I'm a California city-girl living in a Midwestern town of 1,042. It's a small life, but one filled with love and purpose.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
How Do I Know?
Paul usually heads to the L&M on Wednesday nights, but last night he hung around the house. Why? He was speaking my love language... We had a Tornado Warning going on and he was staying home to make me feel safe. Sweet, sweet man.
Since living here I have become aware that if today is 68 degrees and tomorrow is predicted to be 30, then tonight we're going to have a tornado. Or at least a tornado warning. I didn't even know there was a warning. I thought that maybe I had heard the sirens going off earlier, but I was hoping it was just the noise coming from this new game Peter was playing on the computer.
So I checked the weather report online and it said, "TAKE COVER NOW." And it used adjectives like 'dangerous' and 'deadly'.
"Um, Paul," I interupted his Lego playing, "They're saying to take cover now. And it's dangerous and deadly."
He looked outside. "Looks fine to me."
I don't have enough experience with tornadoes to know when we really need to take cover. Is it just going to come out of the calm and tear us to bits? I mean, the siren went off and the weather news people wrote IN ALL CAPS.
But we just hung out and watched the weather map and were fine.
So I don't know what to do with this experience. When do we really need to take cover? I need to know this. Our 'take cover' involves running across the street to the church's basement. Which we have done in pounding blow-me-over rain with kids, blankets, candles, and flashlights in arms.
Oof.
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4 comments:
The storm missed us too, went north more towards you. I think Crawfordsville got hit and I saw a cell go just south of Ladoga. I am glad you were all safe, I hate storms. And I will never get used to them!
Anna
Well, since you're asking: Having grown up in S. Illinois, I remember we always took cover when the sky turned green. Yes, green. I remember one night the air outside was very heavy and thick, no wind. The sky turned a dark chartreuse color and the sirens started blaring. My parents grabbed us away from the sliding glass door as the rain and the storm rolled in and a tornado flattened the neighborhood behind our house. We had no basement so we sat in the bathtub that was central in the house.
I don't think it's always raining when a tornado comes through (or storming) and often times in the midwest you get "sister tornadoes" that are smaller (still deadly) twisters that split off from each other, so you can get multiple towns or neighborhoods being hit at once.
Being outside in a tornado is a really really bad idea, as I've seen hay get punched through barn walls. All this to say, I'm truly not a fear monger. I'm not necessarily 'afraid' of tornadoes, I just have a very healthy respect of them and I know I don't want to be in one if at all possible. Although if you DO have to run across the street with one coming, make sure a battery operated radio is part of your kit to take with you, so you know when to come out. :) Sorry that was so long.
-Chelsea
Thanks, Chelsea, for sharing your experience. I had heard about the green sky and was looking out for it. Good to know that it doesn't have to be raining. I was wondering about that. Happy for spring's arrival, but not the tornadoes.
If you hear the sound of a train when the sky is green, you're better off taking the closest shelter possible. Once you've heard that sound and have seen the results later, you definitely won't forget it. Thank God He's our shield and protector! (BTW, I'm an old college buddy of your mother-in-law...enjoying your blog and Anna's, too.) -Brenda
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