TORNADO

I have a few strange interests, well, maybe more than a few, but storms are one of them. It's the big, bad thunderstorms that I like. The ones that turn the sky black with howling winds, rain and hail. Really, it's the prospect of a tornado that gets my gears turning. When I hear the siren, it's like a triple shot macchiato injected straight into my heart. At the start of a storm, I will be the one standing in the yard staring up at the sky. I've been this way since I was a kid. I don't know any defining moment that caused this, but there was a close call when I was about 3 that should probably be mentioned.

My mom had left me and my brother in the car to run into a grocery store. It was mid-afternoon, and within moments after she had disappeared through the doors, a storm approached. I can remember it in snippets, but my brother had better recollection (he was older than me). What I do remember is the strange noise the storm made, and the wind. I turned backward in my seat and watched a garbage can fly across the parking lot and heard distant screams from wayward shoppers unloading groceries. The winds quickly got worse, and garbage cans turned into stop signs and power lines snapping. I don't think I cried, I remember feeling like I was watching a movie.

After the whole thing was over, which wasn't but a few minutes at the most, I remember wanting my mom real bad. My brother wouldn't let me out of the car, and when mom finally made it back to us, she told us they had locked everyone in and wouldn't let them leave because there had been a tornado. The tornado had went right by us and left considerable damage behind. A drive in theatre down the same stretch of road we had been on had been hit pretty hard, destroying the wooden screen tower. As an interesting side note, very close to this structure sits the famed Nascar track in Bristol. I don't believe it was hit.

 Twin City Drive-In October 1, 1977

Around this area you could actually see the path the tornado had taken across the mountain. I remember that vividly. So please don't let anyone tell you that a tornado can't cross a mountain, or that living in them protects you. In fact, in the Super Outbreak of 1974, tornadoes were known to cross bodies of water and continue back on to land, and even go across ravines and continue. This particular tornado was on the ground for a bit, lifted, and came back down to do more damage.

One of my cousins' homes had been hit (no injuries, thank goodness) and we all took a long car ride the next day to survey the damage.

My dad liked to make pictures, and he made a lot that day. After all of these years, my parents' divorce, and many moves, unfortunately the pictures are gone. I looked back at them periodically, and remember the sheets of metal twisted into the barren trees, the lonesome tractor turned into a 'U', its back end facing the front, and my cousins' pool that had been lifted and thrown 300 yards out. This tornado ranked as an F1 on the Fujita scale, and there were 10 injuries reported, no fatalities.

So I guess maybe this experience had something to do with my fascination.

Years later a microburst picked up our small building at the bottom of our backyard and blew it apart as if it had been stuffed with dynamite. I watched that one from the safety of the picture window, eyes wide, tongue lolling, panting, I'm sure. For a kid who was nervous around loud noises, odd enough, I didn't mind the lightning and thunder.

Growing up in northeast Tennessee, you won't see many tornadoes, so any time there is a chance, most people take it seriously.

In April of 2011, we saw a few serious storms again. I live a few miles away from where I grew up, and on the afternoon of the 9th, a tornado touched down at our Veterans' Administration campus nearby. It tore through the scenic cemetery and continued across the campus ripping trees from the ground and stripping others until all that was left were large, pointed toothpicks in the ground. Several buildings suffered damage, and a roof had been peeled back on a local business. We had only recently acquired a warning system at the nearby university. When the alarm went off, a lot of people didn't know at first what to make of its eerie opening tones and the voice warning them that a tornado was on the ground. It was a fast process and the last announcement declared that all was safe.

I did get some startling pictures and ominous videos of the sky before it hit. The sky was so calm and quiet before the storm. The clouds were amazing.The video doesn't do it much justice.

 This was the first siren call. (That's my southern drawl there, y'all.)

There's another pretty good video of the siren going off, informing everyone to get in their basements and stay away from their doors. I didn't post it because I am quite freaking out at that point, along with some dear family members who sound like straight up panicked hillbillies. Ahem.

As we were hearing the siren announcement, the tornado was hitting about a half mile away, in the direction I am pointing the camera. Here's some of the aftermath at the VA campus:

This was another F1.

A little later that year, in August, I caught this beauty on accident as I was out running errands. 

 I know now this scary looking UFO wannabe was a supercell silently gliding over my head.

I got in my car right after taking the above video, and I drove around to the back of the shopping center that you can see, and surprise SURPRISE...

Here she was, about 100 feet from my hood. I didn't bother to cut my engine off (you can hear NIN singing on The Crow soundtrack in the background), I just jumped out and took this video, probably while holding my breath.

I followed it and watched it dissapate as it crossed the road.

Here's the tail end of the supercell with the storm following like skeletal fingers poking at the asphalt.

This has been the longest blog post I've ever written, but it also contains the most pictures or videos, too, so there's that.

We haven't had as active a storm season as 2011, but I keep hoping every time I see a lightning bolt in the forecast on my phone's weather app. That season inspired me to get trained through NOAA as an official storm spotter (yeah, I got a card ;).


Have you been through a tornado or watched one from afar? Please feel free to share any stories you might have in the comments.

Virtual Reality

I'm back with another flash fiction post, thanks to the ever present, force of nature that is Mr. Chuck Wendig! The guy inspires and can wrench some serious creativity out of me. 


This week his challenge was presented by giving us 20 words. We had to pick 10 of them and incorporate them into the story. 


The 10 words I chose were: 
Beast 
Dinosaur
Brooch
Finger
Moth
Scream
Tornado
Cape
Fever
Gate

And now I give to you...

VIRTUAL REALITY

His breathing was hard but quiet. Crouched in the dark, his long cape trailed behind him like a scarlet river; the golden, oval brooch in his hand glowed. Its crimson stone filled with fire.

Keeping low, he poked his head slowly around the rock. The night was an obsidian wash over a silver landscape that allowed his eyes to see the details with shocking accuracy.

It was still.

Glancing back at the large stone edifice behind him, he clutched the brooch tight.

From the left came movement.

He could see the large beast was scanning the terrain, its armored head lifting and lowering alternately, as it attempted to focus in the dark. Vision was obviously not its strongest defense.

The dinosaur long tail slid across the ground as it walked, gouging trenches into the soil.

The area was filled with thick vegetation. He moved between the large leaves with stealth and silence. The brooch’s glow warmed his fingers almost uncomfortably, yet he gripped it tighter.

The wind began to blow sending a hissing sound through the lush forest.

Readying himself to run to the next tree for cover, he froze when the dinosaur looked in his direction. He pressed tight to the tree’s narrow trunk. Sweat formed on his forehead, tickling his temples. In a few moments the beast went back to the familiar bobbing motion, turning its head away.

Clouds were forming quickly, thick and roiling with flashes of lightning and thunder. His time was running out.

Lightning lit up the sky and he could see the gate at the far end of an open area. The dinosaur pawed at the ground, licking where he had been only moments before. There was no time to stop. In order to get to the gate he would have to cross it in one bold sprint.

Taking a deep breath, he bolted from the safety of the tree. The dinosaur roared in anger as it saw him and charged. With his cape flying behind him, he pumped his legs harder to gain speed. His boots kicked up clods of dirt behind him.

The ground shook with the dinosaur’s footfalls. The gate was still far away. The dinosaur, jaws snapping, would catch up soon.

The closer he got to the gate, the hotter and brighter the brooch became. It was burning into his flesh with an unforgiving fever, scorching his skin. Pain shot up his arm.

Lungs burning, he ran ever faster.

CRACK!

The dinosaur’s great jaw snapped shut, missing him by inches. He could feel the warm breath on his neck. He wasn’t going to make it.

Broad white wings appeared in front of him. He felt his feet leave the ground as his body was lifted. The world below was becoming smaller.

The enormous moth screeched as the dinosaur leapt into the air after it. It flapped its wings harder and they both rose quickly into the sky.

The wind had become brutal, whipping at the two of them. He clung to the moth’s spindly legs. He could see that it was taking him away from the gate.

Suddenly a different noise filled his ears. Turning his head he could see that the rumbling roar signaled the approach of a large TORNADO. 

The moth began to tilt and beat it’s wings faster. He was struggled to hold on, all the while keeping the brooch clasped in his hand. Behind them, the dinosaur was snatched up in the strong winds and tossed out of view. The tornado bore down on them.

The moth’s giant wings were ripped from its body as it beat against the gusts, and the two of them plummeted toward the ground, turning and tumbling.

The man opened his mouth and a scream was pulled from his body, lost in the sound of the storm.

Just before they slammed into the ground, the funnel snatched them. The moth let go and they were thrown in separate directions.

He was thrown from the tornado, flying fast through the air. When he landed, the carcass of a large, dead dinosaur beneath him lessened the impact. He rolled off and saw that the gate was in front of him. His hand sizzled from the intense heat of the brooch.

He ran, sore and bruised, and crossed through the large, iron passage. A bright light blinded him and he shielded his face with his arm.

There was no sound. His body felt weightless.

In an instant, he fell back into the familiar cushioned chair.

“What a ride, hey?”

The helmet was being lifted from his head. He blinked to adjust his eyes in the dimly lit room.

“So… was it worth the money?” The assistant didn’t wait for him to reply, leaving the room with the helmet.

His hand was aching. Bringing it up to his face he saw the red, angry oval mark.

“Yeah. Yeah it was.”