DL Scales of West Coast Storm Chasers says Monday, he started driving towards the Central Valley, intentionally trying to put himself in the path of the storm with the custom vehicle he used to chase it.
"A few days ago, I noticed on the weather models that there was signs of a severe weather event coming up in Central California. So I kind of took the bet that something interesting was going to happen. So I made the 10-hour drive down, and it paid off," said Scales.
The professional storm chaser is capturing video while driving through the dangerous weather. That video already has over 30,000 views on YouTube.
But it was also a close call for nearby residents.
"It was a weaker tornado, but it can still do damage to roofs, push cars around, things like that," said Action News Meteorologist Christine Gregory.
One family experienced that first-hand. Their barn was blown off the ground, narrowly missing their home.
Several family members were inside but no one was hurt.
And the tornado near Clovis wasn't the only one in the Central Valley on Tuesday. Action News found a home damaged in Fresno County, east of Biola, after reports that a tornado had touched down there earlier in the day.
Across the street from that, an almond orchard with several trees uprooted.
The National Weather Service is now confirming that an EF-0 touched down.
They also confirmed a third twister, the strongest of them all, damaged parts of Atwater in Merced County.
But the funnel that touched down in Clovis was the closest we've seen caught on camera. And Scales said that happened entirely by accident, while following hail.
"Since I was livestreaming, I thought, 'Oh, you know, the audience might appreciate if we go see some hail.' I turn around that corner and it's crossing the road," he said.