The Storm

After what we've all seen in Moore, OK, I would imagine that a lot of folks last night were a little unsettled when the storm hit during the night.  It was around 2:00 a.m. when I heard nearly continuous thunder and got up to check the weather radar on the computer.

The radar maps for TV 8 and TV 5 in Cleveland were similar for the Akron-Canton area, but the TV 3 radar map showed a huge red section coming right for us from the west.  That's what really scared me.  The stations were saying that we could get wind and hail.

So I woke my husband and told him that we should probably go down the basement.  Sounds dumb now but at the time it made good sense to me.  We live in the woods after all, and it's not like trees haven't come down before.  More than most we are at the mercy of the weather and especially high winds.

After about 15 minutes down there, including three short power interruptions, we watched the radar maps on the TV and saw that the worst of it had already gone by and it was safe to return to bed.  At that point being fully awake, I wasn't sure how trying to get back to sleep would work out, but it was okay and we slept in a little bit today to more or less make up for it.

Call me a nervous Nellie but the sound of that thunder is terrifying.  Unlike many homes in the U.S., at least we have somewhere to go in case of a serious storm.  Besides the actual winds and hail, the overriding fear that gets to me is that the house would be so damaged that we would have to leave and not return for a long while, like the folks in Oklahoma.  Honestly, where would a person go?  Sure, a motel or hotel, but how many of those are in Canal Fulton?  Life in a small town, right?  There is one bed and breakfast.  Other than that, the closest motel/hotel would be the Belden Village area, a good 20 minute drive from here. 

Our neighbors had to leave their home a few years ago due to a car fire, the car being parked in the garage.  It was months before they could return and they were able to rent a home in our area, but they were really homesick.  Their whole kitchen had to be rebuilt as well as the family room, and the rest of the house had smoke damage.  The house they returned to wasn't anything like the one they had left. 

So today I hope that those most affected by the storm are okay and that they will better deal with the aftermath than a nervous Nellie like me. 

Maybe I should see if they sell thunder shirts in an extra extra large?

See you tomorrow, friends.