Tornado 4-14-2012

I just want everyone in the blog world to know that my family is safe after the tornado that hit our town last night around 7:00 p.m.

We were warned a few days before that severe weather and tornadoes were a serious risk to our area. I used the day to prepare our home and pack tornado bags just in case we had to go to the basement. By the time 7:00 rolled around, our power went out.

As soon as the power went out, hail, rain, and wind started pouring (and I mean POURING) down. The color outside was a scary shade of green/grey and then the wind got really, really terrible. I looked at Charles and said, "I think we need to get to the basement NOW!" He looked at me and said, "I think you're right."  I grabbed Vivian (who was napping at the time) and looked outside when everything stopped. Charles and I just looked at each other. We didn't know what was going on.

We got our storm radio wound up and found a radio station that said that our county was in a Tornado Warning... but it only had 2 more minutes until it was over. I said, "Do you think that was  a tornado or a micro-burst?!" We weren't sure.

We didn't have power or phones until about 9:30 last night and I updated my Facebook to let everyone know that we were fine.

We heard a little while later that it was a confirmed tornado that hit under a mile away from our house.

We were all upstairs when it hit. The sirens NEVER went off.

We are extremely lucky.

This morning Charles went outside. He came back in to tell me that the tree in our backyard was knocked over and landed on our neighbor's shed. I got the camera and started snapping photos. Here are the before and after photos of our tree.

Our tree before the tornado

The Tree after it fell over from the winds caused by the tornado.

Our neighbor's shed... or what's left of it...

The inside of our tree was rotten... probably why it knocked over so easily.

The inside of our tree was rotten... probably why it knocked over so easily.

Our Neighbor's shed with the contents in the yard.

I've cried and cried today in gratitude for the preservation of our lives and our home. The damage around town is bad. Our hospital got hit as well as the college, some apartments, homes, and cars. I am not sure about injuries or fatalities, but I'll keep everyone updated on what I find via Facebook. Thank you to everyone who has emailed, Facebook messaged, and called me to check on our family. We have great friends and family.