A Kentucky married couple passionately embraced as a catastrophic tornado wrecked their home and tore off one of each of their arms.

Paul and Gail Cline, both in their late 60s, were hunkered down in their London, Kentucky bedroom as a twister with 170 mph wind speeds made them fear for their lives on May 16.

In what could have been their final moments, the couple - who have been married for 29 years - held each other tightly as the storm raged on, sending sheet rock and shattered glass flying through the air.

When the terrifying tornado finally settled, a neighbor rushed to the ruins of the Clines' home, where Paul and Gail were crying for help.

'When they were found, they were holding each other, and that’s why they lost opposite arms,' Brandy Bowman, one of the Clines’ nieces, told WLKY.