mellowtigger (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
mellowtigger) wrote2011-05-22 04:46 pm
mellowtigger) wrote2011-05-22 04:46 pm
Entry tags:
tornado
We had a tornado in Minneapolis this afternoon. It came very near to my house. I never did see it, but I heard it and ran indoors to start preparing.
The weather had been semi-stormy for a while today, and the tornado alarms had already gone off once. I was in my bed napping with the kitten, when I finally decided to get up and look outdoors. The continuous thunder is what got my attention and woke me up. I could hear a continuous thunder roll, but I neither saw nor heard lightning bolts to cause the perpetual thunder. As I was searching around for shoes to put on so I could go outside, the city sirens went off again.
I wandered outside and couldn't tell much of what was happening. It had stopped raining, and the wind wasn't bad. Sirens were still blaring, and gentle thunder was still rolling with no obvious source. Clouds were moving mostly northward, which was unusual. Clouds were obviously thicker to the west, so I climbed up on top of my truck to see if I could spot anything.
Not much to see, really. As I stood there on the roof of my truck, though, I noticed something "wrong". When you're looking up into the sky at clouds, it's easy to get confused about which direction they're traveling because different layers move at different speeds, causing an illusion of relative motion. So I looked down between two fixed objects, the houses right across the alley from me. It was very obvious what was wrong. The clouds on the other side of the Mississippi River were moving southward, but the clouds right above me were moving northward.
Oops.
That's when "the sound" started. There's no need to know the specifics of what the sound is. Instinct takes over. It's the same instinct that drives housepets into hiding during thunderstorms. I knew what it was, and that's when I got down from the truck and went indoors. I went back to my bedroom, got the pet carrier ready to stuff the two cats inside. I turned on the television to hear the local news.
The rain and wind hit then, and "the sound" disappeared. I went to the bedroom window to see if I could spot a funnel. I didn't find one, but I did see the rest of the household (2 landlords and 1 renter) driving into the garage.
Heavy rain and wind continued for only 15 minutes or so. The power went out. When the rain stopped and the sunshine appeared briefly, I walked around the street for a bit. I saw a few small tree limbs in different roads, but nothing major. I could hear lots of sirens, mostly in the area that I had been watching earlier.
Electricity came back on quickly, after only 60-90 minutes. I turned on the tv again. The news station was showing from helicopter the obvious tornado trail of destruction through north Minneapolis. I mapped out its path from the image that they showed on local news station KSTP. They said the path was about 3.5 miles long, and it crossed the river before disappearing.
I live at point A on this map, and I work at point B. I usually drive to work along the blue path. I usually drive home along paths that cross the black arrow. I guess I'll see tomorrow if the ride home is open or if I need to take detours.
The weather had been semi-stormy for a while today, and the tornado alarms had already gone off once. I was in my bed napping with the kitten, when I finally decided to get up and look outdoors. The continuous thunder is what got my attention and woke me up. I could hear a continuous thunder roll, but I neither saw nor heard lightning bolts to cause the perpetual thunder. As I was searching around for shoes to put on so I could go outside, the city sirens went off again.
I wandered outside and couldn't tell much of what was happening. It had stopped raining, and the wind wasn't bad. Sirens were still blaring, and gentle thunder was still rolling with no obvious source. Clouds were moving mostly northward, which was unusual. Clouds were obviously thicker to the west, so I climbed up on top of my truck to see if I could spot anything.
Not much to see, really. As I stood there on the roof of my truck, though, I noticed something "wrong". When you're looking up into the sky at clouds, it's easy to get confused about which direction they're traveling because different layers move at different speeds, causing an illusion of relative motion. So I looked down between two fixed objects, the houses right across the alley from me. It was very obvious what was wrong. The clouds on the other side of the Mississippi River were moving southward, but the clouds right above me were moving northward.Oops.
That's when "the sound" started. There's no need to know the specifics of what the sound is. Instinct takes over. It's the same instinct that drives housepets into hiding during thunderstorms. I knew what it was, and that's when I got down from the truck and went indoors. I went back to my bedroom, got the pet carrier ready to stuff the two cats inside. I turned on the television to hear the local news.
The rain and wind hit then, and "the sound" disappeared. I went to the bedroom window to see if I could spot a funnel. I didn't find one, but I did see the rest of the household (2 landlords and 1 renter) driving into the garage.Heavy rain and wind continued for only 15 minutes or so. The power went out. When the rain stopped and the sunshine appeared briefly, I walked around the street for a bit. I saw a few small tree limbs in different roads, but nothing major. I could hear lots of sirens, mostly in the area that I had been watching earlier.Electricity came back on quickly, after only 60-90 minutes. I turned on the tv again. The news station was showing from helicopter the obvious tornado trail of destruction through north Minneapolis. I mapped out its path from the image that they showed on local news station KSTP. They said the path was about 3.5 miles long, and it crossed the river before disappearing.
I live at point A on this map, and I work at point B. I usually drive to work along the blue path. I usually drive home along paths that cross the black arrow. I guess I'll see tomorrow if the ride home is open or if I need to take detours.
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