I have grown up in tornado alley. Currently, in central AR we are NOT in
tornado alley. Now this is difficult for me to believe considering the
amount of tornadoes we have every year. Last night was the first time in
many years that I have actually taken cover for a tornado. The last time I
remember doing it was in high school during the school day. Our "cover" was
out in the hallway. You would think a north Texas school might have some
kind of a "safe room", but who knows, the hallways may have been built to
withstand tornadoes...??
Anyway, last night as I was driving home, I was listening to warning after
warning going on south of us. I figured it would head our way soon. I
wasn't concerned at the time b/c warnings are such a usual occurrence this
time of year. We made it home and had dinner. I flipped on the news and
saw that the storm was still going on. Will wanted to play outside, ha!
Anyhow, around 7 or a little after it became clear that this cell, which had
produced tornadoes in Hot Springs, was now on a direct path to the tiny
little town we call home. Queue sirens.
I'm watching the radar and that part of the line of storms that bows out was
centered on us. Uh oh! I actually felt the panic! That is rare if you
know me at all. At this same moment, John called to say he was heading
home. He was northeast of home, and therefore safe (for the moment) but I
didn't want him driving directly into the storm now did I?? No, I did not.
So I asked him to stay with a friend (with a lower level to their spiffy new
house...) till it blew over. He initially protested, "If something happens
to you guys I want to be there!" Noble, yes, but a viable option? No.
Because what if something happened to him while he was trying to get to us??
I don't want to be the one left behind. Call me selfish, but I hope I'm the
first to go. You know, after 80 or 90 more years.
So it's been settled, John to friends house, baby, dog and myself to the
hallway. I told Will we were going to get all our pillows and watch
spaceman (toy story 3) in the hall! He could not have been more pleased.
We got all set up, and I went back and forth to watch the weather reports.
As the storm approached, we lost power. Of course. Wireless internet went
out and so did cell phone service. I was actually really glad to be with
Will because I stayed relaxed for his sake. I guess the power was off for
5-15 minutes, it was hard to gauge. It seemed like a long time. Oh and
that was when the quarter size hail started falling. Will loved that. Ice
balls? From the sky? Please can we go outside? No.
I went to see the hail and grabbed some green beans out of the fridge.
Because you know, if our house got hit and we were trapped under some rubble
we would really be wanting some cold green beans...haha. It wasn't too much
longer before the cell passed over us, and the tornado touched down about 8
miles north. Exhale. I saw videos of people in neighborhoods around us
that actually captured the wall/hook/touchdown of the tornado on their home
videos. It was nuts. To think that was going on in the sky right over me
and my firstborn. And Winston, bless his little houndog heart. He was
curled up under my legs. Praise be to God who kept us safe.
Another less organized cell passed by as well and John made it home sometime
around 8:30. No damage for us, but not the case for others in AR and
surrounding states. Please pray for those who lost property and loved ones
in this event!
Note: I learned last night that DUCK is an acronym for tornado safety:
D-downstairs
U-under something
C-center of the house
K-keep away from windows
tornado alley. Now this is difficult for me to believe considering the
amount of tornadoes we have every year. Last night was the first time in
many years that I have actually taken cover for a tornado. The last time I
remember doing it was in high school during the school day. Our "cover" was
out in the hallway. You would think a north Texas school might have some
kind of a "safe room", but who knows, the hallways may have been built to
withstand tornadoes...??
Anyway, last night as I was driving home, I was listening to warning after
warning going on south of us. I figured it would head our way soon. I
wasn't concerned at the time b/c warnings are such a usual occurrence this
time of year. We made it home and had dinner. I flipped on the news and
saw that the storm was still going on. Will wanted to play outside, ha!
Anyhow, around 7 or a little after it became clear that this cell, which had
produced tornadoes in Hot Springs, was now on a direct path to the tiny
little town we call home. Queue sirens.
I'm watching the radar and that part of the line of storms that bows out was
centered on us. Uh oh! I actually felt the panic! That is rare if you
know me at all. At this same moment, John called to say he was heading
home. He was northeast of home, and therefore safe (for the moment) but I
didn't want him driving directly into the storm now did I?? No, I did not.
So I asked him to stay with a friend (with a lower level to their spiffy new
house...) till it blew over. He initially protested, "If something happens
to you guys I want to be there!" Noble, yes, but a viable option? No.
Because what if something happened to him while he was trying to get to us??
I don't want to be the one left behind. Call me selfish, but I hope I'm the
first to go. You know, after 80 or 90 more years.
So it's been settled, John to friends house, baby, dog and myself to the
hallway. I told Will we were going to get all our pillows and watch
spaceman (toy story 3) in the hall! He could not have been more pleased.
We got all set up, and I went back and forth to watch the weather reports.
As the storm approached, we lost power. Of course. Wireless internet went
out and so did cell phone service. I was actually really glad to be with
Will because I stayed relaxed for his sake. I guess the power was off for
5-15 minutes, it was hard to gauge. It seemed like a long time. Oh and
that was when the quarter size hail started falling. Will loved that. Ice
balls? From the sky? Please can we go outside? No.
I went to see the hail and grabbed some green beans out of the fridge.
Because you know, if our house got hit and we were trapped under some rubble
we would really be wanting some cold green beans...haha. It wasn't too much
longer before the cell passed over us, and the tornado touched down about 8
miles north. Exhale. I saw videos of people in neighborhoods around us
that actually captured the wall/hook/touchdown of the tornado on their home
videos. It was nuts. To think that was going on in the sky right over me
and my firstborn. And Winston, bless his little houndog heart. He was
curled up under my legs. Praise be to God who kept us safe.
Another less organized cell passed by as well and John made it home sometime
around 8:30. No damage for us, but not the case for others in AR and
surrounding states. Please pray for those who lost property and loved ones
in this event!
Note: I learned last night that DUCK is an acronym for tornado safety:
D-downstairs
U-under something
C-center of the house
K-keep away from windows
Be safe out there y'all.
No comments:
Post a Comment