Close Call

This past weekend we were at my in-laws in Aplington, Iowa. Many of you have seen Parkersburg, Iowa, on the news in the last few days because of the massive F5 tornado that hit there on Sunday night. Parkersburg is just 5 miles east of Aplington. That is just awfully darn close if you ask me.

There are two types of people when it comes to tornadic weather. Those who go to the basement, and those who go outside to look around. I happen to be the type who goes to the basement. I think that goes back to the 1975 tornado that devastated Omaha when I was ten years old. That storm came scarily close to my dad's office AND to our house. I can remember listening to the radio as they shouted the path of it. If you look at this map you can see how close it was. My family lived in the area north of Maple street, east of 90th and west of 72nd towards the top of the map. I remember the torrential rain, the huge hail, and the greenish-brown color of the sky. So to me tornado warning equals go to the basement.

So, this past Sunday, when a tornado warning was issued for Butler County, the girls and I and Jon's sister and dad all went to the basement. Jon went outside to look around. His mom was at the computer checking e-mail and looking something (non-tornado related) up on the internet. Now Jon knows my feelings on this. He just can't help it. He feels that looking for it and knowing where it might be is more important than being in the basement. I can somewhat understand this, especially in a rural area. I mean, the t.v. stations there are located at least 30 miles away. What do they know about what's going on out in the boonies? In Omaha (now), there are people all over reporting things and the tv station radar is so precise that they can tell you the actual intersections where there are 'suspicious' cloud formations.

Jon actually saw the beginning formation of the Parkersburg tornado. Only he didn't realize it at the time. He came inside and said 'I definitely see some swirling clouds, but they are pretty far apart. They are going in opposite directions and they are north and east of here. We found out later that the tornado was a mile wide. Anyway, Jon realized these clouds were unusual, so he decided to come to the basement. On his way, he said to his Mom, 'I see swirling clouds. They don't look right. I'm going to the basement.' His Mom, sitting at the computer, said 'Oh, there's no tornado.'

THIS IS THE KIND OF THING THAT MAKES ME ABSOLUTELY INSANE!!!!!!!!

The tornado that hit Parkersburg was a mile wide. It killed 5 people in that town and 2 more in the neighboring town to the east. It demolished the Kwik Star gas station where my in-laws get their gas. It demolished their grocery store. Over half of the town is destroyed, including the high school. Jon's sister went to the middle school on Monday to volunteer. She went around collecting clothes and toiletry items that day. It is going to take a long, long time for that town to recover. I can guarantee that whenever they hear tornado sirens again, they will be in the basement. As for my mother-in-law...