We're Not in Kansas Anymore

I hate Florida for three reaons: 1. They have tornadoes 2. They have no basements 3. They don't believe in sirens. It is unconscionable that they have no warning system or shelter in place for their residents.

I woke up last night around 3:30 when Dominic woke up for a feeding. I brought him in to the bedroom and was feeding him when something about the weather made me uneasy. They had talked about the possiblity of tornadoes overnight, but we had gone to bed without a tornado watch being issued for our county. I was awake anyway, so I turned on the TV. I probably should've continued to sleep in ignorance.

Just west of us, 10 minutes away, was the hook echo on the radar. The meteorologist was hyperventilating talking about 100+ mile an hour winds. I tried to focus on what they were saying and realized it was the weather guy and not me that wasn't making any sense. I changed the channel and found out that a tornado warning had just been issued for our county. They then said the part of the storm with rotation was 10 minutes away from I-4 and US 44. That's like saying 13th and West Street. I woke up Brian and we both stared at the TV. What could we do?

Brian got the flashlight and we put on some shoes. The only place that made sense was the bathroom because we had heard something some time about the bathtub. It didn't really provide any comfort. We got in the tub with Dominic and Brian jokingly closed the curtains. Dominic tried to pull them down and Brian laughed. He said, "Dominic that's the only thing standing between us and the land of Oz."

We said a prayer and waited. I heard what sounded like a high pitch whistle and looked at Brian. He said it was the wind. :) It then got very very quiet. Not a drop of rain, no hail, nothing. And then the power went out. I'm sure it was only 30 seconds, but we sat there holding our breath. Brian turned on the flashlight, and a few seconds later the power came back on.

We looked at the time and it had been about 10 minutes since we got in the bathtub. Brian got out of the tub and turned the TV back on and saw that the storm had fallen apart, and moved on. While we were looking at the TV, Arthur came creeping out from under the bed. Something had spooked him enough to get under there. He was out running around with us before we went in the bathroom, and apparently dodged under there when we heard the whistle. We all managed to fall back asleep having dodged the bullet.

It was in the morning that we saw the damage all around us, the worst of it just a few blocks from our home. I find it ironic that my most intense tornado experience came not in Kansas, but in Florida. I think I want my ruby slippers.