Quarter mile from me a power line was hit
Growing up in the Texas Panhandle, the windiest place in the country, tornados were as common as prairie dogs. Most I remember seeing was six in one night as I stood in the parking lot of the hotel restaurant where I worked as a busboy. They came in all shapes and sizes, some skinny, some darker but all skirting the city limits.
That probably imbued me with an unhealthy disregard for the destructive power of tornados. So when I heard the sirens go off about 1:15 I just thought to myself, "Big Woo! It's windy!" I needed to put my car in the shop and gave a big "Meh!" to the weather as I drove on in. Different story when I got to the dealership!
Everyone was gathered around the TV in the waiting area. I saw pictures of trailers thrown into the air like toys from an angry child. The radar also showed rotations headed RIGHT FOR US! Keeping my emotions in check I knew this would be the worst possible time to drive back. Leaving my kitten alone to face the storm was killing me. But the rain had stopped, turning ominously quiet. That's when tornados strike.
Once again I found myself in a parking lot looking up into the sky. Grey green clouds swept rapidly around us as the dark fingers of God edged downward in the distance. Would the funnel come down? This time the answer was no. When the rain returned I pulled my car out of the service bay and blazed my way home to find kitty safe and sound. 45 minutes later I had to watch as another rotation alert and hail came through but that too was without serious incident.
Perhaps the twister was on its way to I-Hop
When the radar cleared and the skies turned less violent I decided to investigate my city's "state of disaster" as deemed by the mayor. It was then I discovered how close a funnel had briefly touched down when I saw the snapped power line pole shown above. Radar had been more accurate than I thought.
Safe to venture out
I headed to the storm area most affected by me and was surprised by the extreme lack of rush hour traffic. Don't know what to attribute that to. But I was grateful! Telltale signs soon revealed I was getting close. Tornados HATE signs telling them what to do!
When touring a tornado ravaged area, certain themes arise. First one is fences. It looked as if a rampaging 100-foot giant had stomped his way through not caring what sort of chaos he left behind. Fences were certainly no obstacle!
It's also a great way to check out the neighbors' backyards!
New fence! He was just asking to get hit!
Another theme, of course, is downed trees. The angry giant pushed them to the side making its way through in unstoppable fury. Where they may land he cared not.
Some came to rest on nearby objects...
Some rudely blocked driveways and streets!
Try getting that car out!
Not that you could go anywhere...
Downed power lines are another fun distraction.
Another tree theme is ones that just plain got their ass kicked! Either mangled...
...or uprooted
Police were onsite, blocking auto access due to the dangerous conditions. I also heard talk of a curfew in the area most likely to prevent looting.
They also marked houses as ones too dangerous to enter.
For some, the healing started right away, tarping roofs and cutting the trees down to size.
Picking out belongings. I heard one kid say, "It's like a scavenger hunt."
Streets were like a war zone, scattered debris everywhere.
Some houses were hit harder than others.
A curious anomaly about tornados is that one spot can be a total disaster and a spot close by appear to be completely untouched (this is more apparent on the video).
Here we have a tale of two trees. The one on the foreground is fine, a board ripe for picking still inlaid among its branches. Behind it another tree is severed, its amputated branch seemingly clinging for dear life
Or even amidst this total devastation a bird feeder still hangs from a tree waiting to perform its duty.
Fortunately there were no deaths in the tornado strikes. But a human toll does exist in material loss. We all need a home for those most precious.
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Preliminary Stats:
6-12 tornados
650 homes/buildings damaged
Hundreds of flights cancelled. 110 planes suffer hail damage.
Zero dead, 18 injured.
Some areas suffered far worse damage than shown here, houses completely leveled, cars tossed around, belongings literally gone with the wind. Considering the wind, the hail and the twisters, I'd say we got lucky. Nothing so humbling as Mother Nature!
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