Tornadoes posted 11/15/2008 7:39:49 PM | 1 kudo what's this?     report abuse tagged: weather, anxiety

missliss78

I'm sure many people here have lived through tornadoes. Thank goodness I've never suffered through one, though I have seen their wrath. I almost had my own first hand experience last night, however.

It was some time between 3:30 & 4:00 a.m. I was sleeping, when suddenly the wind & rain was pelting the house so hard it woke me. I tried to relax & not worry...but it just was not possible. I sat up, turned on the tv to the channel out of Raleigh only to learn there was a tornado warning for my area until 4:15. WRAL has some very sophisticated tracking equipment & by all accounts, the tornado was headed directly to my neck of the woods.

I opened my bedroom door & walked across the house to find Mom already out of bed. She had woken for a potty break & did not realize how bad the weather was outside. Fitz the cat was there curling around her legs & they were quite content.

I picked up the cat & he seemed very relaxed. I took this as a good sign, as I've always heard animals can sense when bad weather is imminent. He seemed happy to be in my arms (which, come to think of it, he generally resists) and was purring away. Mom started to sit down in the living room & I told her to come on & sit down in my bedroom. There's a comfy chair right next to my closet & I instructed her if need be to dive in there. Myself, I'd put on my housecoat by then & had my pocket book over my shoulder. I didn't know what else to do to ready myself.

We continued watching the weather...all the different forms of radar, and listening to the warnings & watches going off. The wind & rain was still going at it outside. Finally, it seemed calmer & Mom asked the time. It was 4:16. She went back to bed.

Needless to say, I was a bit wired at that point. After watching the weather a few more minutes & feeling comfortable that things were calmed down, I, too, returned to bed. I'm not sure when I ever fell back to sleep, but I know it was some time after 5:00.

When I awoke this morning, I turned on the tv to learn the tornado had touched down not far from here. One storm cut a swath from southwest to northeast. One 10 year old boy was killed when the house he was in with his grandparents collapsed. The grandmother was found about an eighth of a mile down the road, wandering & in shock. God bless them all.

Late this afternoon, the storms returned. This time they are blowing in a cold front. The temps have already dropped about 17 degrees in the past couple of hours. Tomorrow, our highs will be some twenty-odd degrees cooler than today.

With all of this I am anticipating a more restful night tonight. But one never knows, for sure, what the evening might bring. Here's to all of you experiencing your own weather phenomenons across the country. I know there's snow & cold temps up Ohio way & awful wildfires out in Cali again. Best wishes to each of you & may tomorrow come to you again safely.

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