June 13, 2005
the storm line from Texas to Illinois. We are located in the corner where Missouri and Arkansas meet
The weather has been very interesting, NW Arkansas is below the "Hot/Cold" line that arcs accross the the center of the country, so while we get the thunder storms that occur when the hot moist air from the gulf of Mexico crashes into cold polar air, we dont get the tornados that our nearby neighbors, Oklahoma and Missouri get...
but tonight is different, we are under tornado warning and I had a chance this afternoon to see a funnelcloud that may have been forming...We were out at the new house preparing to get going on our remodeling project when the sunny skies turned black almost at once, Woody busy with contractors, didnt see our neighbor, Lee wave me over across the street where he was standing. Out of the shelter of our home, the churning sky was visibly changing colors, lightning flashing and against the dark grey a white tail like cloud was begining to form... "Hoku! see, there it is that is how it begins..." I asked Lee if we go to "warning" does he go to cover? He answered no,that if there was a sighting in one of the neighboring areas, then he would... but he thought that it was a good idea to round up the cats and put them in the safe room....we have one in the new house... but we have a walk in closet which is where they are now.
The house shakes violently as the lightning strikes, the light flickers... the rain falls...
... while Lee and I stood there under the oaks in the little park this afternoon, rain began to fall then marble sized hail fell. I ran accross the street and hopped into the driver's seat, and pulled my new car into the garage where Woody was talking, to protect it against the hail should it get larger and harder. It stayed a mushy marble size. But this was the pregame show
We all pulled out of the drive way as the lightning was crisscrossing overhead. The three mile drive over hill and dale to the rental was a hair raiser, with constant lightning all around us, and the torential rain that quickly filled culverts and ditches and covered roadways. We hydroplaned into depressions filled with runoff and creeped up hills and around. We thought we had seen it all when the wind picked up and the mushy hail started up again... I thought about the fact that we dont have a garage where we live then put the thought out of my mind of damage to my new car...
The lightning came on and on in a constant beat. We could see it touching down near where we live... As our rental is situated on a golfcourse we wondered if we should even get out of the car once we got home...
Well God called a truce and we had a slight break in the storm and we were able to get out of the car and into the house before the power went off. Both Mak and Nani were cowering in the bedroom they stay in when we are gone...the TV was off from the outage...( WE have been leaving it on when we go away...they like the weather channel all the swirling patterns and fairly calm talking and music that is repetative... Nani will paw the screen to try to get the doppler radar)
now hours later we are off watch and the trough has passed through and we will have clear weather perhaps for a few days even a bit cooler. I am relieved that its over. I know that we will all get used to it, and learn to manage, but for today it was just a little bit loud and scary...
