We've been here close to a month now and I bet we haven't had more than four days without incredible lightning storms and not many more than that without at least a little rain. There have been a few big storms here and there, but nothing too remarkable. Tonight was a different story.
The lightning was doing it's thing off north and east of us. Nothing unusual there. I was watching a little TV when all of a sudden the Emergency Broadcast System broke in. The familiar yet spooky tones, like some possessed old school modem, filled the room and I immediately focussed. Sure enough, severe thunder storms were raging all around Denver, complete with potential tornados.
The heart of it all seemed to be just north and west of the city and it was moving south-east at about 20-mph. I listened intently as potentially endangered cities were listed off one by one. Fort Collins, Boulder....ya ya...Golden, Morrison...closer...Denver....uh huh....Littleton and Englewood. Littleton and Englewood. That's about 20 minutes north of me. OK. The recording went on to say that the storm was heading southeast. Getting out my maps, weather Web sites and all that, it looked like the brunt of the storm would pass well north of us. Ali and I watched the distant show from the upstairs guestroom and then she headed to bed.
About 15 minutes later, the thunder crashed and lightning lit up the sky and the sound of the rain pounding the windows was deafening. I ran down to the basement to grab more power-failure supplies and when I got back up Alison met me at the top of the stairs. We headed back to the guestroom to wait it out.
We sat in awe of the power and majesty of nature, and in quiet fear of the unpredictability of it all. She talked about her experiences growing up in the Chicago area, where she had been through her share of tornado warnings and worse. We talked about what we could do to be more prepared and we both wondered if we could get the basement finished just enough to have a good, solid saferoom down there. The rain subsided and a sense of calm set in. Then that blasted Emergency Broadcast System alert started blaring again!
We ran out to the stair rail and listened intently to what was just a Colorado Rockies replay (We Won!). Now it was a tornado warning for ... Perry Park and Larkspur? Both of these towns are not north and east of us, but about 10 miles directly south of us! As far as I can tell, the tornado that the Denver Metro area was warned of and that was supposed to travel well north and east of us, was now directly below us, which means that the tornado-strength storm was most likely what we just watched - and felt - go over our house. That's a bit scary.
But, it was gone now. Ali headed to her office to check a few weather sites and I went to mine to catch up with my brother on the chat. Then Ali pasted me this quote which she got from wunderground.com:
At 1139 PM MDT... trained weather spotters reported a tornado. This
storm was located near Perry Park... or 30 miles north of Colorado Springs. This storm was moving southeast at 20 mph.
I wonder if it was really moving southeast this time. Springs better keep an eye out.
Ali headed to bed, again, and Andrew asked me if I had my weather radio dialed in. "What weather radio?" I asked. "Don't you have some mediocre one in your emergency kit?" he said.
"Oh, that one. Oh ya." So, just in the nick of time (LOL), I dug it out of a box and turned it on. Channel 3 came in clear and told me all sorts of things that would have been nice to hear about 30 minutes ago. Oh well. I guess there are much worse ways to be reminded of the need to keep your tools and supplies handy. I think I will sign off for now and start shopping around for another radio or two.
Don't forget the batteries.
RAIN? What is this thing "rain"? Storms? Lightning? No such thing out here in Southern California.
ReplyDeleteDan... I've gotta ask what YOU think of this kind of weather (heat,humidity, lighting and possible twisters)? Ali has already seen this kind of thing. You, on the other hand, have maybe seen a bit of heavy rain on occasion!
ReplyDeleteBTW... we're looking at some hot weather in Ventura today, 70, maybe 72!!! Excuse me, while I close the window. Getting a tad cool!
I LOVE this weather. I have always loved weather that's a verb. I spent a decent amount of time in Portland, Oregon, so I have seen a fair share of rainfall, and on a much more constant basis. Here the rain comes and goes. The real heavy stuff might last a few minutes to a half hour. The light stuff, a few minutes to on and off for a day. Most of the time, the sun is still out, so it can get a little humid, but it still doesn't feel as humid to me as Orange did.
ReplyDeleteStuff dries very quickly here. Not only outside, but inside too. From water on the shower door to pots and pans, by the time you get the towel on it most of it is already dry. Because of this, there are far fewer water spots everywhere, which is also kinda cool.
As far as the more dangerous weather is concerned, it doesn't bother me. Again, I like it when the sky talks back. I don't want to have any tornados fly through town, but we are about as safe and secure as can be where we are, and I am fairly prepared when it comes to this stuff, so I don't worry and it doesn't bother me. Having a relatively new home (only 3 years old) that was built to withstand as well as anything around here provides a sense of peace also.
It's been in the 70's and 80' and occasionally in the 90's for brief spells, but again, it just doesn't feel that hot. AND, it's July. It should be hot during part of the year. : ) So, ya, I am actually very comfortable here. The marine layer on the coast really made me uncomfortable. When it's humid here, it's because it is raining, so at least it's a bit more entertaining than haze and fog. I do need a small fan for my side of the bed, as my pillows always seem so warm, but that's a small complaint.
Oh yeah, storm sirens. I remember those from Illinois. Sounds pretty scary. I don't really miss those storms.
ReplyDeleteInterestingly enough, we don't have any storm sirens in our area. Most of the ones that are left are remnants of past technology, and so forth. Given the cost of outfitting a town with new sirens, as well as the upkeep, it is not very cost effective, especially since they primarily only warn people who are outdoors, or sitting quietly inside (unless you put sirens on every block, which is even more cost prohibitive). Every house should have at least one or two good weather alert radios/stations set up. I have one and have another one being delivered tomorrow, so I am confident and comfortable now.
ReplyDeleteThere are also services such as Weather Call which you can sign up for. It costs about $10 a year and they will call and text about three numbers whenever their is trouble in the area you have signed up to monitor. I am thinking about paying $20 and getting monitoring in both the Denver area as well as Douglas County (our home county). I don't want to be out in the city one night and have a storm sneak up on me while I am trying to drive home.