Tornado Watch

When we lived in the Midwest we had a run in with a tornado - luckily it was of no significance. But whenever the tornado warnings and watches are issued across the tv and texted and otherwise I would be the first one to take notice. I am not a fan of vicious weather. I hate rain and thunderstorms and lightning and thunder and hurricanes. You can take the snow and the ice and the storms and the blizzards. Some people love them. I don’t. Where we live now is not exactly considered tornado alley, but it seems the weather has become more onerous as of late and unlike what we are familiar with. It’s beginning to feel more like Florida with thunderstorms and torrential rain. So when the tornado watch was issued on Memorial Day until eleven PM, I was on high alert. Luckily we have a west sky view so you at least have an idea what might be coming your way. It’s lovely to watch the sunsets from our balcony, but also a great place to keep an eye on what’s going on. It looked to be like the real deal for a while and was a bit uncomfortable. Luckily it passed without incident. At least we don’t purposefully live somewhere where the likelihood is high for a bad outcome. And that suits me just fine. 

Tornado Warning

We were just about ready to start playing our evening game on the iPad when the phone alarm went off and a tornado warning was issued. Anything having to do with bad weather makes me very uncomfortable. In Florida we worried about hurricanes - which is one of the main reasons I wouldn’t want to live there again. In the Midwest we had blizzards and terrible snow storms - which was a reason we didn’t want to live there anymore. When we moved to DC sixteen years ago we endured snowstorms - unprecedented amounts of snow that shut down the city for weeks - horrible rain storms and of all things an earthquake! I was working at the time at the library of Congress and the building swayed under me. It was terrifying! Now that we live in northern Virginia it’s not unusual to have severe weather. Unfortunately the power goes out because the lines are above ground. It happened at least three or four times this past winter. Our building has a generator but only for building related areas - not the individual units. So when the alarm went off for a tornado - not once, but twice - I was beside myself. My husband, on the other hand, decided it was a good time to stand on the balcony. We both should have gone to the garage level and waited it out, but I finally got him to join me in the den which is far enough from the windows. We kept the tv on to hear the ongoing commentary about where this thing was headed. It was very uncomfortable and it felt like a long time before it finally passed. I really get unsettled about things like this and it doesn’t look like it’s going to end anytime soon. We were lucky, but it’s scary to be in it. 

The Tornado Lunch

It looked like it was about to storm when I walked home for lunch. As soon as I entered through the door my phone sounded a tornado alarm. The TV was also reporting an imminent tornado threat. Obviously it was not a typical restful afternoon break. I was pulling down shades to keep the glass from penetrating the room and planning a stay in the first floor windowless bathroom. It soon ended thank goodness. We used to get tornado warnings in Milwaukee and oftentimes heard the sirens ringing out. It hardly matters where you live... I was just glad to be home rather than at work. And it gave me time to swap out my rain shoes for my rain boots and hefty sized umbrella. It was still pouring when I left.  When I returned to my desk, the all clear notice was sent. There's always the threat of flooding around here, even if you live on a hill.