I'm not kidding. Tornadoes literally induce a state of panic in me. I couldn't sit through the movie "Twister" when it was in theaters, I refused to ride the "Twister" ride at Universal Studios. I have recurring tornado dreams, usually where I'm running from one, especially if I'm going through something particularly stressful or worrisome. Every time there's a thunderstorm or weird weather I start checking the updates every five minutes or so... just in case.
Last year I heard of WRAL's weather alert phone call program. For $8 a year you can sign up to receive a phone call in the event you're in the direct path of a tornado. Naturally I jumped at this opportunity knowing I would most likely never receive a phone call.
"Never" came early Tuesday morning. At 6:45 a.m. the phone rang, I answered and was greeted by a recording of our local meteorologist's pleasant voice saying "Take cover immediately". A wave of sheer horror washed over me and as I ran towards Natalie's room I felt as if I was in a dream. You know the ones where your legs just won't move? It felt like it took me an hour to reach her.
We ran downstairs and she watched patiently as I quickly emptied our utility closet, I shoved her in and I shut the door. We got the "all clear" a short ten minutes later and fortunately there was no damage anywhere near us. My poor Granddad was without power for several hours, though.
The tornado touched down at 6:44 a.m. I am immensely thankful that WRAL got the warning out to me in under one minute. We were very lucky and I can't stop thinking about how $8 could have saved our lives.
Apparently I did a really good job of hiding my fears, Natalie thought our morning camp out in the closet was a blast and wouldn't come out after!
Wow - fantastic post. Not fantastic that you had to worry about a tornado hitting, though. So... where WAS the tornado? I didn't hear about one close by. I think I might just have to sign up for that same service. Thanks for telling me about it the other day!
ReplyDelete