Yesterday, we moved north to Athens, AL to visit with family. We are in a campground along I-65 that is designed for overnighters. It is in an open field and has no facilities except WI-FI. It still meets our needs, as we are not planning on spending any amount of time here.
After setting up we enjoyed some quite time and explored the area with Halley. It was a very pleasant evening and we spent the last hours of daylight sitting outside with some star gazing. Just before calling it a day, we turned on the TV and found most channels talking about the approaching severe weather?? After checking outside and still finding a nice evening, back to the TV. Indeed, it appeared that an intense front was coming fast and was already wreaking havoc to the west. To quote General Anthony Clement -NUTS!
Did I mention no facilities? First severe thunderstorm warnings were posted and then tornado warnings, with Athens being mentioned prominently. There was no building that even an optimist would consider useful. Checking the web, we found that there were no public shelters within the whole county. NUTS, again. Why did we leave the great Florida weather??
Then just when my long ago weather forecasting training suggested that the storm was weakening and we could finally turn in around 0100, the TV aces reported that a tornado was on the ground due west of Athens and was headed due east at a high rate of speed. I used several words, none of them was nuts. Trapped like rats.
Then the thing in life I always look forward to the most, dumb luck, kicked in and the front slowed and lost power only a mile or so from us and the tornado dropped a couple of miles south and hit another area. Luckily no injuries were reported.
In this case, I would rather be lucky than good.
15 comments:
Now that is what I would call a very close call. Must have been a sinking helpless feeling knowing you were so vulnerable with a tornado bearing down on you & no place to go.
So glad you stayed safe in AL - dangerous place to be lately. Yes, why did you leave the great Florida weather.
The weather has certainly been challenging this spring!
Yikes! I'm from the south and really don't like being back home this time of year!
Oh how we can relate...this has not been the best year for us weather-wise. Even though we have been really lucky when it comes to those horrendous weather patterns, we still find ourselves under severe warnings, both storms and tornadoes.
The worse is when you think it is over and then one sneaks up on you at 2am...
We were hoping May would be better than April, but now we just hope June is better than either April or May!
Have a great Memorial Weekend!
So glad your dumb luck held out for you! How scary!
OMG. I hope everyone is okay. Might I humbly suggest getting out of the middle part of the county.
Much too close for comfort.
Pretty scary experience for sure. Glad you're safe and unharmed except for a few shattered nerves perhaps!
Exactly why I carry extra undies, sometimes life throws real curveballs at you. Glad you picked a campground built in between the tornados.
I see you're a student of the Battle of the Bulge, too.
Thanks for the info on the 3M spray, I'm going to get some, always looking for a better mousetrap! ;c)
That's why we like Arizona! Typically all we get is heat, and the annual monsoon season. Although last year we a serious wind day that tore down some trees and cactus in our park. In about a minute and a half.
By the way, dumb luck can also be considered guardian angels, if you so believe.
We are so glad that you are safe and sound. What a horrible feeling it is to be so vulnerable. This spring has made us all very aware of the dangers of these storms.
Glad you are safe. The weather this month has been really crazy. I was fortunate enough to be a day or so ahead of the really bad stuff all the way across the country. No great planning of mine though, just luck.
so glad you are safe!..and lucky is a good thing!!
Glad you made it through the storm without injury or damage. This spring has certainly been one for the record books. Stay safe.
Post a Comment