Monday, December 6, 2021

TORNADO WARNING

 I had (reluctantly) planned to drive to town today - mainly because the temperature has warmed up (in the 50s, Fahrenheit).

When I woke up early this morning (after only about three hours of restless sleep) I was greeted by dismal fog and torrential rain. Within a few minutes, a Severe Storm Warning was issued. While I was in the process of pondering that - we also got a Tornado Warning.

There are no tornado warning sirens here, and the local radio station is nearly useless when it comes to updating the weather. I checked the radar on my laptop. The tornado was sighted over Pall Mall, moving east (where the hell is east??).
I'm near Pall Mall. In fact, I'm very near the Kentucky border. 

Torrential rain. Heavy fog. Severe storms. Tornadoes. Hell, it wasn't exactly a suitable day to traverse narrow winding mountain roads for the zillion-mile trip to town.

I crawled back into bed and didn't give a royal rat's ass where the tornado was headed. I am presently overwhelmed with so very many problems in my dismal life that if I got pulverized by a tornado it would truly be a relief and a blessing.

Aren't tornadoes rather rare in December?

When I lived in Springfield, Missouri, I survived the 1991 Thanksgiving tornado. Actually, the tornado occurred the day after Thanksgiving. It was an F4 twister, which destroyed over 200 homes, killed two people, and injured over 64.

The Springfield tornado was less than a mile from my house. Since I had no basement, I cowered in a hallway with a mattress over my head. It truly did sound like a freight train - and I thought the roof was going to blow off.
Fortunately my place had almost no damage - - but my nerves were shredded.


The 1991 Thanksgiving tornado in Springfield, MO

The temperature is dropping as I write this. The rain has (finally) stopped. The day is dark and misty. It's supposed to be 20 degrees tonight. I don't know when I'll eventually get to town. Quite honestly, I don't give a damn.

Perhaps I'll hibernate and emerge next spring.

11 comments:

  1. You can't win Jon!!!! We had a series of tornado s rip througj about a5 mile from here in Fort Washington at the end of summer. Across right over rt309 and it is still a mess. It used to be very wooded...now just barron and the homes are all still in shambles. Odd...we don't get tornados much here...and that was too close for comfort.

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    1. Oh shit...excuse my jumble above...I should have had on my readers.

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  2. Tornadoes scare me like little else. For the life of me, I don't understand why more homes aren't built with basements. We looked at those temporary shelters at Home Depot -- supposedly guaranteed to withstand an F5 twister -- but the price is prohibitive. Thus, I content myself with wearing a motorcycle helmet, hanging with my weather radio in the only interior room. Please stay safe!

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  3. True! Who ever heard of December Tornadoes? Look on he bright side, Tornadoes no longer cause fear in you. That has to be a good thing, right? Hours of weather channel makes you think that ALL weather is dangerous weather. Keep you in that "fear mode" and glued to the TV and Radar. But after a certain age, I think perhaps when I hit my 40's, I stopped caring about bad weather. Now I'm "immune?" From Global warming, earthquakes, and hurricanes. Too bad the young people are not as numb to the fear as old guys.

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  4. I would have been scared shitless actually! We rarely get tornados here in my area but it does happen on ocassion. Glad you are ok!

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  5. December tornado? Goodness!
    I walked home in-between tornadoes in 1965 (Minneapolis/Fridley, Minnesota). Our house was lucky, too, with minor damage. You never forget the sound.

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  6. Tornado warning, Yikes, is all I could think to comment, Jon. Good thinking to stay put but probably not hibernate until spring. BTW I extend the same offer as last year to send a holiday greeting to fellow bloggers who only need contact my blog email with a name and mailing address. No reciprocal action is requested or needed.

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    1. Dorothy, I tried to use the email link on your blog, but all I keep getting is a search engine and no email address. Am I doing something wrong?
      Sorry for the delay in responding to your comment.

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  7. Hi Jon, I have recently been trying unsuccessfully to leave comments. I see there is no option on todays post so am trying on this one. I am wondering if others are having the same problem?
    ♥️♥️♥️♥️Susan

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    1. Hi, Susan - I haven't had any recent complaints about leaving comments - but Blogger is notorious for having glitches. Sometimes I have trouble leaving comments on other blogs.

      I always get so FEW comments on my blog that I often wonder why. Are my posts unworthy of getting comments.....or are people having trouble leaving comments...??
      I seldom use Comment Moderation, and I always allow anonymous comments.
      Anyway, I'm glad that you still visit my blog!

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  8. Watching coverage from last night's deadly tornadoes -- and fretting. Please, will you let us know you and the kit-cats are OK?

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I love comments. Go ahead and leave one - I won't bite. But make sure you have a rabies shot just in case.