Yesterday afternoon we experienced a first: the Emergency Broadcast Service activated (for real, it was not a test) and announced a tornado warning. Here in central PA?! We were each doing our own thing: Jonah napping, Noah playing with Legos, James watching a Bruce Willis movie, and I was reading, when suddenly the tv switched over to an emergency broadcast announcement, aparantly directly from the National Weather Service, and "Tornado Warning" was flashing at the bottom the screen. (Whoa!) There were thunderstorm warnings most of the afternoon, and we did get three minutes of rain, but the sun was soon shining again in our area. The map showed a strong storm system moving southeast of us, about 20 to 25 miles away. For nearly an hour all the local networks showed their dopler maps (one had a "Super Dopler") and we were glued to the TV. At one point James wondered if we should take some water and blankets down to the basement...
Earthquakes never really bothered me but a tornado?! Oh man. Thankfully, we have a basement. I honestly don't think it's anything to worry about. Last week I happened to be flipping through the beginning section of the phone book -- that and reading Almanacs, is something I have enjoyed doing since I was a kid -- and there was a "new" section for me: what to do in an emergency...as in nuclear emergency!!! (Oh boy!) I knew Three Mile Island was nearby, and thankfully from looking at the map, it's more than 10 miles away; the 10-mile radius was outlined on the map and where we live is about five miles beyond, still I read about the evacuation route (go west!) and made a mental note. You just never know.
Wow, this is kind of like home: earthquakes and San Onofre is what I grew up with, and now I get thunderstorms, possible tornadoes, and Three Mile Island. I'm personally more concerned about driving in the snow this winter, even though I now have a 4-wheel drive vehicle, what will it be like? But I'm such a slow driver to begin with...
Here's the first of hopefully many photos:
Our home is the yellow townhouse and here's the lovely minivan -- (tell Mom it was just a rental.)
2 comments:
Ah Hannah!
Welcome to the East Coast where weather happens. Pay attention to those tornado warnings and don't be surprised if you get tropical storms in your neck of the woods too.
I'd stock the basement with water and survival stuff just in case and don't believe the old wives tale about opening up windows to balance out the pressure in houses with the tornadoes.
forget the basement. hug a tree!
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