Sunday. It was a stormy day. We have church at 11:15. By the time we got out of church it was super dark and rainy. When we got home we turned on the news to find we had a tornado warning in our county! Ahhh. This is when you're supposed to go hide in the dark, windowless bathroom (since we don't have a basement). Well, we didn't. We were so dang tired, we just took a nap on the couch. Don't worry, the tornado had already past us. By the time we woke up from our nap it was time to go to dinner; we were invited by a family in our new ward! So we check the news again and we had another tornado warning. This time, it was relatively close and heading right for us, or rather, right for where we were going. I was nervous to go. The tornado, which touched down briefly, was only 15 miles west of us. We called our new friends and they said we
should be okay, so we went. CRAZY!!!As we got closer to their house, the sky became increasingly darker. A giant black wall was bulldozing toward us, as we drove toward it. I was praying, hard. The fifteen minute drive seemed like forever, but we finally made it. We pulled into the driveway and we jumped out of the car just as the cascade was liberated from heaven. It was like slow motion. I saw every droplet just before turning away to be drenched over every inch of my backside. The tornado was wrapped in rain. Very dangerous, and unpredictable, even for professional Stormchasers (there really is such a job)!
We were soaked the rest of the night, even as the rain and wind continued to whip the house. I was scared to go home. It wasn't letting up, but we had to get home before the streets got flooded. So again we braved the storm. Gutters were overflowing. The streets were flooding. We were driving through inches, maybe a foot of water. Stopped at a stoplight – the whole road was moving. Going again. The car next to us hits her breaks as gallons of water wake onto our car. It’s getting worse as we go. On the freeway, cops block parts of the flooded road to prevent cars from hydroplaning. Finally we make it home, flip on the news. They had just closed the road we were on due to 2 feet of pooling water. We drove through it!!
So, is it a miracle we survived our first day in Kansas?? I should think so. Next day – reported rain total for Wichita…5.61 inches! Wow.
http://affiliate.kickapps.com/_20090426170846mpg/video/626080/33096.html
Here is a link to a video of our tornado that someone sent in to the local news station. Sorry I couldn't upload it to the blog.
5 comments:
Pictures pictures we need pictures!
I did not even know you were leaving!!! Good luck this summer in Kansas!
I know, I know! I have pics on Dannys phone. I just have to download them and figure out how to get them on this darn blog of mine.
You guys just don't do anything by half! You plunge in to a freaking wet tornado! I'm glad you survived, crazyhead! Be safe! We're praying for you!
P.S. If you decidee you like blogging and want to do more with your background and stuff, check out http://thecutestblogontheblock.com They're great and many are free and you can change it anytime you want!
I'll email you the instructions on how to upload pictures to your blog in a minute.
Post a Comment