My First Tornado Warning of the Season
Last night some severe storms rolled in to Central Indiana. A year ago, I would have loved it. There was just something about thunderstorms that made me happy. I loved the sound of the rain on my window and the thunder and lighting always brought a creative spark.
Now thunderstorms only bring me dread.
The sound of rain on my window reminds me of sitting in the totaled rental car.
The thunder causes anxiety.
I'm pretty sure you don't want to know what I see in lighting flashes.
I probably should never drive in a thunderstorm either, but I can't let my fears run my life so I suck it up and deal.
Last night though, my laundry could wait and I decided to stay home. The storms kept getting worse, and I was getting more anxious. I knew I wouldn't sleep through the night, but I had to at least try. I crawled into bed around 1:00. Finally, around 2:00 I just started to drift to sleep. That is when I heard the sirens for Hamilton county. I live just over the county line so it was hard to hear over the storm. I grabbed my phonw to see what was going on (went to Twitter). I immediately saw tweets from WTHR and Paul Poteet (a meterologist) about the storms. Then the one for Marion county went off. There is a "speaker" literally in my complex so that one was impossible to miss.
Now the way they do things here is a little different than I am used to. In Ohio, if the tornado siren goes off that is your first and last warning to take cover. In Indiana, they apparently sound the alarm first to warn us of the severe thunderstorm warnings, and then they will sound them again if another warning is issued.
Knowing this I make my way to the living room and turn on the TV. The sirens had woken up some of my friends and we start talking on Facebook as we watch the weather. A tornado warning was eventually called for Marion county and the possible track of the worst of it did come through my neighborhood, but the storm had weakened enough that the cell didn't produce any tornadoes. Not everyone was that lucky. There were reports of a F2 and some other possible tornado or straightline wind damage in the area.
The warnings expired at 3:15, but I knew there would be no sleep for me. Nothing would calm me down enough.
I worried about my friends in Edgewood and Anderson (where they saw rotation). I hoped no one had to live our nightmare and lose a loved one. I sometimes wonder if I will eventually out grow this fear. Maybe someday the nightmares will stop. I won't have the flashbacks with every flash of lighting. It isn't as extreme as it used to be, so maybe it will just keep getting better.
Now thunderstorms only bring me dread.
The sound of rain on my window reminds me of sitting in the totaled rental car.
The thunder causes anxiety.
I'm pretty sure you don't want to know what I see in lighting flashes.
I probably should never drive in a thunderstorm either, but I can't let my fears run my life so I suck it up and deal.
Last night though, my laundry could wait and I decided to stay home. The storms kept getting worse, and I was getting more anxious. I knew I wouldn't sleep through the night, but I had to at least try. I crawled into bed around 1:00. Finally, around 2:00 I just started to drift to sleep. That is when I heard the sirens for Hamilton county. I live just over the county line so it was hard to hear over the storm. I grabbed my phonw to see what was going on (went to Twitter). I immediately saw tweets from WTHR and Paul Poteet (a meterologist) about the storms. Then the one for Marion county went off. There is a "speaker" literally in my complex so that one was impossible to miss.
Now the way they do things here is a little different than I am used to. In Ohio, if the tornado siren goes off that is your first and last warning to take cover. In Indiana, they apparently sound the alarm first to warn us of the severe thunderstorm warnings, and then they will sound them again if another warning is issued.
Knowing this I make my way to the living room and turn on the TV. The sirens had woken up some of my friends and we start talking on Facebook as we watch the weather. A tornado warning was eventually called for Marion county and the possible track of the worst of it did come through my neighborhood, but the storm had weakened enough that the cell didn't produce any tornadoes. Not everyone was that lucky. There were reports of a F2 and some other possible tornado or straightline wind damage in the area.
The warnings expired at 3:15, but I knew there would be no sleep for me. Nothing would calm me down enough.
I worried about my friends in Edgewood and Anderson (where they saw rotation). I hoped no one had to live our nightmare and lose a loved one. I sometimes wonder if I will eventually out grow this fear. Maybe someday the nightmares will stop. I won't have the flashbacks with every flash of lighting. It isn't as extreme as it used to be, so maybe it will just keep getting better.
Comments