Post by Ellethwen on Jun 12, 2008 22:57:40 GMT -5
And here is the (hopefully) thrilling tale of my recent encounter with the weather.
Okay, so, it's a well-known fact that the weather all across the US has been absolutely off-the-wall, but this really freaks me out.
To set the scene a bit:
I live in Davenport, Iowa, which is right on the edge of the Mississippi River, and part of the Quad-Cities. We're also on the very edge of Tornado Alley. Tornadoes, however, do not touch down too much in Quad-Cities (actually, haven't in years and years and years), which is super-awesome because all of the cities in this area have their downtown areas right along the riverfront.
However, recently, more tornadoes have been appearing in the air--and today, a whole SUPERCELL of tornadoes appeared about an hour or so away near Milan, Illinois, and started steadily moving towards the Quad-Cities.
About an hour ago, there was this ENORMOUS crack of thunder and a HUGE flash of lightning (that even set off someone's car alarm outside). I'm guessing it hit some electrical lines and/or phone lines. I ran out to the living room to see what the news reporters are saying--they're saying that the supercell I saw earlier on TV is, like, 10 minutes away.
Freakout time. Tornadoes are my worst fear. And a supercell? Oh, don't even get me started. However, I am totally going to gloat on my ability to still think clearly despite the absolute panic consuming my brain in the next few paragraphs.
I tried to call my mom, because she was out with friends, but the phones didn't work. Eric, my brother, was already pulling on his tennis shoes so we could head downstairs to the storm room on the bottom floor of our apartment building. I started running around trying to catch the cats and shove them into the carrier. I got Rue, but Ophelia escaped, and when the power flickered out for about a minute, I knew it was time to go, and I would have to leave Ophelia behind.
The whole way downstairs I was worrying about Ophelia and my mom, because I don't think she knew about the situation. When we got down there, I realized something:
The storm room door couldn't be opened. There was a screw in the way. But it had a lock. A few other people that lived in the building had gathered around, but none of them had keys.
So...I had to go all the way back up to our apartment at the TOP of the building to get my key. Alone. The whole time, I was insanely worried. And when I got back...it DIDN'T WORK.
One girl offered to let us all stay in her apartment on the first floor. However, I suppose everyone else there had first floor apartments as well. So Eric and I trooped into her apartment to hide in her bathroom (which is the safest place to go in the event of a tornado, just so you know!). There we learned that her name is Taneisha, her circuit breaker broke, and she really hates our apartment complex!
The warning ended at 10:25. Thankfully, the supercell either dissapated, or turned around. The newscaster says we're still in tornado zone...but there's probably not going to be one.
Latest worry?
Flooding.
Oh my gawd.
And ENORMOUS area is flooded right now. Three major streets, and one slightly less major, are all flooded: Division, Kimberly, 53rd, and Pacific. The complex parking lot is flooded as well, and I guess the storm sewers are backed up (you wouldn't believe how hard it's raining), so I don't know how Mom's gonna get home, or how we're even gonna be able to leave.
Also, we think that the phone I tried to use got shocked. The receiver smells suspiciously like ozone (which is a really pungent smell, by the way). However, since the phone that doesn't smell like ozone isn't working either, we're thinking that the phone lines are also down.
So...uhh....that's it. If I can figure out how to work the video camera, I can get some pictures, because as scary as it is, the weather is an awesome sight.
How are you guys faring?
Oh, and you can thank Eric for bringing things back to reality. He's complaining about how the weather reports are cutting off Jay Leno. ^.^;;;;;
EDIT:
ASDFLJAWERODASF *insert foul language here*
Water is getting into our apartment, WITH THE DOORS CLOSED.
No wonder Taneisha hates this place...the doors are so cheap.
Okay, so, it's a well-known fact that the weather all across the US has been absolutely off-the-wall, but this really freaks me out.
To set the scene a bit:
I live in Davenport, Iowa, which is right on the edge of the Mississippi River, and part of the Quad-Cities. We're also on the very edge of Tornado Alley. Tornadoes, however, do not touch down too much in Quad-Cities (actually, haven't in years and years and years), which is super-awesome because all of the cities in this area have their downtown areas right along the riverfront.
However, recently, more tornadoes have been appearing in the air--and today, a whole SUPERCELL of tornadoes appeared about an hour or so away near Milan, Illinois, and started steadily moving towards the Quad-Cities.
About an hour ago, there was this ENORMOUS crack of thunder and a HUGE flash of lightning (that even set off someone's car alarm outside). I'm guessing it hit some electrical lines and/or phone lines. I ran out to the living room to see what the news reporters are saying--they're saying that the supercell I saw earlier on TV is, like, 10 minutes away.
Freakout time. Tornadoes are my worst fear. And a supercell? Oh, don't even get me started. However, I am totally going to gloat on my ability to still think clearly despite the absolute panic consuming my brain in the next few paragraphs.
I tried to call my mom, because she was out with friends, but the phones didn't work. Eric, my brother, was already pulling on his tennis shoes so we could head downstairs to the storm room on the bottom floor of our apartment building. I started running around trying to catch the cats and shove them into the carrier. I got Rue, but Ophelia escaped, and when the power flickered out for about a minute, I knew it was time to go, and I would have to leave Ophelia behind.
The whole way downstairs I was worrying about Ophelia and my mom, because I don't think she knew about the situation. When we got down there, I realized something:
The storm room door couldn't be opened. There was a screw in the way. But it had a lock. A few other people that lived in the building had gathered around, but none of them had keys.
So...I had to go all the way back up to our apartment at the TOP of the building to get my key. Alone. The whole time, I was insanely worried. And when I got back...it DIDN'T WORK.
One girl offered to let us all stay in her apartment on the first floor. However, I suppose everyone else there had first floor apartments as well. So Eric and I trooped into her apartment to hide in her bathroom (which is the safest place to go in the event of a tornado, just so you know!). There we learned that her name is Taneisha, her circuit breaker broke, and she really hates our apartment complex!
The warning ended at 10:25. Thankfully, the supercell either dissapated, or turned around. The newscaster says we're still in tornado zone...but there's probably not going to be one.
Latest worry?
Flooding.
Oh my gawd.
And ENORMOUS area is flooded right now. Three major streets, and one slightly less major, are all flooded: Division, Kimberly, 53rd, and Pacific. The complex parking lot is flooded as well, and I guess the storm sewers are backed up (you wouldn't believe how hard it's raining), so I don't know how Mom's gonna get home, or how we're even gonna be able to leave.
Also, we think that the phone I tried to use got shocked. The receiver smells suspiciously like ozone (which is a really pungent smell, by the way). However, since the phone that doesn't smell like ozone isn't working either, we're thinking that the phone lines are also down.
So...uhh....that's it. If I can figure out how to work the video camera, I can get some pictures, because as scary as it is, the weather is an awesome sight.
How are you guys faring?
Oh, and you can thank Eric for bringing things back to reality. He's complaining about how the weather reports are cutting off Jay Leno. ^.^;;;;;
EDIT:
ASDFLJAWERODASF *insert foul language here*
Water is getting into our apartment, WITH THE DOORS CLOSED.
No wonder Taneisha hates this place...the doors are so cheap.