Severe Weather... (added photos)

[chinohillsbecki]

Yesterday was the most nerve-wracking day of my entire life ~ worse even than my wedding day!

At the end of January I helped my mother move from Southern California (where's she's lived her whole life) to Hiawatha, KS ~ 74mi NW of Kansas City, 60mi N of Topeka, 45mi W of St. Joseph, MO. That part of the country was experiencing their worst winter in 20 years at the time ~ heavy snow, long ice storms, downed tree limbs & power lines, etc ~ and we've had to fix the roof and the power lines because of damage that was done last winter.

Now her little, tiny corner of NE Kansas has experienced a severe storm system such as they have not seen since "June 8, 1974, when 39 tornadoes raked the southern Plains and killed 22 people" and the "National Weather Service on Tuesday took the unusual step of giving advance warning of a possible tornado outbreak based on the conditions." ~ WIBW (CBS-13). Thankfully the closest tornado was about 10 miles away in Morrill ~ there were 2 "brief touchdowns", right in a row about 2 minutes apart, but no damage or injuries that I've heard about from that episode. Being used to California weather ~ or our astonishing lack therof, as I've just learned ~ my mother and I spent a gruelling 4 hours yesterday afternoon (from 2pm until 6pm PDT), separated by 2000 miles of phone line! Even though I couldn't do anything about the weather, or it's impact on her, I was able to be there with her ~ if not in person, then at least in voice and definitely in spirit!

Local newscasts everywhere are notoriously short of information from any place that is outside their own viewing area, and here in Southern California it is no different ~ I learned absolutely nothing except that "severe weather" was impacting the midwest, from South Dakota down through Texas! Thankfully there is the internet, where I found informative websites such as The Weather Channel and the National Weather Service and the Weather page for Topeka TV station WIBW! I knew pretty much when the storm would hit her, how bad it could get and how long it was supposed to last ~ all in real-time! Yesterday, I learned more about Doppler Radar with it's red & green & white & yellow reflection colors ~ red is moving towards the radar, green is moving away from the radar, it's never good when green develops inside the red, or is encircled by it; white indicates hail when it is found inside red, yellow or green. WHEW!

We knew that tornadoes were a possibility when we moved her to KS, but I never thought about it much! In fact, I've never thought much about any weather at all. I usually just take it for granted, until I hear that a tornado in Oklahoma killed 3 people (or some other such tragedy) ~ then I usually pause for about a second in my hectic life to thank God that I don't know anyone who is anywhere near where that storm hit. Now I know better ~ it can develop suddenly, it can change from minute to minute as it goes along, and it can destroy!

Now my thinking about weather in general (and severe weather in particular) has changed, and I hope that I never again take for granted the serene lack of weather that we have here in Southern California! I'm sure that (with family and in-laws in Kansas, Nebraska & Iowa) I'll have to deal with more days like yesterday, but let's hope that they are few & far between!

Pictures are so sterile, and they don't do the situation any justice, but here's some pics I found of the storms yesterday; viewers posted them on the WIBW website:
Clouds gather over Hiawatha, KS (where my mom lives) on Thursday 06/05/08 

06/05/08: Storms hit Hiawath, KS with a vengeance ~ thankfully there was no tornado!

    06/05/08: Rain approaches the town of Marysville (about 50mi West of Hiawatha)

    Lightning strikes in Topeka just after sundown on Thursday 06/05/08