At about 3:25 I was with a sister who was making a return visit just south and outside the town of Bloomfield. The householder told us that, "you need to find cover, there is a bad storm approaching."
So when we got back into the van I turned on the FM radio to update on the weather. Just about that time, a warning from the NWS came on, and sure enough a storm was coming.
So I asked the group if they wanted to go to a close by house of a sisters that had a basement, or go back towards the hall. The consensus was to go to the hall, so we did. The prevailing thought was that surely their would be some effort on Jehovah’s part to provide protection for the C.O. AND the substitute C.O. ( yes, we know-it's a tongue in cheek comment/joke) So we went back towards town and did a couple of RV's and then it was time to meet back. Well, we did not get any bad wind from that storm, but there was another one about 60 miles behind the first one. And it was late, so my family decided to return home, and I had a factory to clean that evening at any rate. As it turned out , the second storm was of no consequence either.
As most know I am a ham radio operator, and so I got hand held radio and out it in the house so that Jen could listen to the weather net while I was gone to work. The ham radio reports are as much as 30 minutes ahead of the NWS FM radio bulletins. So I went to work, the 2nd storm came and went while I was cleaning, but I was keeping a watchful eye on the radio, and the clouds. There have been 15 ef 5 tornadoes this year. Over 360 tornadoes in the nation, and lots of lives lost. I am taking weather VERY serious this year.
I completed my cleaning service as fast as I could so that I would not be a big factory tin box if a tornado struck. When I got back in to my van and tuned in to the weather net, I heard an update- and there was another HUGE storm coming through. I decided I was going to Wal-Mart and buy a thermos for coffee, and a spotlight as this night looked like it was going to be a very long one weather wise. As I got out of the van at Wal-Mart I looked back to the West and noted the whole horizon looked like a huge swollen, blackish-purple angry mountain of wall cloud. Lightning flashed way up high as the tempest boiled while it's rage built inside it's walls of clouded chaos. I remarked to a man gathering carts in the parking lot that it did not look like this was going to be a good night. He agreed that it did not. Little did we know how right we were. As in a few hours, one or both of us may not be seeing the sun come up in the morning.
I got my supplies and went back to my van and sat there looking westward at the boiling mass and was deciding on a vantage point so that I could be helpful as a weather spotter. I decided I wanted to be close to my family, in case there was a need at home. However where my house is, I can not see the horizon very well as it is shrouded by large tress all around. But there is a place close that I could park the van and weather spot within 2 minutes of my house. It is in a part of a subdivision that is not fully developed, so there are several open lots that would allow me to see the storm and update the weather net as to any hazardous weather in my area.
It was getting dark.
When I got to my vantage point, I parked on a little part of a road that was not paved. This little road ran North and South. I turned up my radio and listened to the other spotters reporting their conditions. We went in to full ARES weather net mode, That is a directed net and a net controller will stipulate what kind of reports they want. If your report does not meet the parameters, then you don’t report. The conditions are mostly set by the National Weather service as to what kind of reporting/ spotting they want. This evening we were to report of hail 3/4 inches or bigger, wind in excess of 55 mph, confirmed spotted tornado. These parameter are kind of high, but they already had several storm go through that day and were wanting to filter the data a little bit more. I agree with that filteing system to a point, but sometimes a little more info can give the next spotter behind you a heads up on the condition at your area, and if the storm has changed, or built in intensity by the time it reaches the next spotter, a comparison can be made and then you can tell if it is building, or dying out. But in this situation, the on the air traffic was to be kept to a minimum, else you might not here someone when they do get a cloud on the ground.
I sat there in the dark listening to the radio, and got out and stood beside my van with the door open so I could hear the reports. It was calm, hardly a breeze. In less than 30 minutes all of the calmness would be gone.
I first heard a noise far across the open feild. It souded like a roller skating rink with about 300 skaters going full speed around and round. It was similar to the noise of the sound of metal train car wheels rolling on a steel track. Kind of a high pitched metal against metal sound. This noise was comming towards me. I decided to get back in the van. The squal line was now here. The radio net controller was telling everyone to be careful. This storm was predicted to have rain-wrapped tornadoes in the front side of the storm. I was tinking that if that is so, then I would shorlty see any evidence of one in my area, as the "front side" was now at my location. Shortly, my van began to rock to and fro. And then a bit more, and then it was really moving. I then thought to fasten my seat belt. My next thought was to angle the van more in to the wind, and less broadside. I thought I felt the righ rear get very light at one point, like the van was trying to be lifted and flipped over.
After I got more "in to the wind", the van settled down a bit.
I did not know if that was a 55 mph wind or not, and I saw no hail, so I did not report. However, I did see a verticle cloud mass pass my area. I could see it whenever the lightning would flash. It looked "interesting" but I could not see any rotation what so ever. It was just a funny looking cloud, a bit different than the rest of the mess going past. I now know tha I should probably made a repport on this. If I had I would have eeb asked several questions as to what did I mean "funny" looking? or What do you mean a verticle cloud mass", or any of the other questions I have heard other spotters asked after reporting. I did not want to subject myself to such on the air scrutiny. And besides it did not look THAT interesting to me.
In a few moments, the wind died down some and I went on to the house listening to reports of minor damage around Bloomington.
When I got home, te power was out. It was on in all the rest of the neighborhood. The house across the road had power, but the house next to us, did not. It was 3-4 hours later before a truck came and flipped the breaker back on. In the intrim I decided to hook up an old Bearcat scanner I have had for several years. I hooked it up in my van and I listend to public service talk about shuting down roads and trees down and a housetrailer that was blown over. I went to bed at about 1;30 after the power was restored.
6:30 AM next morning our coordinator called I told him we were fine. He then told me that the C.O. could not get out of his apartment, and there were several trees down. So I asked if I needed to bring a chainsaw. I was asked if I could please do so. So I loaded up the gas,oil saw, files and everthing I could think that I would need, and headed to Bloomington.
As I got closer to Bloomington the path of destruction became clearer and more pronounced. I felt now that the "interesting cloud" I saw last night was indeed a tornadoe after all.
I ans several of the friends spent the remainder of the day cutting trees off of the C.O.'s apartment and the adjoining brothers property. Well over 100 man hours of work was done. And several, perhaps upwards of 10 chainsaws were running, and many brush movers working at the same time. It was a concert of work. Like working ants with 1 goal in mind. We worked nearly all day clearing brush. I left at about 3:30 to see about helping a Brother that told me about a tree down across his moms driveway. I and a couple others went over there, but by that time the brother had most of the work done. Still it made an impression on the rest of his family that we showed up to help.
All in all it was a long day with lots of hard work, but it was a delight to work with the friends doing something for one another. There IS more happiness in giving than in recieving.
Next time I will be MORE prepared. You should too.
Now for some pics of the storm:
This is our C.O in the back, and the substitue C.O.foreground, our congergation, cordinator hard at work.
