Stormy Weather

It looks like January is beginning to be the worst month of the year as far as weather is concerned. Last year, we had a massive ice storm and lost power for nine days. This year, we had tornados. Yesterday, around 3 p.m., our entire area came under a Tornado Watch until early evening. I was out and about and didn’t think much of it. I came home and started working in my basement studio around 4:30 p.m. About an hour later I heard the tornado sirens blaring so I wandered upstairs to check the radar. We were under a Tornado Warning and things weren’t looking good. I tried to call Steve and couldn’t reach him. I tried again and again but still no answer. By this time I was more irritated than worried. Turns out he was in a conference all day without his phone and they were unaware of the weather conditions. Once he called, I was in the basement with the cats and the storms was quickly approaching. He agreed to stay at work until he could safely come home. The phone rang and neighbors Mick and Carrie asked if they could come over and stay in our basement. I ran upstairs, unlocked the door and told them to come on over. Steve came home when we were all still downstairs and brought us provisions (in the form of water and beer) and we waited out the storm for another hour.

But wait, there’s more. After the all clear sounded and we ventured upstairs to watch the weather they announced that another storm was headed our way. The sirens weren’t going off so Mick and Carrie decided to go home and seek any future shelter in their hallway or laundry room. By the time we went to bed, shortly after 10 p.m., most of the tornados had passed and it looked like all we were going to experience was severe thunderstorms.

Boy, we were wrong. Turns out, we had a total of 11 (yes, eleven) tornados in the area last night. Around 2:45 a.m. Steve got up to check the weather when he heard the tornado sirens blaring again. He came in an announced to me that we were going to the basement. Naturally, I didn’t want to go because I was all comfortable in my bed. Nope, Steve said, you’re going. A building had collapsed less than 2 miles away and we were experiencing 100 mph winds. Then the electricity went off and I knew I had to get up. We ventured to the basement once again, took our trusty battery-operated radio/tv and lit some candles. About 45 minutes later we went back upstairs and tried to get some sleep. Finally, we woke up around 7:30 this morning when the power returned. What a night!

It’s funny how little severe weather bothers me now. When I was a kid I was terrified of tornados mainly because of all the panic that happened during them while I was at school. I was convinced I wouldn’t see my parents again. Now, in this technical age, I can call mom on her cell while I’m safely in the basement and know she’s ok. Fortunately, everyone I know is fine and had little damage to their homes. Mick and Carrie did lose some siding when a neighbor’s tree was uprooted and part of it ended up on their house. We have another uprooted tree four houses down and lots of debris in the yard, but nothing wrong with our house. The gazebo, which isn’t secured to the ground, is even standing without a single scratch! Thank goodness everyone is ok. I’m looking forward to a little peace and quiet today!