Monday, May 18, 2009

The Tornado

If you have watched the national news or weather channel lately you have surely heard about the tornado that we had in Northeast Missouri last Wednesday. All day they had been calling for a good chance of severe storms. Luke was over by Milan (west of here) for work and I was at home. The weather radio was going off like crazy telling me that there was a tornado watch (which means a tornado is likely). Then on the news they were talking about the tornado touching down in Novinger, MO which is west of here about 40 miles. They were showing the path that it was taking right towards Kirksville and then to Edina. Our house is right in between those two towns. Next thing you know were in a tornado warning (which means theres a tornado coming for you).

About then, the radio went out so I knew Kirksville had gotten hit. I was on the phone with Luke (who was basically following the tornado towards our house) when I was looking out the kitchen window and saw a cloud come up over the trees and as it was moving upward it was also rotating. Now, I've never seen a tornado but several of our neighbors also saw this and said it was one! That's when I headed for the basement with a blanket, flashlight & Kelly. I had just gotten down the stairs when the wind & rain hit and the power cut out.

Let's just say it was REALLY scary and I don't ever want to be that close to a tornado again! I finally heard the storm let up and felt like it was safe to go upstairs. Luckily the twister stayed just North of our house and we had very little damage. However, others were not nearly so lucky. We spent all the next day helping in Kirksville, where some of our friends got hit really hard. I only took a few pictures because it was such a sobering and sad sight. It was not something that I ever could of imagined if I hadn't seen the destruction first hand. So sad.

Here's where we helped with the cleanup. These people lost every barn, shop, vehicle, piece of machinery, etc. that they owned, including most of their house, but they were all okay.

Here is where one of their pickups got hit with a chunk of wood so hard that it dented in the door and you can't pull it out:
In the corner of this picture you can see their feed truck on it's side. All the fences were completely striped of all wires and most of the posts were just flattened over.
This is where their neighbor's house used to be. Yeah, I know you can't really tell where. It's such a mess.


One of the most grusome things was hearing about what had happened to the cattle in the area that had debri thrown through them or had been thrown into trees, etc. There were also lots of dead birds & squirrels around. We were so incredibly lucky that this was not us and we are trying to do whatever we can to help out with the cleanup and rebuilding process. Pretty scary stuff.

2 comments:

Cathy said...

I lived in "tornado alley" for the first 25 years of my life and can honestly say I've never seen a tornado. The damage is mesmerizing to me though. I cannot imagine how steel can be wrapped around and dangling from trees as if it were a Christmas ornament or how houses can be picked up and sat down just yards away. Crazy! I'm glad you all and your house is safe.

Bethany said...

About 15 years ago there was a tornado that hit west of Kahoka. I have a picture of a sparrow that had it's beak driven through a fiberglass planter box. Tornadoes are scary, yet amazing. I have never seen one firsthand and hope I never do. Glad you guys are ok.