“I pulled into Alltel and went up to the doors and pulled the doors,” said Sexton.

As Sexton scrambled for cover, the tornado ripped up a furniture store just a couple miles away. She found herself locked out.

“It would have been just as easy to open the door and let me in. They were all standing there watching the storm develop. They were not taking shelter so that's what was upsetting. They could have easily opened the door and let me in. They were just standing there watching,” she said.

"The store manager, when emergencies like this occur, does have the discretion to make a decision when to close the store. Once closed, all personnel and customers are supposed to be in a safe location in the back of the store,” said an Alltel representative. “We've re-iterated this policy to our store managers since this incident occurred.”

Other people say they found the doors locked at the state license office on South Fremont Avenue office during the same storm.

A representative for the license bureau, which is a private business that has a contract with the state, said the manager there does not recall the doors being locked on that day but said the employees do have the right to lock the doors if a tornado siren is sounding.

In the meantime, an off-duty KY3 newscast producer found the exact opposite problem. Instead of being locked out, she felt locked-in at a Wal-Mart store.

“At the time, we felt like we were being told, ‘No way, Jose, you need to go back to the back.’ I felt that was inappropriate. They needed to give us the option of what we wanted to do,” said Michelle Leroux.

A reporter contacted Wal-Mart several times for comment but the company has not responded.

People wonder what their rights are during a tornado warning in a public place. The state attorney general's office and local lawyers say the legal question of your rights in a tornadic situation are just that: a question. Each case might be different; each case depends on the circumstances.

Businesses that lock people out and wave them away might put themselves at risk for a lawsuit because they could be putting people's lives in the path of danger.

“You’ve got to let the person in,” said Greene County Emergency Management director Ryan Nicholls. “The moment of impact is so small in time. You should have enough time to let someone in. But why not get someone inside the building and give them additional protection?”

Greene County has a program to help businesses plan for severe weather. It’s called the Hometown Ready program. If you’d like to sign up, the number is (4`17) 869-6040.

Nicholls urges patience if a customer feels locked in a store. The business might have a tornado plan that it’s trying to use.

“From a safety perspective, you've got to respect the business for what they're trying to do. There have been Wal-Marts hit with folks in the parking lot,” he said.

If you're in your car during a tornado, and you find the doors locked at one store and a storm approaching, run for the next business and see if that door is locked, because, you're better off inside a building than you are outside or in a car.

“A car is not where you want to be in a tornadic event or high winds or severe weather,” said Nicholls.

Sexton just hopes the same thing doesn't happen the next time she seeks shelter from a storm.