Posted By FarmerJ on June 19, 2009

Literally.  Wednesday, 17 July we were witness to an amazing light show put on by Mother Nature.  We had plenty of time to make the popcorn and order front row seats, as NOAA’s National Weather Service issed a tornado watch as early as 12:45 p.m.

It was also the first time Darling Husbie and I recalled seeing ‘tornadoes’ in the actual forecast.  Most of the time it calls for ‘large hail and damaging winds,’ and on days like this you just know there is a high potential for tornadoes to form.  Not on this day.  No, on Wednesday it said, ‘large hail and tornadoes.’  Great.  Well, at least I had time to get my grocery shopping done, and while I was at it, pick up a few comfort items to enjoy while in the cool, dark storm shelter.

Just before 7:00 p.m., the action began.  The NEXRAD Radar on the computer monitor was turning all sorts of shades of red and purple; the NWS Broadcast radio was screeching; the regularly scheduled programs on TV were being interrupted with emergency weather alerts; and, my cell phone inbox was being loaded with text messages.  It was time to sit up and take notice ~ and it was time for Husbie to turn off the tiller and get out of the garden!

The storms that roll across the prairie land are phenomenal.  They are huge.  They are beautifully spectacular and downright ugly at the same time.  If you could sit and count lightening strikes, you’d quickly lose count in the thousands.  And the thunder that results?  Knock you off your feet type of thunder.

Being out in the country, we don’t have the benefit of the blaring sirens to tell us when funnel clouds are spotted and it’s time to take serious shelter.  Now, although I’m not as paranoid about tornadoes as I was last summer ~  having one season under my belt and all [ha!] ~ I still get nervous.  We’ve got some dear friends who know that about me and tend to look out for me.  One is actually a trained storm spotter, and the other is just completely sympathetic and a true gem to let me know when the sirens go off in town.

So, 40 minutes later, the NEXRAD Radar on the computer monitor is showing purple Vortex triangles; the NWS Broadcast radio is broadcasting tornado warnings; the regularly scheduled programs have been completely replaced with live meteorologist reports; and my cell phone inbox is chiming with photos and voice messages~ all with confirmations of multiple tornado sightings.  Great.

There was a lot of action over the next hour.  Several funnels dropped from this extremely unstable system, but thankfully most of them dissipated rather quickly.  Nonetheless, two tornadoes touched down near the Gibbon area and, as the system moved east, one touched down in the Grand Island area.  The sky had turned a sickly green.  The severity of the system was just to the south of us, but with the OSB Palace being what it is, I was a little concerned about the straight line winds coming out of the super cell.

With reports of softball size hail headed our way, and the faint sound of the sirens wailing in Grand Island being carried by the wind, Husbie agreed to put my nerves at ease by dashing to the shelter.  With unhappy cat in carrier in one hand and our Family Battle (Book) Bag in the other, with Toy Fox Terrorist in Husbie’s arms, and Beagle Mutt on her own, we dodged the frozen rain drops and lightening strikes and dove in.  There is just something so cozy and comforting about that cool, dark, damp-feeling cement cage buried in the dirt.  You think?!

We climbed out once the majority of the ruckus had subsided and once again stood in awe as we gazed at the clouds in this system.  Husbie captured some of it with the camera, but the photos just don’t do justice to the massiveness of this thing.

This is the first photo Husbie took looking to the east southeast.  It’s the back side of the storm that had just passed over us.  We saw that there wasn’t one particular area, but rather the entire system was rotating.

It remained extremely unstable and constantly changed in appearance as it moved off to the east.

We continued watching as every ‘loose’ cloud in the vacinity got pulled into the rotation.  The system became more severe as it moved away from us.  An EF-2 tornado (111 – 135 mph) touched down approximately 10 miles southeast (as the crow flies) of us near the community of Aurora.  One farmstead was severely damaged, railroad cars were derailed, the Iams processing plant received damage and lots of power lines were downed.

After we finished gazing to the southeast, we turned around to find this big beautiful marvel looming overhead to the northwest.  It’s just part of the ‘tail end’ of the tail of the storm above.

The sun was setting, ~ as it was now approaching 10:00 p.m. ~ the birds were singing and the frogs were croaking.  It was finally time to go inside to make dinner.

…a somewhat typical night at the farmstead during this time of year.

Categories: Plainly Ponderings
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