F1 TORNADO - "THERE BUT FOR THE GRACE OF GOD" - JIBBER JABBER

Being in the touchdown path of an F1 Tornado was never on my bucket list.

We were watching the radar track the storm from Dallas towards us. Yellow, orange, red with a middle of ominous dark red color. That was the part of the storm we would eventually encounter and that was the part of the storm that worried me. 

There were also radar warning zones tracking on the leading edge of the storm showing "Tornado Watch" and Strong Thunderstorms."

We had lost power an hour earlier just prior to daybreak. Our home generator kicked on. We moved our basket of keys and important papers to the shelter and then we followed, bundled up with winter clothes over our "jammies." We pulled up two lawn chairs and watched. 

As the storm drew closer we moved into the shelter and I bolted the 4 bolts on the door. The shelter is made from hardened steel able to withstand penetration from a .308 hunting round. We watched through the carport, down the driveway and towards the front road that passes by our house.

The wife jokes that she used to gather with friends, a case of beer and chase tornado's when she was in college. She calls an F1 Tornado a "baby tornado." She has also told me several times that a tornado can be heard just a moment before it arrives. Sounds like a freight train, she says. And it does! How many times has my youthful narrative of playing with friends also included a case of beer?

I stepped to the side of our small window view so she could peak out too. The "freight train" did indeed sound and wall of weather moving through and over our home was just that. I have searched for words to help describe the inside of this skipping tornado through our neighborhood. I have experienced quite a few thunderstorms pass and a few microbursts in my years. But these were strong winds. A tornado, even this "baby one", was a compact wall of wind and debris. Wind and rain so tightly packed that it appeared to be a moving solid. It lasted for a long minute. There is no way, other than a miracle, that a human body could survive in the open in this type of weather event. 

I'll not forget this baby tornado and my wife will no long have to coax me into the shelter as future storms approach. I am still teachable. 

The radar showed the storm pass, the red touch down zone of the tornado and  our neighborhood was in the middle of that path. An F1 tornado causes extensive damage.

In pelting rain, folks emerged. One neighbor with his tractor. First words out of his mouth, "you alright?" We were. I had just made a walk around the house and confirmed we had been lucky. No trees on or threatening the home. Debris yes, but the home not damaged.

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My wife and I followed him in our side by side. I had thrown in my small chain saw just in case.

Folks in this small part of our neighborhood were out laying the ground work for repairing a local home so a neighbor could be back "dried in" by the end of the day. 

Just before sun set Tuesday, that home had a new metal roof replaced and a vertical wall repaired to original condition. The young man organizing these folks lived close by and was adamant that who ever needed any kind of help would be addressed him and his crew as needed.  He was also absolute in the fact that there would be no costs to anyone for anything!! Not open for discussion.

Neighbors who could not help with the reconstruction, fed the crews that day. Everyone worked. My wife and I had a few neighbors over for a warm lunch as they had no power. A little thing, but home made chicken soup and a sandwich were the least we could do.

My son, a lineman in NH, warned me over the phone to be careful of "widow makers" when outside cleaning up after a storm like this. He said the first 24 hours is the most dangerous time from falling debris hanging in trees. He was correct. I found this widow maker just outside our front fence.

Here the power company working was one of the many trees taking down the power lines. This is a good photo of trees that have taken down farmers' fencing too. This small passing tornado left a path of downed trees like the ones pictured above.

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CATS

I think both cats have a story to tell from the passage of this tornado. They were gone for 36 hours and we feared the worst. The cats have been gone before and have always returned. But this was their first tornado.

Shortly after midnight on Wednesday, they came to the bedroom window yelling they were home and "get up and feed us." Both none the worse for wear, skittish and weary, they ate and then ran back to whereever they must have weathered the storm. They were/are fine.

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JIBBER JABBER  

Storm damage and clean-up owned this past week and will into the next few months. There is costly damage to many folks homes and properties around us.

As I get older and speak to some of that here often, this past week proved some things in life to hold true over time. Using the small tractor and small trailer, I was out picking up debris. A big clean up task for us and I will pick at it a little at time. 

Turing around is one of the debris piles, I picked up a limb that could not be removed. It had wound itself around the axle and could only be remove by removing the tire. I had a workable clean-up routine going only to be sidelined by a little thing. Always seems to be a little thing that can shut down work in progress. Good news was that I had tools to get the job done, just shut down my project and flipped my switches turning on bad attitudes. 

Weather warming some this week. Planting wild flowers today and picking up more debris. We did find a leak over the stove vent on the roof, shutting down our kitchen stove and vent fan. Roof guy is promised to arrive this morning. Side by side needs more mechanical attention right at the time I need it the most. 

Not complaining, really! By the grace of God, we were spared big damage from the touchdown of a passing tornado.

Have a good week, appreciate the visit.