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Here we go again...
Since the crazy tornado outbreak on April 27, 2011, we begin preparing at the slightest mention that something's headed our way.
I was up early on April 27th 2011, as always. The Weather radio had blasted out flash flood watches, tornado watches and warnings, and thunderstorm warnings all night. I must say, after a while, the blaring on that weather radio becomes annoying, but it's worth getting off the couch and trudging into the kitchen to reset the darn thing and read along with the often garbled voice coming from it.
It was 6:30 AM and the power was on. I had no idea a tornado had hit our little town to the south 'til the phone started ringing and the weather man on the local news channel got excited. It's only 3 miles away, and the mass confusion had already begun by the time I jumped in the jeep with a neighbor to survey the damage. We knew bad weather was coming, but we weren't expecting the really bad stuff until later on in the day. Everyone was shocked.
Yep, I admit, sometimes I'm a "looky loo." After all, I grew up in that little town, attended the same school all my life, and have lots of pals who still live there. I'd lost track of many when my husband dragged me all over the US for his career in the Navy. He was a submariner... that's scary, believe me. Anyway, I spent 17 years as a Navy wife, Hubby's a vet of the first gulf war.
I'll also admit that being the wife of a submariner isn't as scary as being the wife of men with actual boots on the actual ground.
Our only worry was the gazillion gallons of water over his head, and the little noises the walls of the submarine makes when the pressure adjusts to deeper levels of the ocean. The instant panic we feel when someone calls and says the "boat" ran aground deep in the ocean is another story...
Now that I've digressed and bored you with that... I'll get back to the tornado worry...
I drove myself and my neighbor, the best that I could, through our little town. Power lines were lying on the road, along with trees, and I'm talkin' about BIG trees. We went a little further and met emergency vehicles along with tons of folks walking and carrying chainsaws. We had to wiggle around fallen trees and debris. Finally, we couldn't go any further. everything was being blocked off and we had to get out of there before we became stuck in the middle. So, we came home and watched the news.
You never get the big picture of what happened in an area 'til you see live footage from a helicopter come across the big screen. The damage was awful, but we were relieved that we'd dodged the bullet, and we thought the weather man had simply missed his predictions and the bad weather had passed through. we were wrong.
The power stayed on 'til one or two in the afternoon, then the weather radio blared and there was a tornado warning for the county seat, 7 miles north of our home. That's were we went for big grocery buying, movies, walmart, courthouse needs, blah, blah, blah.
We didn't go out We got info from the television until the power went out. Then, we got it from the local radio station until it was hit and went off the air.
Hubby hooked up the generator and we continued watching the local news station. At that time, they were talking about a huge tornado on the ground in Tuscaloosa, near Bryant Denny stadium and the college campus. It was later determined that the tornado which hit Tuscaloosa was an E-5. They guessed that hundreds were dead, injured, or trapped.
Then, we learned that a tornado had made a direct hit on the county seat 7 miles north. That made our nerves tingle, and we headed for the basement where we stayed until after dark when the news stations reported that we were in the clear. It was later determined that the tornado was an E-4.
The weather radio was switched over to battery power and continued to burst out in song every few minutes for counties east of us. The day seemed to last forever. We later learned there were 142 tornadoes that day
Days went by and we waited for the electricity to return. Every window in the house stayed open for the duration, and, because of the generator, we were able to plug in the refrigerator, tv, computer, and a couple of fans to keep the air moving. We cooked a few meals on the gas grill, and made ice for the neighbors inside the small freezer.
Over three or four days, the reported body count rose higher and higher. The number of deaths reported finally settled in for several days at somewhere between 250 and 300 people lost, and I believe it ended up being 238 statewide, and over 500 total in neighboring states, but I couldn't say for sure.
The days following the outbreak were confusing, and consisted of maintaining the house while volunteering to hand out food and water to anyone who needed it. Most of our meals were hotdogs, bbq sandwiches, and chips offered by local churches and the red cross.
The Red Cross was here, as was FEMA. The insurance agencies were overrun with claims, and still, there was no electricity.
We were so busy with the recovery effort that we didn't have time to cook many meals at home and employ our survival skills.
Schools were closed for the duration. The college was closed as was many businesses and the courthouse. Gas stations were closed, restaurants were closed, heck, even the fast food joints were closed.
Breakfast was mostly cold cereal until the fast food chains opened back up several days later. Then we bought biscuits and coffee on the run.
To this day, the recovery effort continues. The landscape has permanently changed in my little hometown and the larger town to the north. I've missed my turns several times because buildings and landmarks that were there all my life are now gone for good.
So, Mr. Weatherman says that tonight the potential for tornado's and severe storms is the nearest it's been to the conditions that day in 2011.
A couple of stations report the storms have weakened a little. A couple of others say no such thing.
We heard this morning that 18 people have been killed in states to our west, and the number is expected to grow.
The internet has been crazy all day. Sometimes it's there and sometimes it's not. The air is muggy, and feels "heavy." The windchimes are ringing and I hear the tin on the barn roof buckle every once in a while. The goats have been in the barn, and haven't mosied out to browse and eat hay. Right now, it's feeding time, and they have internal clocks. So, they're hollerin' and lettin' me know that it's time to get out there and fill their dishes.
A lot on my mind today, and we'll keep the weather radio on and hunker down in the basement if we need to. I'm prayin' we doon't have a repeat of April 27, 2011.
Ya'll stay safe
Since the crazy tornado outbreak on April 27, 2011, we begin preparing at the slightest mention that something's headed our way.
I was up early on April 27th 2011, as always. The Weather radio had blasted out flash flood watches, tornado watches and warnings, and thunderstorm warnings all night. I must say, after a while, the blaring on that weather radio becomes annoying, but it's worth getting off the couch and trudging into the kitchen to reset the darn thing and read along with the often garbled voice coming from it.
It was 6:30 AM and the power was on. I had no idea a tornado had hit our little town to the south 'til the phone started ringing and the weather man on the local news channel got excited. It's only 3 miles away, and the mass confusion had already begun by the time I jumped in the jeep with a neighbor to survey the damage. We knew bad weather was coming, but we weren't expecting the really bad stuff until later on in the day. Everyone was shocked.
Yep, I admit, sometimes I'm a "looky loo." After all, I grew up in that little town, attended the same school all my life, and have lots of pals who still live there. I'd lost track of many when my husband dragged me all over the US for his career in the Navy. He was a submariner... that's scary, believe me. Anyway, I spent 17 years as a Navy wife, Hubby's a vet of the first gulf war.
I'll also admit that being the wife of a submariner isn't as scary as being the wife of men with actual boots on the actual ground.
Our only worry was the gazillion gallons of water over his head, and the little noises the walls of the submarine makes when the pressure adjusts to deeper levels of the ocean. The instant panic we feel when someone calls and says the "boat" ran aground deep in the ocean is another story...
Now that I've digressed and bored you with that... I'll get back to the tornado worry...
I drove myself and my neighbor, the best that I could, through our little town. Power lines were lying on the road, along with trees, and I'm talkin' about BIG trees. We went a little further and met emergency vehicles along with tons of folks walking and carrying chainsaws. We had to wiggle around fallen trees and debris. Finally, we couldn't go any further. everything was being blocked off and we had to get out of there before we became stuck in the middle. So, we came home and watched the news.
You never get the big picture of what happened in an area 'til you see live footage from a helicopter come across the big screen. The damage was awful, but we were relieved that we'd dodged the bullet, and we thought the weather man had simply missed his predictions and the bad weather had passed through. we were wrong.
The power stayed on 'til one or two in the afternoon, then the weather radio blared and there was a tornado warning for the county seat, 7 miles north of our home. That's were we went for big grocery buying, movies, walmart, courthouse needs, blah, blah, blah.
We didn't go out We got info from the television until the power went out. Then, we got it from the local radio station until it was hit and went off the air.
Hubby hooked up the generator and we continued watching the local news station. At that time, they were talking about a huge tornado on the ground in Tuscaloosa, near Bryant Denny stadium and the college campus. It was later determined that the tornado which hit Tuscaloosa was an E-5. They guessed that hundreds were dead, injured, or trapped.
Then, we learned that a tornado had made a direct hit on the county seat 7 miles north. That made our nerves tingle, and we headed for the basement where we stayed until after dark when the news stations reported that we were in the clear. It was later determined that the tornado was an E-4.
The weather radio was switched over to battery power and continued to burst out in song every few minutes for counties east of us. The day seemed to last forever. We later learned there were 142 tornadoes that day
Days went by and we waited for the electricity to return. Every window in the house stayed open for the duration, and, because of the generator, we were able to plug in the refrigerator, tv, computer, and a couple of fans to keep the air moving. We cooked a few meals on the gas grill, and made ice for the neighbors inside the small freezer.
Over three or four days, the reported body count rose higher and higher. The number of deaths reported finally settled in for several days at somewhere between 250 and 300 people lost, and I believe it ended up being 238 statewide, and over 500 total in neighboring states, but I couldn't say for sure.
The days following the outbreak were confusing, and consisted of maintaining the house while volunteering to hand out food and water to anyone who needed it. Most of our meals were hotdogs, bbq sandwiches, and chips offered by local churches and the red cross.
The Red Cross was here, as was FEMA. The insurance agencies were overrun with claims, and still, there was no electricity.
We were so busy with the recovery effort that we didn't have time to cook many meals at home and employ our survival skills.
Schools were closed for the duration. The college was closed as was many businesses and the courthouse. Gas stations were closed, restaurants were closed, heck, even the fast food joints were closed.
Breakfast was mostly cold cereal until the fast food chains opened back up several days later. Then we bought biscuits and coffee on the run.
To this day, the recovery effort continues. The landscape has permanently changed in my little hometown and the larger town to the north. I've missed my turns several times because buildings and landmarks that were there all my life are now gone for good.
So, Mr. Weatherman says that tonight the potential for tornado's and severe storms is the nearest it's been to the conditions that day in 2011.
A couple of stations report the storms have weakened a little. A couple of others say no such thing.
We heard this morning that 18 people have been killed in states to our west, and the number is expected to grow.
The internet has been crazy all day. Sometimes it's there and sometimes it's not. The air is muggy, and feels "heavy." The windchimes are ringing and I hear the tin on the barn roof buckle every once in a while. The goats have been in the barn, and haven't mosied out to browse and eat hay. Right now, it's feeding time, and they have internal clocks. So, they're hollerin' and lettin' me know that it's time to get out there and fill their dishes.
A lot on my mind today, and we'll keep the weather radio on and hunker down in the basement if we need to. I'm prayin' we doon't have a repeat of April 27, 2011.
Ya'll stay safe
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