Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Tornado Watches and Warnings

If you live in tornado country, you're probably very familiar with this type of photo. It's the radar we follow closely when storms are in the air. We also get a constant red 'crawler' on the bottom of the TV screen, so we're pretty well covered with weather news!

On Saturday last, we had tornado watches and warnings all evening. I like to get the dogs downstairs before it gets too nasty out, just in case, for Bridger will not do steps. My husband is unconcerned. I ask him, should a storm come up suddenly, would he help me get Bridger wrapped in a blanket and help me carry him down the steps. He gives me a LOOK and says Bridger would take our arms off before allowing that. Okay, okay. Just askin.'

So there we were, in the dungeon once again, our unfinished basement, the place where we wait out tornado warnings. Misty cowered under the bed and Bridger lay, bored to death, on the cool floor, waiting for a reprieve from this craziness.

Why do these things always happen at night? I don't really want a technical answer. It's more like a rhetorical question. It's when it's dark and you couldn't see a storm coming if you tried. You only get glimpses of the dark, threatening clouds when the lightning flashes. Sorta like that part in Conspiracy Theory (you have to fast-forward to minute 6:40 on clip) when the bad guys tape Jerry's eyelids open. I know, it's an old movie and no one's seen it, but it's one of my favorites.

Okay, moving on. Here's the list of what I take with me to the basement when the dogs and I are waiting out the storm - just in case! My husband is often upstairs, watching the Weather Channel and wondering why I go to all this trouble.

He has accused me of being afraid of storms. I absolutely am not afraid of storms. I am completely happy and unafraid when I take the simple precaution of heading toward the basement. Why is that so difficult to understand?

I digress. Here's the list:
  • My Bible
  • My cellphone
  • My purse with wallet and too many little odds and ends
  • My Flashlight
  • My laptop
  • My hikers with the heel lift
  • A clean pair of wool socks for in my hikers
  • My favorite snuggly polar fleece jacket
  • Almonds
  • If I have a Ritter Sport Dark Chocolate With Hazelnut, I take it too. No sense having it end up somewhere in Rusk County.
And don't think that I don't trust God. I do. And I thank Him for providing me with a basement to go to in a storm. I'll admit, there probably hasn't been a tornado through this farm since the last century but I figure the odds are against me.
 
I truly hope my husband doesn't get blown away in a storm. I'm really quite fond of him, but I'll be sure to blog about it if he does. Stay tuned.


16 comments:

  1. Stay safe! We had a tornado blow thru here last month. Seriously a tornado??? In CT????

    Lots of yummy love,
    Alex aka Ma What's for Dinner
    www.mawhats4dinner.com

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  2. We had 2 good years with barely a thunderstorm; so of course, being right next door to you in Michigan, we're getting inundated with red maps and sirens and such this year ... sigh. More severe weather is predicted for today, because it's our annual Art Fair -- of course! Be safe!!!

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  3. I'm in tornado country in the deep southeastern U.S. and I hate that radar picture! We don't have a basement, just a walk-in closet for our family of four...ugh. I take a bunch of pillows in there to put over our heads.

    Jennifer
    www.thefarriswheel.blogspot.com

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  4. You know my hatred of snow by now..but tornadoes...well I'd have to say I probably dislike them more then snow! Ugh.. one more thing I do not miss about the midwest! When I was a kid I use to cry when those sirens when off, I just knew our house would be blown away!! lol

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  5. Lydia will probably be a tornado chaser one day. She gets really excited every time we have a tornado warning...and disappointed when nothing comes of it. I've told her that I don't want to be around when something finally comes of it. Since we don't really have a "basement", I am glad that Chaska seems to have this protective dome over it that splits all bad weather around us. Makes for some great viewing of storms. I'll send you a pic of the mesocyclone that spawned two tornadoes west of us. Anna was out at Sonshine in Willmar when the last round of storms went through. They had 20,000 people there in an open field listening to bands when they were told to take cover during a tornado warning. Thank God for his protection...where do you find shelter for 20,000 people? Here is a link of some video of that storm...forward to 31 seconds and sop at 1 min. 10 sec. I'd also turn your sound off, as Kevin says the storm was probably caused by the sound of the "music" that night. The sky 180 degrees from the stage was the storm that blew through.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9hCICqvIoU&feature=related

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  6. You have started my day with a smile. Bob and I were raised in tornado country, so I know what you go through when you have to take cover. You should also permanently keep some bottled water down there. On that happy note, I'm going to send wishes for a great day. Blessings...Mary

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  7. Just love the picture of you downstairs with the dogs and all the "important" things in life...I must agree, no since in having a Ritter flying around the county when it could be taking shelter down in the depths of your tummy...er...dungeon, lol! Glad you are all safe :)

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  8. Looks like you are well prepared for any storm that may come. You'd have a hard time adjusting to life here in NC, basements are a rarity. I've often wondered where we would go in the event of a bad storm. I think we've settled on the pantry in the middle of the kitchen, it's central, no windows, oh and stocked with food. I meant to get back to you on the pop corn. We just use vegtable oil and then about a table spoon of melted butter and a dash of salt. We've come to enjoy being able to go lite on the butter and salt:-)

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  9. You crack me up!

    "I truly hope my husband doesn't get blown away in a storm. I'm really quite fond of him, but I'll be sure to blog about it if he does. Stay tuned."

    Lol!!

    I see those radars here all the time... not a big fan of tornado season.

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  10. Stacey, Lydia will probably get over that once she has kids. I used to enjoy alligator hunting too, and once I had that first child, my sense of responsibility overtook my sense of adventure.

    I watched the Video you sent. Good grief!! Did those musicians not notice that angry sky?? With all that electrical equipment out there, you'd think that would be a perfect target for lightning.

    So thankful that Anna and the other 19,999 were safe. I liked Kevin's comment about the music. :-)

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  11. I totally agree with how you handle Tornadoes...for years I was frustrated, I would go to the basement with our son and dog....and my huband would stay upstairs. I seriously thought something was wrong with him when he decided to come to the basement during a Tornado warning a few months ago. I think he has a new respect since one ended up landing about 5
    minutes from us. He claims it's because he's older and wiser :)

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  12. Thanks for making my heart smile my friend. I think you are wise for being prepared.

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  13. We experienced one of those radar thingies a few years back enroute by car to Chicago from Mpls. in Wausau, I think it was. Very scary for us PNW folk who seldom have even thunder. Yep, we do get lots of misty, moisty rain and an occasional earthquake but watching that radar and what it represented was very SCARY. Haven't been back that way since either.....

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  14. Sooo thankful for our basement, too. We are in tornado alley here.
    Thanks for sharing about what you take down in the basement. I need to get proactive and gather things like that.

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  15. Chocolate! How could I forget to take that when I head to the basement? I just take the kids and a flashlight. :)

    Anxiously waiting for that blog post about your husband's tornado ride. Grin.

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  16. Hahahaha.... you made me chuckle and smile! That last part about being fond of your husband and hoping he makes it or blogging about it was particularly funny! And, for the record, I loved Conspiracy Theory! If it has the word "conspiracy" in it, I'm in! ;) Glad you made it out alive... ♥ Michelle

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