Thursday, June 2, 2011

Storm Winds, Hail, and.......Tornadoes!!!

        Right 'off the bat' let me thank the local 22 News WWLP for the photos I'm going to be sharing with you today of the storm and multiple tornadoes that just popped up out of no where in our area yesterday!! I wasn't thinking about taking pictures at the time, but I'm thankful that other people did. It was a harrowing evening! You can also look at some local video of the event HERE.
      I was oblivious to it all because I was watching the Tennis Channel all day. The Tennis Channel is not a local channel for us. So, I wasn't getting any weather updates in the crawl across the bottom of the screen...which we 'do' on local channels when there's some kind of local news or weather.
     What we 'did' get was a text message from hubby's brother. He was kinda frantic...if you can be frantic in a text message!...because he knew about a tornado touching down in the Springfield area, where their mom lives!! He said he couldn't get a hold of her!
    Hubby called his mom. She answered!...PHEW!...She was fine. She just missed the tornado though! She had been at work and decided to go home...walking! One of the the tornadoes hit on the street she walked home on!! But didn't come on her street!
     We turned the channel to the local news and WOW!!! They had LIVE footage of one of the tornadoes forming! It was swooping up water off of the side of the West Springfield area bridge. It was awe-inspiring to watch on the screen! (They have video of it on the news site I referenced above.)
    Let's just say though, that while it was pretty to look at....it was also scary! And the news people seemed to be as in awe as I was! Apparently no such tornado has touched down in our area since the 1950s sometime!!!  And these were POWERFUL tornadoes!!
       Not to mention that the tornadoes weren't the only thing produced by this storm! It was raining...pouring! The winds were howling. It was thundering and lightening...and HAILING!!!
    And as the storm went on, people were sharing bigger and bigger hailstones!
       Four people, so far, have lost their lives. There's remarkable damage...building roofs ripped off, houses sheered in half, tons of trees thrown everywhere, vehicles destroyed or flipped over...
     ...and people hurt as well. I hear that the local hospitals were packed last night. The governor declared a State of Emergency, and all of the schools are closed today. They're trying to get the roads and things cleared up and assess the complete damage...which they say will take a while. :-( 
       It happened right in the middle of 'rush hour' traffic! Some people were in their cars and had to watch the tornadoes' damage happening right before their eyes, coming from an eery yellow sky! 
 
      Now I know, from personal knowledge, that it's one thing to hear about 'other' people experiencing this kind of thing, versus it happening in 'your own' town and neighborhood! My dad called to tell me about friends and family who were, at the time he called, trying to assess and remove damage from their properties. But no one was physically hurt. I'm thankful for that, because it came REALLY close to where they live. 
    'Good Morning America' just came on and I see that our area made the world news! WOW! I'm gonna go and see if I missed anything....I hope you all have a better day than we did yesterday!!
    The poem I'm sharing again today is from a Tsunami a few years back...I'm feeling the emotions of this again today. :-(

Taken By A Wave

The Tsunami hit the land-
The southern Asian island home,
where vacationers and natives
used to sunbathe and beachcomb.

An earthquake, under water,
made the waves rise up so high
that those walking on the beach
just could not believe their eye.

The waves that always had a limit
as to just how far they'd  go
just kept coming-Farther-Farther,
with a never-ending flow.

People running for their lives;
Some surprised and could not run!
Homes and bodies floating by;
And when it all was said and done,

There were the eyes of the survivors,
The tears for those they could not save;
The parents looking for their children
at the edge of the wave.

The injured and the missing;
The disease and loss of life;
The unclean drinking water
and the anguish and the strife.

And as if all of this pain
wasn't  heartbreaking enough-
There were predators and looters
to steal the rest of their stuff.

But, just as an observer,
seeing images on the news
of the children-Oh, the children!
I know that this will leave a bruise.

A bruise upon their playfulness,
Their sense of safety-free from care;
A bruise upon their trusting nature,
that no longer will be there;

A bruise upon their hopefulness;
A bruise upon their being brave;
A bruise not even time can heal;
It all was taken by a wave.

28 comments:

  1. Hi Debbie,

    What a day yesterday. My husband works at downtown Springfield. He was right in the middle of it. He's fine.
    Never seen anything like this.

    Hope you're good.

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  2. Wow! Great footage here! I'm so happy that you and your family are safe! This has certainly been the year of bad storms! Hmmmmm, I wonder why? *Wink* I hope the robin was able to save her babies too.
    Take care my friend!!!

    ENTER ME!

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  3. Priscila, Oh No!! That's where it really hit the worse! Did his work-place get any damage?!...It was wild how it popped up out of nowhere...a tornado!! Thankfully Holyoke just got the storm part...although the robins would probably argue that that wasn't no picnic either!

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  4. CinLynn, Yeah, I guess people were thinking on their feet, taking the pictures and all. Some of the video, which is already on Youtube, is even more dramatic!!...I'll have photos of the robin adventure tomorrow hopefully. And I hope it's good news. Not like last year! :-( ... And you're entered!

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  5. Wow, Debbie, what photos. I saw it this morning on the news and had to think about you. I am so glad that you and your family are all safe and sound. I can't believe you had tornadoes! And we sit down here in relentless sunshine with no rain in sight. I think I prefer that... Wishing you a peaceful day! Love, Silke

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  6. I was watching our local news tonight and it showed footage of a tornado in Massachusetts. It must have been an awfully scary time for you & your family. I am so glad that everyone is okay.

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  7. Seeing all that devastation is heartbreaking. Glad that you are all OK. Those photos are quite amazing! I'm a new follower. (I've been stalking your comments through Facing 50.)

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  8. Silke, I can't believe we had tornadoes either!...And neither can the weather people here! But today...it's beautiful! O_0 Mind-boggling!...But I'll take it!

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  9. Jo-anne, WOW! It made the news all the way there?! O_0 And yes!! It was very scary...not so much for us particularly, but we knew our family were directly in harm's way. Thankfully we all are okay today..Thank you for your concern.

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  10. Darlene, Well Hello!! :-) And welcome...officially...to the backyard!...And you're so right about the devastation being heart-breaking. Especially because it was so unexpected...out of the clear blue! People around here are still kinda in shock about it all.

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  11. Wow, that's some weather! it is definitely getting worse around the world. The hail is much bigger than we get here in the UK. We have a heatwave at the moment! get the shorts out ;)

    Bee happy x
    Have a delicious day!

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  12. Bee happy, You're so right! It was 'SOMETHING' alright! And, just so you know, that was NOT normal for our area! It was completely ABnormal! We get storms...yeah. But NOTHING like it was around here yesterday!! It was borderline 'BIZARRE'!!...Be thankful for your heatwave I say!! ^_^ Enjoy the rest of the day!

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  13. Glad to hear you are ok, that is a period of really dangerous weather we've been having. Luckily I'm pretty much downtown so any swirling winds are slowed down by high rises.

    Lisa

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  14. I don't think they slowed that tornado down yesterday though! Some buildings 'took it on the chin'...so to speak! I was thankful I wasn't downtown or anywhere near the bridge!

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  15. wow, those are some photos! I hate how much damage has been done in the past few weeks because of tornadoes, but I'm glad you are safe!

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  16. Jennee, Thank you for the nice words of happiness that I am still ALIVE!!! LOL And I thought those photos were great too! People think and shoot well in a crises. Me?!...didn't even know I had a camera at the time!I knew I had frayed nerves...but not a camera! ^_^ Let's hope that was the last of tornadoes for a while!

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  17. Deb, sorry to hear that disaster was happening in your area. I hope and pray that everyone will be ok, and I pray for the families that lost loved ones. It's so true that the photos are just amazing but we have no idea till we are actually in that kind of position what anyone is feeling. Glad to hear that you are ok.

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  18. SnowflakeDreams1, Thanks for the concern Velma. Yes, everyone I know are fine physically. There were 4 deaths in the area though, and I know that it could have been any one of us! :-( These times are tough, but they remind me of how thankful I am for my life too.

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  19. PHEW! I'm so glad you and Jeff and all your family are okay!! This is so scary! :S And that hail...WOW!

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  20. my husband was telling me about it when he read the news online. I'm glad you and your family are ok.

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  21. Mariann, I am too!!! :-) And today?...Just gorgeous weather!

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  22. Elisa, Thank you. Yes, we're good...It was an 'Experience' though!...{By the way, I forgot to tell you, I like the new blog name and banner!! :-)}

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  23. I'm so glad you and your family are OK..the videos I watched were really scary. The one where people were in their cars on a bridge and had to sit and wait it out just scared the pants off me! We have many tornadoes around here, but not as much damage as Joplin or your area has received. They mostly touch down in the country areas.

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  24. Glad you are safe and WoW those are some photos!!! Thanks for sharing with us ~ the poem is SO touching and you did a wonderful job of writing it ... thanks for posting it again ~ I can see why this event would remind you of that horrible day! Take care & always stay safe! :)

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  25. yaya, Thank you for your concern. Yes, my family made it through without much trouble...except for some frayed nerves! These tornadoes freaked everybody out because they jumped up so quick!! And our area, while it is prone to an occasional hurricane, never has tornadoes!! Not since I've live here for sure!...You say your area gets many of them. Now I'm gonna be thinking about 'you' every time I hear of one!! O_0 The damage they can create in such a short time is a real reminder of the power of the one who made them possible in the first place, isn't it?!

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  26. ~Lady*♥*Fiona~, Thank you. Yes, we're safe. And I may write a poem about it eventually, but I'm not inspired to right now I think it's too raw right now. But I'm glad you appreciated the poem I wrote about the tsunami. I knew you, as a poet yourself, would be able to. :-)

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  27. Goodness those photo's are scary i am so sorry to hear this has touched your lives again. But i am glad to hear that you and your family are safe. take lots of care, dee x

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  28. delia, It 'was' scary!! But we made it through okay...and so did our families. Thanks for the concern Dee. :-)

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