Tornado Tuesday

 

Let's do something different and I will provide you a timeline of events that took place today (and last night because it seems relevant now).

7:00 pm (Monday night) I drove Quincy over to drop off her car at the mechanic.  There was a rainbow, but no rain.  It struck me as odd, but I took half a minute and took a picture.  The weather felt weird, and the humidity had my hair looking like the cowardly lion.

8:00 pm - I get rapid fire texts from Mallory worrying about tomorrow's morning weather, saying we were going to be in a tornado watch and maybe have horrible weather just as we were supposed to be getting to school.  I sort of laughed at her, and told her that morning storms are rarely tornadic, and I was sure it wouldn't happen, everything would be fine.

9:00 pm - after not sleeping the night before, I tell Jim I am doing something I never do in April, and turned on the air conditioning.  The house was sticky, hot and the attic fan was not helping.  The attic fan was also annoying me because it was causing the doors to rattle around.  Usually, I am not overly bothered by this, however because I had not slept well the night before, I think everything was annoying.  Or perhaps it was the weather...??? 

10:30 pm - I let the dogs (and baby goats) out one last time to go potty, and note that it is thundering and lightening, and tell Jim I am thankful for the a/c so I don't have to worry about getting up in the night to shut the windows.  I go to bed and crash out until the alarm rings at 5:00 am.  I am told there were storms in the night, but I heard nothing!

5:00 am - alarm rings.  I let the goats and dogs out, and notice it is raining, lightening is bouncing, but my thoughts go to other important things - like showering and taking care of my in the house creatures.  Blitz refuses to go out with the dogs and goats, and is clinging to my leg.  I know she hates storms, and I feel bad, but ignore her as I have a very tight morning routine.

5:45 - I wake up Harper and Saige to help with outside chores.  I start the bus, and the 3 of us march out bravely into the rain.  I notice the lightening is really bouncing around and is extremely bright, but that is mostly because at this time of the day, it is pitch black outside.  We get chores done in record time.  Blitz does go out with us, but is super clingy and annoying and I trip at least 3 times on her.  She beats it back into the house, refusing to go potty, and I tell the girls to just leave the baby goats inside because I take pity on them not being left outside in the rain.  

6:05 am - Mallory starts rapid fire texting that Osage county is in a tornado warning.  I turn on the tv to see that there is a storm down by Lyndon (25 minutes south of here).  I don't worry too much, and continue to get ready to go.  I leave the house normally at 6:15.  

6:10 - I get a text from my bus boss saying not to leave home until the tornado warning is lifted.  I text my early riders and tell them I will be late.  I brush my teeth, and wake up Jim- telling him we are in a tornado warning and he should probably get up and dressed so he won't be the naked guy on the news. I wake up Quincy and watch the coverage on tv.  

6:15 - weather man clearly says "rotation is now over, I think this will just be a lot of rain and wind at this point, and that they will let the tornado warning expire for Osage county." I once again text my early riders saying I am heading out, and to watch for me, as I don't know the road conditions and may still be a few minutes later.

6:20 - I am headed down the road, and get a call from a co-worker, I am not far from my house, and have no kids picked up yet, normally I wouldn't answer, but her husband is one of my bosses.  She is freaking out saying Hey - there is a tornado right where I know you drive, I wasn't sure you knew, and I am worried about you.  I said Oh? I thought the danger was over?  She said, well they let it expire and immediately re-issued it.  I thank her, hang up, and immediately hear the radio say "if you are in Overbrook or Richland, you should be seeking shelter" followed by the bus boss texting to say 1 hour delay on school starting today.  Now if you are unaware, we live between Overbrook and Richland.   I waste no time turning around and heading back to my house.  I am about 2 -3 miles from home.  I drive faster than I normally would, but I am completely freaking out because every time there is lightening, the whole sky is bright orange.  A color I have never seen before, even after a lifetime of living here.  It felt like doomsday, and I was not excited about being out in a bus.

6:25 I park the bus and fly into the basement with Jim and the girls.  We cannot get the tv downstairs to work, and I will be honest, I am not one who generally goes to the basement for storms, but I cannot see what is going on because it was still dark, and the orange lightening was freaking me out.  We sit downstairs for a while, and Mallory and Madison are both texting that the tornado sirens are blaring in town.  

6:35 am - I decide I have had enough basement time, and come up to see they are moving the warning off to the north of us.  I am watching the news as I wait to leave on the bus again.

7:00 am  - they call off school saying that there are power lines down everywhere and that people around have damage from the storms.

7:30 - Jim and I head to town for our day jobs.  Harper groans and tells me we literally got up before dawn, got wet in the rain, could have been struck by lightening,  and could have slept in.  Touche' kid - I realize this.  

8:00 am - I start getting calls and texts from my township boys telling me where they are closing roads due to power lines/power poles being down.  I have so many people stopping in my office to tell me where friends and family members have been hit, and have damage.  I start piecing together that a tornado has made a pretty long path just 1 mile west of town, and has also hit one mile west of our house, we know people who have pretty significant damage to their property.  We have not heard that anyone is seriously injured or dead, so we are thankful for that. 

12:30 pm - I get off work, and start to head home for lunch.  I notice that as usual, the brightest blue skies always occur after a big storm.  I find myself being thankful that things were not much worse, and that the town was spared a direct hit. 

The storm clouds clearing off in the distance - sort of an interesting sight.  

The good news is that nobody was seriously hurt.  The other good news is that the kids got a day off school, but don't have to make the time up, because I guess the governor forgave a couple of the snow days and we had already made them up, so it was a free day!  I heard on the evening news that this was one of 5 tornadoes ever recorded in the 6-7 am hour.  It was also the longest path of a tornado ever recorded at that time of the day.  It was an EF1 tornado, and most of the damage is roofs, barns, and trees.  We have a lot to be thankful for tonight!