Weather the storms and stories this season

This week is National Weather Awareness Week and I’m sure we all have weather-related stories to share. Last year we noted the 10th anniversary of the tornado that hit Creston in 2012.

What happened Friday night in Mississippi is a reminder for us all and those tragic stories will long be remembered. We need to be prepared as much as possible.

My only experience seeing a tornado was when I lived in Colby, Kansas. It was an early August evening and I had put chicken on the grill. I don’t know if I want to call it a “cool” thing, but one fascinating part about living on the Great Plains is seeing storms moving east many miles away. It’s more distinct than watching approaching storms here.

It did look dark in the west but I thought we had time to finish the chicken and continue with our evening. Not so. The storm arrived and produced an EF1 tornado. The lightest category tornado did damage to hotels and other buildings at the west side Interstate 70 exit. Colby has two exits. Our house was on the opposite end of town, maybe 3-4 miles north of where the tornado hit. Colby has gas stations, hotels and restaurants around its west side I-70 exit. The “town” part is a couple miles north of I-70 with development in between.

Emergency services did sound the tornado alarms across town. That sent wife Jennifer and the kids to the neighbor’s basement. Our house, which was a former church, did not have a basement. I did the newspaper thing and watched from our yard to see which way the storm was moving. The wind was intense and there was rain. I did see the tornado from our house. Even an F1 is an attention getter. I couldn’t stop watching. Besides, it was my first one to see.

The tornado storm continued east and there was no additional threat to our part of town. Although Jennifer and I both grew up in eastern Colorado where tornadoes are common, she had more experience with them than I, which is why she took the kids for cover. She has had relatives from the region be sent to big-city hospitals because of tornado-related injuries. It is smart to have a plan and place to go for safety during tornadoes. The best part of any plan is preventing “it won’t happen to me/us” mentality. Of course, remember the essentials with flashlights and radios.

The funny thing about that evening is the chicken was still cooking on the grill. After the storm had passed and all-clear sounded, Jennifer and the kids came back from the neighbor’s and started to eat while I took off with the camera for pictures and a story for the next day’s paper. Since then, that chicken marinade recipe has been nicknamed tornado chicken.

Flooding, from heavy rain, is another weather awareness issue I have experienced. I remember in September 2008 when we were living in Mt. Pleasant there was 8 inches of rain overnight on a Friday. That was the same year when the Mississippi River flooded as I worked in Burlington. Water was high in the city the closer you got to the riverbank.

That much rain was too much for our house foundation to handle as the lower level of our split-level home took on water. Water did not stand in the lower level, like it would resemble a pool. But there was enough water absorbed by carpet and the walls to require complete restoration of the lower level.

I learned two things that evening; make sure gutters are clear. As the rain fell that night we could see and hear how the gutters were not keeping up. I climbed on the roof by access of the back deck and found a roof shingle blocking one of the downspouts.

As we noticed the lower level getting wetter, we were able to move things to the upper level and to our garage. We also learned the importance of having enough grade around the house to force the water to run away from the house. But 8 inches was enough to saturate the ground. While the lower level was being restored we had some landscaping done to improve drainage to the street. This week may also be a good time to review the condition and needs of your house when it comes to the weather.

It’s also a good time to know your safety plan.