Spring Storms

Wichita Falls, TX tornado (1979)

I've always had a fascination with weather.  I remember when I was a little girl, I used to go sit on our long driveway as a storm was rolling in, and watch in awe as the sky grew dark and lightening dotted the horizon.  I read all the books on storms I could find.  I remember checking out a book on tornadoes from our school library.  I read thirstily about such storms as the tri-state tornado of 1925, the great outbreak of 1974, and the Wichita Falls, TX tornado of 1979.  I wasn't just focused on tornadoes.  I also knew a lot about Hurricanes, and was just as interested in these monsters.  I knew a surprising amount of facts on Hurricanes with the names of Camille (1969), Gilbert (1988), and Carla (1961)...just to name a few.

I should have been a meteorologist.  I can see myself working in some lab in Oklahoma, counting the days until chasing season begins.  Did you know there are tornado chasing vacations you can take?  I WILL do this before I die; of course, I think I'd better get a will in order first.  :)

Moving to the Midwest was exciting for me because of the crazy weather I knew I'd experience.  In my eleven years in Kansas City, I was probably only in real danger from a tornado a handful of times.  I recall with perfect clarity the five or so times I heard the tornado sirens blaring.  By the way, just as a side note...nothing can strike fear in my heart like the sound of the sirens blaring.  One such time, it was two in the morning.  I was drifting in and out of consciousness.  My weather alarm had been going off for about an hour, but I kept ignoring it.  After all, it was all the way across the house!  Suddenly, I heard a strange noise outside.  As I tried to place it's odd familiarity, the thought of a train whistle ran through my mind.  Suddenly, I realized it wasn't the train at all.  I shot up in bed; it was the tornado sirens!  Of course, nothing happened.  We just got a lot of rain and some hail, but sure, it was scary.  Another time, about three years after the hubster and I were married, the sirens went off one evening around 5pm.  We lived on the second floor of our apartment building, and we really had no place to go, so we sat on our stair case leading up from our garage with the T.V. turned up.

View from our Balcony

One June, I think it was 2009, my dear friend from North Texas had come to visit.  We went to our favorite sushi restaurant, Mr. Sushi.  On our return drive home, we saw some very low hanging clouds as a storm moved in.  I said, "I think that's a wall cloud."  When we got home, we turned on the news, and went out onto our balcony that faced northwest.  A news helicopter hovered in the field nearby...a good sign that the clouds were serious.  I snapped a couple of pics and caught a funnel cloud.  The sirens never went off, and the tornado never touched down, but it sure was a beautiful display.  This is the closest I've ever been to a tornado.

Living in central Texas has been somewhat less exciting, weather-wise.  It's only barely rained since we had a tropical storm in early September.  I find myself missing those beautiful displays of violent creativity.  I guess when I think about it, the worst tornado I've ever been close to (Jarrell, 1997) was here in central Texas, but in general, the weather seems calmer than in the Midwest.  The words to a Chris Tomlin song come to mind, "Who has told every lightening bolt where it should go?"  Weather really is (in my opinion) the most amazing display of the power of our God, and I'm completely captivated by it.