Literally.
We had our first *real* brush with supercell thunderstorms last night. Unconfirmed reports stated that several “rope” twisters touched down in Ft. Worth last evening, and confirmed news reports documented straight-line winds in our area with gusts of 70-80 mph. For the first time in years, I witnessed the power and ferocity of severe weather, and saw firsthand the damage these storms can wreak.
The most frightening part about it was that I was TOTALLY UNAWARE. I watched the weather report on Tuesday night, where the “slight” possibility of rain was briefly mentioned and then passed over. The day yesterday was not unusual – a foggy, misty rain in the morning with periods of showers, warm, and then brightly sunny by mid-afternoon. Puffy white clouds dotted the sky, and I remember thinking it had turned out to be a pretty good day.
But then things began to change…
As the kids and I prepared to head to church, I noticed dark rain-looking clouds starting to drift overhead. Though none of them were very big, and we didn’t get any precipitation from them, I recall noting how dark they were. Around that time, our sky went orange, and things became very still and humid. When I dropped off my piano student at her house, I could see a very dark sky off to our east. I wasn’t worried because storms in this area usually blow in from the west or north this time of year, not from the east.
We headed to church at around 5:15 and for the first time that day, I heard weather reports of severe thunderstorm warnings for counties to the west and north of Ft. Worth. I could see a line of dark clouds with bands of rain far off in the distance, but knowing how far away the storms were and that the day was coming to a close, I didn’t expect us to see anything in the way of severe weather, perhaps only a few showers if anything at all. In fact, I didn’t even hear the radio mention the possibility of weather watches being issued for our area, nor did he mention the possibility that the Rangers game in Arlington might be affected by the weather.
We arrived at church under sunny skies, still humid, but no indication of the beast that was looming to our west. When Matt arrived at around 6:00, he mentioned radio reports of 4 tornadoes touching down in Ft. Worth, and that the western area of the metroplex was being hit hard by thunderstorms. He didn’t mention any weather watches in our area, or the possibility that those storms might be heading our way.
But by 7:00, things were changing. Working at my desk, I didn’t have a view to the outside. My first indication was the sound of heavy rain on the roof. We all breathed a sigh of relief that at least we weren’t getting thunderstorms. BOOM! RUMBLE! Oops. I guess we ARE getting thunderstorms. Just then, someone poked their head in the office to inform us that storms with 100 mph winds were heading our way. I got up to check with Matt to see whether or not he wanted me to head home, and that’s when I noticed: the sky was GREEN, the wind was swirling, and the rain was pouring in sheets. Massive quantities of rain, like giant buckets being overturned in the sky. We agreed I should try to get home before the worst of the storm hit as the weather looked clearer farther north. It was 7:15.
I went to gather up our kids, reassuring them all the way. I was getting ready to run out to my car when suddenly someone said, “Get in the hall. Sirens are going off and trees are spinning.” Everyone there mobilized to make sure the children were all accounted for and safely gathered downstairs. Within minutes the sirens stopped and once again we prepared to leave. We loaded up in the car, turned out of the church parking lot in blinding rain and howling winds only to find the streets filled with water and debris. We watched as tree limbs were sent flying through the air, saw signs twisted and bent around themselves, and storm gutters were filled to overflowing. Spillways and creeks looked like rushing rivers and waterfalls.
What normally is a 15 minute drive home at highway speeds turned into a 25 minute journey, keeping vigil all the while to avoid the debris that was continually in our path. The lightning continually slashed its way through the sky and the near-constant rumble of thunder kept ringing in our ears the whole way home. As I neared our house, it became evident just how severe the storm was: wooden signs broken in half, knocked over onto electrical transformers, tractor trailers blown onto their sides by the wind, trees split in half, with limbs broken off into pieces, an entire block of newly-planted landscaping blown sideways and uprooted out of the ground, electrical power knocked out completely for entire blocks.
We arrived home to find that for the second time in as many weeks, we were without power. Once we were inside the house, Trey noticed that our playhouse was on its side on top of the doghouse. As I looked, I could see that the doghouse had been flipped completely over, the doors blown off their hinges, and the playhouse was indeed resting on top of it. Our grill had been moved about 15 feet and knocked completely on its side. Our new tree had been blown over and partially uprooted. The trampoline, amazingly enough, was still intact, though many of the supports for the enclosure were skewed. Poor Culvert was standing outside the back door, whimpering and whining to be let in. After we let him in, I noticed water all over the nook floor. Concerned about flooding, I called Matt, who left immediately to come home. Though it was hard to see by candlelight, we were able to determine that it was most likely rain being blown into the house under the door, rather than flooding.
We had power restored at 3 A.M., with occasional blips and failures until 5 A.M., when it came on and stayed on for good. Though we didn’t have the tornado sirens go off in this area, I heard from the news that Allen was the Collin County city hardest hit by the storms, and that McKinney reported receiving nearly 3 inches of rain, one of highest totals in the metroplex. I am thankful that our damage was minimal and our home and lives are still intact.