Saturday, June 27, 2009

Summer Storm


Warm front + cold front = storm front. This equation was spectacularly obvious last night as we watched a massive storm front bear down on our town. We are somewhat used to emergency alerts in our part of the country - blizzards, floods, damaging winds, and tornadoes. First the national weather service alert shows up on TV, then we check the radar map online, sometimes the sirens go off, and then most of the time the worst part of the weather goes to the north or south of us. Not this time.


We had a great view from the edge of the field behind our house, watching it blow our way as the tornado sirens went off all around town. We saw what looked like the start of a few funnel clouds and felt the temperature drop 25 degrees or so as the storm reached us. With the kids safely inside with Bill, Rob and I watched the sky from the front porch. I have never seen anything like that - the entire sky above us was filled with dark clouds rotating above our town. It was such a slow-moving front that it provided many hours of excitement for us. We were very grateful for modern technology so that we weren't huddled in the basement, worried sick the whole time. Fortunately, although there were four confirmed funnel clouds, no damages or injuries were reported.


Haley was fine watching the storm approach until the sirens went off - they are pretty unnerving.

The closest we saw to a funnel cloud forming.

Yeah, that's a pretty massive front.

Looking north across the field behind the house.

Bill and the kids chillin' and watching Food Network while the storm raged outside.