There is one thing that terrifies me about living in a motor home...one word will strike fear in me like no other...TORNADO!
And today, we heard it. We had just finished a dinner when we heard the sirens alerting us to potential danger, followed by the campground security pulling in front of our campsite blaring his horn with instructions for us to seek shelter in a more stable structure. For a moment I was nearly immobile with panic. I managed to encourage the kids to put on their shoes in case we needed to make a hasty exit without totally freaking them out. And though I was ready to run for the shower stalls, my husband had a different plan of action in mind.
At this point the storm that had been raging outside had calmed to an eerie stillness. Though the sky had a few dark clouds, it was mainly clear except for one massive cloud off in the distance that was producing an occasional lightening strike. So my husband wanted to remain outside and take a walk, just to keep an eye on things.
Our closest neighbor stepped out of his camper and told us that the tornado had touched down just Southeast of us, only minutes away from our campground. And that cloud we had our eye on? More than likely it was the one that had produced the twister. Though the storm did quite a bit of damage and there are families without electric, there were no serious injuries.
So, as always I have a question for you...when you hear tornado sirens do you heed their warning...or do you ignore them?
Thank God you and everyone else are okay. What a scary moment huh? He is so good to protect us!
ReplyDeleteI am glad you are all ok!
ReplyDeleteI live in the CITY, in Connecticut, and we had a tornado hit our town earlier in the year which was terrifying to me because my husband is a first responder.
I never thought I would have to deal with that fear living where we do!
Stoppin' by from SITS!
Hmmm....I've never heard a tornado siren but if I did I think I'd be taking it seriously. I take all alarms seriously...except maybe the one that goes off every day at 7am LOL
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments ladies!:) I spoke to someone on Facebook yesterday that said there was a tornado near Jacksonville, Florida. Today I spoke with someone from California that said there was one near Huntington Beach a couple weeks ago. I guess with this wacked up weather we shouldn't expect them to just hit the Twister Alley- which by the way I will be sure to avoid in my motor home during tornado season...if there is truly a 'season' anymore!
ReplyDeleteAs far as alarm clocks go- I do manage to sleep through them! Not a good thing because if I have to wake up earlier than 6:30 in the morning and set it to wake me, I'm always afraid that I'll oversleep so I end up not sleeping! Ughh...LOL
Have a great weekend!:)
Now that was a scary prospect. I hope you have somewhere close to go to for cover if the situation arises again. When we lived in Birmingham many, many years ago we had a tornado. If my memory serves me correctly, Alabama has alot of bad storms that sometimes turn in to tornados. Used to have to spend alot of time in our basement.Sorry for all the pleasant thoughts. lol
ReplyDeleteBlessings
diane
Diane,
ReplyDeleteThere is actually a shelter very close to us in case we experience anything like this again. This is actually the second tornado that has hit the area since we've been here. Yikes!
Yes, it's not uncommon for this area to have tornadoes, there was actually an F5 tornado that hit in the 1970's. When we were staying in the hotel, we watched it on the History Channel just as tornado season started. That really freaked us out!
Actually, I feel safer in the camper than the hotel room because at least now we do have somewhere we could go.:)
Not to worry, we just place our trust in the Lord daily to protect us. Can't live life worrying all the time, can we?
Have a great weekend!:)
HEED THE WARNING!!!!
ReplyDeleteI live in a small town in northern middle tn called lafayette, tn or macon county and feb.2yr ago from the safey of the underground shelter i was in i watched a major gas hub(columbia gulf) explode, then after i called 911 we could see the tornado going around just to the south of us and when i called my mom who lives 10 min away she was screaming her and my dad were in the tub hiding. then about 5 min latter i get a call..my grandmother had lost all of her barns and had minimal damage to her house but she was fine and my sisterinlaw had been in a closet of he trailor with her mom and stepdad and the tornado wadded up the trailor with her, her mom and stepdad all inside!! she lived but carrol and haviear died along with another cousin of mine! we have all had close calls but please if this experence lets me give anyone advice TAKE COVER, and pray! you can google the feb 2008 tornado and see pics of what lafayette looked like and understand why 14 people died that night!
Terry, I'm so sorry to hear that you lost loved ones in that tornado! What an incredibly devastating storm! You can bet we will continue to keep and eye on things from now on~ and listen for those sirens. Thanks for sharing, I hope others can learn from what you shared.
ReplyDeleteThank you for reminding me of the hazards of bad weather mixed with a mobile home. I have NEVER experienced a tornado...I've been through one minor earthquake and have prepared for many hurricanes though thankfully have not experienced one of those either...(though I did have family that were caught up in and still recovering from Katrina.) I am thankful for this post and the advice of "Terry" above. I'm glad you and your family are well and did not get tangled up in that twister business.
ReplyDeleteKindest regards,
Brook