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Barn, Boat Flew In Yuba City Area Twister

YUBA CITY (CBS13) - Two brothers watched in amazement Monday as a tornado tore through their yard, lifting a barn in the air and sending a boat 100 feet.

"I would rather take snow than a tornado," Levi Ernst said a day after the twister touched down at his home just south of Yuba City in Sutter County.

It's funny he should say that.

"I kind of jinxed it too," Daniel Ernst said. "I said the chances of it being a tornado and touching down is like it snowing."

But on a stormy Monday afternoon, they got the rain, hail, and 100-plus mph winds

A barn was destroyed by the twister, but the goats walked away unscathed.

"The goats made it," Daniel said. "There was two in there so I don't know if the barn just lifted and they walked away. I don't know what happened."

A shed stood next to the barn but the 6-foot-tall walls, they really have no idea where they went.

The boat is now in their horse's field and its license plate flew across the street.

But it all started on the green at nearby Mallard Lake Golf Center.

"As soon as it touches ground, it explodes like a bomb," Mallard Lake owner Sal Nasriwi said.

About seven golfers were on the course when the twister hit.

"They tried to help me move some debris so they can finish their game," Sal said.

Now that's dedication - something the Ernst family also has. Their pregnant goats are counting on them for yet another barn, preferably one that stays right-side up.

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