Just Three Words...

STORM ROLLED IN

Last weekend:

You can see the edge of the squall line (the darkest part of the clouds) just over our neighbors' roofs.

This Weekend:

A piece of our neighbor's fence was torn down by the force of the water this picture was taken after it had receded.

I was that girl that the newscaster warns not to stand outside and attempt to take pictures of the approaching weather front. Last weekend, the south was plagued with severe thunderstorms and tornadic activity (I've picked up the lingo from all the weather reports I've been watching :-P).  We were fortunate to avoid a tornado, but there was no shortage of electricity in the air.  There were nearly a dozen mature trees that were split or blown over in our neighborhood.  I actually did take cover in our guest bathroom when I was told to...Molly, Darla, Emmy and I formed a literal dog pile in the bathtub (the safest place in our home).  Darla and Emmy sat patiently on my lap and a bewildered Molly found her perch on my shoulder.  I laughed to myself as I imagined Nick's reaction if he were to walk in and see us...Shortly thereafter, the worst of the storm blew in with a vengeance.  Strong winds, torrential rain, thunder, lightening and inch-diameter pellets of hail were pelted at our little home.  I could barely hear the news blaring in the other room over the noise from the storm raging outside.  After a quick prayer, the weather seemed to subside a bit without any apparent damage.  Thank the Lord.

Nick and I learned our lesson about the appropriate response to tornado warnings just two weeks after I moved to the south as a married woman.  A massive tornado touched down just a couple of miles from our home in Enterprise, Alabama.  It demolished many buildings, to include a large part of the local high school, and killed 8 people.  Us oblivious Californians were on the couch when the twister touched down, Nick was fast asleep and I was engrossed in a movie.  I happened to notice, out of the large sliding glass door next to which we were absentmindedly seated, that it suddenly became very dark and the rain began falling sideways.  It wasn't until Nick returned to work an hour later (he had been on his lunch break) that we learned of the extensive destruction that the storm had left behind.  Nick and I and our good friends Matt and Marin went out to survey the damage...It was heartbreaking.  After inspecting the destroyed structures, we learned that, should we ever find ourselves in a tornado warning, we must take cover in the bathtub of a windowless bathroom.  More often than not, that was all that was left in place on the foundation of the devastated homes.

As I type this, I am listening to the same news station that has been on air since I awoke this morning.  Last night, it was as if a strobe light was positioned outside my bedroom window and the thunder roared readily behind it.  Not long after Miss Emmy's early morning wake up call did I learn that there was a very decent amount of water accumulation in the drainage ditch alongside of our house.  I had to do a double take to realize the the murky red water had risen to where it was level with the rest of our yard.  I estimate that it was about two and a half feet of water.  A few hours later, it had receded without any damage.  What used to be open fields surrounding our subdivision, now appear to be large ponds.  Thankfully none of the homes are in any danger.  It is a very different story in the Nashville metro area, which has suffered greatly from very severe flooding.  The devastation is widespread...The rain has now passed, but it will take quite some time for countless people to recover from mother nature's fury.