Most nights sleep doesn't come easy. My mind races about you name it. The past, the future, the present. Tomorrow, what I should've said 15 years ago and what I need to do 15 year from now. As a result, I try to turn off my phone at bedtime and I have disabled emergency and amber alerts.
As I dozed off this night I was thinking about events that took place earlier that day and drifted off, happy. Imagine my frustration when Naysia busted in my room after 11pm. Half asleep and disoriented I think I hear something about a tornado. Confused, I ask her to tell me again. She then asks, with urgency, "Didn't you hear the alert on your phone??!!" Shoving her phone in my face I read the following:
Thru the blackout curtains in my bedroom I could barely see the lightning flashes, but the thunder was getting increasingly louder. I told Naysia all sorts of tales, "San Antonio doesn't have tornadoes. I'll listen out to see if it gets worse. It's just a really bad storm with all the ingredients of a tornado. We're going to be fine." She got in bed. And within minutes the lightning strikes were back to back, the wind began to howl and the thunder caused the wooden bed frame to rattle!
Coming from Arizona, inclement weather rarely happens. We enjoyed sunshine 382 days a year with an occasional microburst, severe monsoon storm or haboob. My only tornado knowledge came from the movie 'Twister', but I couldn't remember what we're supposed to do to survive. The first thing Google said was, don't listen out to see if the storm will worsen. oops. Next tips were to move to the ground level, center of the house, smallest space possible, and away from windows.
We grabbed some pillows and blankets and headed to my bathroom. Us two, squeezed into the tub. With the door closed, it was hard to hear the storm but we could feel the thunderous vibrations. About 15 minutes later we emerged. It had quieted down considerably. We were safe, back to bed, and I was convinced it was just a severe thunderstorm. Until the next morning.
We grabbed some pillows and blankets and headed to my bathroom. Us two, squeezed into the tub. With the door closed, it was hard to hear the storm but we could feel the thunderous vibrations. About 15 minutes later we emerged. It had quieted down considerably. We were safe, back to bed, and I was convinced it was just a severe thunderstorm. Until the next morning.
Turns out that not one or two but 6 tornadoes touched down between SA and Austin! As I drove to work the next morning, the damage caused was breath taking. Turns out the nearest tornado was only about 5 miles from home.
Thankfully, the damage was minor in comparison and thank God there were no deaths.
Dear Lord, let's please not do that again.
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