Close encounter w/ an EF-1

Monday evening was both interesting and active. I happened to have the TV news on and the weather person was watching a storm cell in my area. They mentioned that radar indicated rotation.
Being a storm spotter, I turned on my radio and a storm spotter net was organizing. I decided to go outside and see what the sky was doing. In less than a minute, over the tree tops (about 40-50 yards away), there it was! I was looking at an EF-1 tornado…..and it was coming right at me!!! No time to call anything in. All I could do was grab Dixie (my dog) and run for the interior bathroom in my house.

After the noise subsided, I went outside for a look. My property looked OK and my immediate neighbors looked OK. 2 houses away and continuing West, there was a lot of damage. Trees down, the road was blocked and there were a whole lot of sirens heading my way. The neighborhood quickly filled with firefighters and law enforcement. This was shortly followed by the TV news crews and helicopters. This was shortly followed by the commercial tree, roofing and siding contractors, along with the utility crews. I “changed hats” and began and damage assessment for local emergency management.

Thankfully, nobody was killed or injured and the damage could have been worse. There were no warnings/sirens, etc. But, this was not a failure on anyone’s behalf. This thing just formed up and struck too quickly for that to happen. My hat is off to the first responders, who were there quickly and on top of the situation. Also, the utilities who have been working around the clock to get things back to normal. The “system” has worked – just as it is supposed to.

Be aware of your surroundings and keep an eye on the sky….cause you just never know.

Ditto, glad it didn't come down quicker.  I know that's nothing to mess with - I wish I had a storm shelter in my house and I'm not in tornado alley.  I bet the net was surprised to hear you report that the funnel went right over your head!  Hope you have a generator and can share some power.

Originally posted by Leo B Wow, you never know! Glad you and Dixie are safe!!

Thanks, Leo (from Dixie, too)!

Should be a pit..........more of a man cave, with refrigeration and of course beer!!