For those reading this that don't know about Texas weather, we get some pretty big storms every Spring. There is at least one big hail storm every year, and you just pray your car is in the garage when it happens! We are also prone to tornadoes. I remember hiding under a mattress in the hall at the home where I grew up on multiple occasions. In elementary school we even had "duck and cover" drills, similar to those the baby boomers may remember for air raids!It has been a long time since I have had to "take cover" due to a storm. This morning at 3:45 though, I woke up and had a knot in my stomach the second I heard the winds. It was so scary! Then I turned on the radio and the first thing I heard was "Tornado forming in Farmers' Branch. Take cover immediately." Farmer's Branch is 3 miles east of our house! I immediately bolted upstairs.
Poor little Katelynn; she had no clue what happened. This was no gentle awakening, just mommy scooping her up and running down the stairs very quickly! We hung out in the master bedroom closet for 20 minutes and then it was all over. It is under the stairs so it is the best spot in the house. I bet most people who live in Texas know the "best spot" to hide during a storm.
Katelynn cried and was very confused about being in the closet. After a diaper change, a glass of warm milk, and some snuggling she finally returned to her slumber in her crib.
Well, this was definitely a serious storm. The power will be out at our workplace the entire day so Gene is working at home. Tons of the high tension power lines went down, and the news is showing lots of big trees on cars and houses. Our neighborhood was spared but just barely! Gene saw big chainsawed tree limbs just a couple of miles south of our home.
I hope there are no more duck and cover events in the middle of the night for a LONG time!
I’m glad you guys were untouched. Even with the damage that did occur, it looks as if everyone was pretty lucky (a few windows and roofs gone – but no injuries or deaths). The damage near us was a bit worse – lots of trees down . . . Tony will be very busy for the next month or so. His schedule is already full for the next week!
ReplyDeleteWow! I don't miss those storms. Everytime a big storm comes through here I' wake up and listen for the sound of trains. It is a hard habit to get past. Florida gets quite a few lightning storms but usually tornados are only a problem during hurricane season (my other source of anxiety!)
ReplyDeleteSo glad you were safe!
Yeah, I have never been so terrified in my life as that night! I turned on the TV when I heard the sirens at 3:45 a.m. and saw this huge wall of RED on the radar coming at us. We all huddled in the bathroom for a while. Our power went off and was off most of the next day.
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