnessed it.