16 April 2006
14 April 2006
It's been a while since I posted, I know. Stephanie and I decided that I will be moving hundreds of miles away to finish my PhD. I owe the world (and my mind's life) to her for letting me do this. I feel so much better knowing that there's no more questions about it, no more wondering if I'd ever do it. I'm doing it. I've already requested an lease to be mailed to me for signing.
Last night, Stephanie and I were having dinner in Iowa City when I looked out the window and saw a somewhat greenish hue as the sun was setting and clouds were moving in. I turned to Stephanie and I said, "Do you see a greenish hue out there?" When she said "yes", I got a bit nervous and said, "this is tornado weather. This isn't good". I watched outside as rain turned into hail, and the lightening got worse and worse. I went outside to check on our dog, who had made the trip to Iowa City with us. The second I opened the door, I saw quarter sized hail and heard the tornado sirens wailing (which they only do when a funnel cloud's been spotted). With all my adrenaline I ran to get Roscoe out of the car and ran into the foyer of the restaurant. Stephanie told the people inside about it, but they seemed to not understand the gravity of the situation. Stephanie then quickly called a friend of ours that lived in the neighborhood, and we drove like maniacs in the hail and wind the longest mile of my life.
When we got there, we were met by umbrellas held by our friends and we all ran into the house. We kept our ears to the window, and our senses were heightened, waiting for the slightest shift in wind or any peculiar sounds. We began to smell smoke at about the time that we found out two houses had been struck by lightening up the road and were on fire.
At one point, the wind started to pick up quickly, and we all took our respective shelter. We waited about five minutes and then it felt safe to come back out again. Fifteen minutes later we were told that fifteen minutes earlier, a tornado ripped through Iowa City proper (we were about 2.5 miles from downtown).
Between 20:00 and 21:45, the sirens went off six times. I had been close to tornados when I was a child, but never quite this close. And I will never want to be any closer than I was last night. Photos taken last night and today of the aftermath can be seen at my photography website.
Last night, Stephanie and I were having dinner in Iowa City when I looked out the window and saw a somewhat greenish hue as the sun was setting and clouds were moving in. I turned to Stephanie and I said, "Do you see a greenish hue out there?" When she said "yes", I got a bit nervous and said, "this is tornado weather. This isn't good". I watched outside as rain turned into hail, and the lightening got worse and worse. I went outside to check on our dog, who had made the trip to Iowa City with us. The second I opened the door, I saw quarter sized hail and heard the tornado sirens wailing (which they only do when a funnel cloud's been spotted). With all my adrenaline I ran to get Roscoe out of the car and ran into the foyer of the restaurant. Stephanie told the people inside about it, but they seemed to not understand the gravity of the situation. Stephanie then quickly called a friend of ours that lived in the neighborhood, and we drove like maniacs in the hail and wind the longest mile of my life.
When we got there, we were met by umbrellas held by our friends and we all ran into the house. We kept our ears to the window, and our senses were heightened, waiting for the slightest shift in wind or any peculiar sounds. We began to smell smoke at about the time that we found out two houses had been struck by lightening up the road and were on fire.
At one point, the wind started to pick up quickly, and we all took our respective shelter. We waited about five minutes and then it felt safe to come back out again. Fifteen minutes later we were told that fifteen minutes earlier, a tornado ripped through Iowa City proper (we were about 2.5 miles from downtown).
Between 20:00 and 21:45, the sirens went off six times. I had been close to tornados when I was a child, but never quite this close. And I will never want to be any closer than I was last night. Photos taken last night and today of the aftermath can be seen at my photography website.
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