Weird weather

Whew! Yesterday sure was strange. Thunder, lightning, wind and a bizarre-colored sky, before the tornado sirens went off. I called the cat, but he was outdoors, hunkered down somewhere. Time to find the radio and lantern, both of which are battery operated, and head down to the cellar. The power went out. I saw my neighbor across the street so I called her over to join me (she couldn't get to her own cellar). We sat on a couple of chairs in the dirt floor cellar until the sirens stopped and it was safe to come upstairs.

Lots of neighbors were out, looking up and down the street. The cat returned, completely dry (though there was a patch of what looked like motor oil on his leg). There were small branches down in my yard, but nothing serious, nothing like the tree on a pickup truck up the block. That was nothing--all over town huge trees were knocked over, power lines were down, fences and windows and other debris were tossed everywhere. Many traffic lights were out, and some were completely missing. Light poles had been flattened. No tornadoes, but a violent microburst had come out of nowhere, with 70 mph winds.

By early afternoon, the sun was out and it was warm. Clouds came back and I heard on the radio that the sirens weren't working properly. More thunder. An emergency vehicle drove up my street with the siren on, so back I went to the cellar with the lantern and the radio. This time I took a book and the cat, who is only rarely invited into the depths. After he was done exploring thoroughly, I heard on the radio that it was okay to come out.

The sky cleared again, and I picked up the sticks in the yard. I opened the windows in the house, puttered, called friends to find out how they were doing. Then the sky darkened again and we got a short downpour. Later it was clear. There were stars last night. Today the temperature was 30 degrees colder.

I'm incredibly thankful that my big trees stayed upright, and that on this cool evening, I have a good fire in the woodstove. I think there will be plenty of firewood next year.