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#1 Apr 16 2011 at 6:52 PM Rating: Excellent
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For the first time since Allafest (2007) Sick & I had a chance to get away for the weekend sans kids and headed up to Boston. While he dealt with meetings I roamed the state saying hello to old friends.

This morning we woke up ready to visit family then fly home, turned on the tv, and saw that NC was under a watch for tornadoes all day. I have a local station call me if there is a tornado warning, but (obviously) I have the phone with me and that wont do my mom or the boys any good. But I called my mom to give her a heads up to pay attention to the weather, what to do if there is a warning (she's never been through one) and that Id call her if I heard anything but if my flight wasnt delayed, that once I was in the air I'm out of reach.

Visited family, drove to Logan, flight was still departing on time, etc. We get on the plane, and I decide to buy head sets so I can keep updated on the weather situation back home while we fly.

About 15 minutes after we take off, TWC starts going crazy with a tornado warning in my area. A tornado has been spotted 1 town over. Soon, reports are coming in that it's powerful, huge, and fast. Debris is landing in our towns, miles away from the actual tornado.

I watched the whole thing unfold in the air, as it passed through, hitting downtown Raleigh without losing speed or power. For a parent, it's one of the worst feelings in the world to watch this happen, knowing you're not with your kids to help them feel safe. And on top of that wondering if all of my friends are ok.

Then our plane hit the storm, and we rode through it from DC all the way to RDU. You know its bad when your flight attendant is shaking and says that he is scared. We kept waiting for the air bags to deploy, turbulence was that rough.

When we landed everyone cheered and clapped, and then everyone started taking out cell phones to call loved ones. The woman sitting behind me had all of the windows blown out of her house, which is not as bad as it could have been, once we all had time to fully digest the situation. Our boys were fine. My mom heard the warning on the radio as she woke up Soren from his nap, and ruched the kids downstairs until her husband called her to let her know it was passed. Sick & I noticed a lot of debris in the road as we drove hom, inlcuding house insillation, carpets, and drain pipes. 1 friend had a tree crush her house, but she is ok. Another friend had the tornado pass right by her house, fortunately with minimal damage.


And while all is now well (enough) and my fam is safe, what a sucky way to end a quick getaway.
#2 Apr 16 2011 at 7:02 PM Rating: Excellent
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Good that you're all safe.

I guess growing up in the mid-south I just never thought of tornadoes as all that traumatic. We had our plan in place, we knew what to do, and it was more exciting than scary. Of course, it's possible we were just dumb.

The only time I was really scared was once in West Tennessee. My brother and a cousin and I got caught by a surprise storm out in the open. THAT was tense. Smiley: laugh



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#3 Apr 16 2011 at 8:18 PM Rating: Excellent
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Yeah, good to hear you're all ok.

And pretty much what Sam said. The south has become the new tornado alley it seems. I also grew up with tornado drills in school and all the watches and warnings on TV. I remember one time when I was in 2nd grade, my family and I stood at our picture window in our den in a storm with all the power out, watching a small tornado go down our street.

Good times...
#4 Apr 16 2011 at 8:42 PM Rating: Excellent
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Ha! That's hilarious. We would have been hustled down to the basement.

My job was to grab a flashlight and some blankets. One of my brothers was charged with opening windows on both sides of the house, and the other one had to unplug stuff. Then we sat in the basement eating soda crackers for half an hour or so.

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#5 Apr 16 2011 at 9:17 PM Rating: Excellent
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DSD wrote:
For the first time since Allafest (2007)...

Jesus tap-dancing Christ, that was four years ago?!
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#6 Apr 16 2011 at 9:40 PM Rating: Good
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Wow, glad everyone's all right. I wonder how my sisters fared in Va & De; we haven't head anything so that's a good sign. Everyone else from the area (mostly NC) were reporting lots of debris but folks are fine. Meanwhile I drove home from my mom in torrential downpours, so hard I couldn't see the lines on the road or any of the curves.
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#7 Apr 16 2011 at 9:42 PM Rating: Excellent
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Demea wrote:
DSD wrote:
For the first time since Allafest (2007)...

Jesus tap-dancing Christ, that was four years ago?!


about that. Ashe was 8 months and he's 4 now.

Yeah I know its the norm for all y'all southerners, but obviously not me. And even those used to tornados were/are freaking out down here. We've got at least 3 casualties in our area alone, I think 19 statewide? And as more info is coming in, I just learned 2 people I know had their houses hit, 1 lost everything but is ok, and a lot of people are still not checking in (hopefully due to loss of power). They have not determined the size of the tornado but one expert was saying it was probably an f3.

I guess I just cant be blase about so much destruction, especially when its my own backyard, with people I actually know.

Speaking of which, Tare, you still alive?
#8 Apr 16 2011 at 9:44 PM Rating: Good
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I've come to the conclusion that you're braver than I am. I don't think I could live somewhere where Mother Nature is trying to rub me out.
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#9 Apr 16 2011 at 10:13 PM Rating: Excellent
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Eh, I've lived through tornadoes, earthquakes, one blizzard and one hurricane. The big takeaway lesson in all of them is, you're not in control when nature lets loose. Just have a plan, hunker down, stay calm.
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#10 Apr 16 2011 at 10:33 PM Rating: Decent
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I actually enjoy natural disasters - though I've never lived directly through a major one. Sat on my porch smoking a cigar while Hurricane Floyd whipped trees into the building and flooded out most of the area. Lost power countless times during large snowfalls at my parents' house, relying on candles, melted snow, camping gear and the woodstove.
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we all know liberals are well adjusted american citizens who only want what's best for society. While conservatives are evil money grubbing scum who only want to sh*t on the little man and rob the world of its resources.
#11 Apr 17 2011 at 12:35 AM Rating: Excellent
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Congratulations, thats crazier than my "landed during a 6.5 magnitude earthquake" story! Glad everyone is ok.
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#12 Apr 17 2011 at 1:36 AM Rating: Good
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Threads like this make me happy that there's really not much mother nature can do to my country.
Aside from almost completely drowning it if we ever fail to hold back the water, but even then I'm above sea level so all is good.

Sucks for your weekend away but at least everyone's fine.
#13 Apr 17 2011 at 1:51 AM Rating: Good
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My commiserations for having to go through such a tense time. This latest bout of USA tornado activity has featured prominently on Australian news. Storm-watchers declared it the worst bout of tornadoes for many years. Not just for the tragic deaths (16 ?), but for the number, size and ferocity of the storms.

Hope you are all safe and well, and your neighbours get back on their feet fast. I hope insurers cover tornado damage in prone areas.
#14 Apr 17 2011 at 1:59 AM Rating: Good
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Aripyanfar wrote:
This latest bout of USA tornado activity has featured prominently on Australian news.
All I've seen here is a 5 line article that basically said "some people died from bad weather in the US, 3 people died after their trailer was carried a hundred meters or more by the storm"
I didn't even really notice it until after I read this thread.


edit: rephrased cause my English is crappy at 10:00 AM on Sunday morning.

Edited, Apr 17th 2011 10:00am by Aethien
#15 Apr 17 2011 at 2:45 AM Rating: Good
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There's some pretty spectacular tornado footage running on the public 24 hour news station here in Aus from this latest bout of USA storms.

Also prominent is Al Jazeera English footage of developments of ex President Mubarak's arrest and detention in Egypt, as well as his two sons. Egyptions are still protesting, wanting more of the old Mubarak government dismantled, in hopes of a clean start free from corruption.

Also: China is cracking down hard on anyone who looks like they want the so-called "Jasmine revolution"; a similar pro-democracy citizen uprising against the Chinese government as the uprisings in the Middle East. Focus has gathered around the now detained architect who designed the Bird's Nest stadium for the Chinese Olympics. He has previously publically commented on the corrupt process between builders and government officials. There are protests in the semi-independent province of Hong-Kong asking for his release. Taiwan has also asked after his welfare.

Edited, Apr 17th 2011 4:52am by Aripyanfar
#16 Apr 17 2011 at 3:02 AM Rating: Good
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Half of our news is still about the guy who went on a columbine style rampage through a shopping center last week (7 dead including the shooter and some 15 injured).
It's the first time something like that has happened in the Netherlands so people are rather upset about it.
They also can't seem to figure out why he did it so it's a matter of time before games/right wing interests/music is blamed.
#17 Apr 17 2011 at 3:17 AM Rating: Good
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His Excellency Aethien wrote:
Half of our news is still about the guy who went on a columbine style rampage through a shopping center last week (7 dead including the shooter and some 15 injured).
It's the first time something like that has happened in the Netherlands so people are rather upset about it.
They also can't seem to figure out why he did it so it's a matter of time before games/right wing interests/music is blamed.

Mindel, Annabella and I were discussing this scenario last night. We had a lot to say about it. Timelordwho tried to contribute, but couldn't penetrate our collective liberal rant about preventive intervention for at risk children being underfunded, and then the emotionally sick perpetrators who act outwards instead of inward being sucked into prison-industrial complexes that in practise severely heighten criminal insanity, rather than treat it and rehabilitate.

TLW logically wanted to save the secondary, completely innocent victims first. We logically wanted to save the primary victim and perpetrator before he blew up.

Then we pooh poohed the pundits who would inevitably make a political statement about what the emotionally ill perpetrator "really" was influenced and set off by. You know... rock music... video games... internet ****...

Edited, Apr 17th 2011 5:19am by Aripyanfar
#18 Apr 17 2011 at 4:04 AM Rating: Excellent
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Yeah, where is Tare? I've not even seen her on FB. Better go check on her D.

I don't know if any of you remember the tornadoes that hit Nashville. As the main one was coming out of the city, its path was right through my little neighborhood. It ran right over my house (I stood and watched it coming until it was across the street, love storms!) Didn't cause any real destruction in my neighborhood, but the surrounding areas were stripped clean. Including ripping up quite a few trees around The Hermitage that were quite old.
#19 Apr 17 2011 at 6:39 AM Rating: Good
Quote:
Half of our news is still about the guy who went on a columbine style rampage through a shopping center last week (7 dead including the shooter and some 15 injured).
It's the first time something like that has happened in the Netherlands so people are rather upset about it.
They also can't seem to figure out why he did it so it's a matter of time before games/right wing interests/music is blamed.


Well, I'm sure the massive national coverage will deter anyone else from doing the same thing.

Heh, just kiddin'.
#20 Apr 17 2011 at 6:50 AM Rating: Decent
Nothing funner than being in an airplane when it hits storm turbulence. After my experience of it? I Drive instead.
#21 Apr 17 2011 at 7:40 AM Rating: Good
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lolgaxe wrote:
I've come to the conclusion that you're braver than I am. I don't think I could live somewhere where Mother Nature is trying to rub me out.


Actually I think this is the first tornado in our area in about 20 years? So this was very very uncommon. I mean, we get a few watches each spring, and in the 4+ years Ive been here, we had one other warning, but it was a funnel cloud that didnt touch down. We don't live in tornado alley or anything.

I called Tares house this morning and her fam is safe.
#22 Apr 17 2011 at 10:52 AM Rating: Good
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#23 Apr 17 2011 at 11:40 AM Rating: Excellent
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Aripyanfar wrote:
My commiserations for having to go through such a tense time. This latest bout of USA tornado activity has featured prominently on Australian news. Storm-watchers declared it the worst bout of tornadoes for many years. Not just for the tragic deaths (16 ?), but for the number, size and ferocity of the storms.

Hope you are all safe and well, and your neighbours get back on their feet fast. I hope insurers cover tornado damage in prone areas.


Not only is there more activity but the range has moved east and south. North Carolina traditionally would get a hurricane every few years, but tornadoes haven't been exactly common east of the Smokies.

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#24 Apr 17 2011 at 3:31 PM Rating: Decent
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Aripyanfar wrote:
Then we pooh poohed the pundits who would inevitably make a political statement about what the emotionally ill perpetrator "really" was influenced and set off by. You know... rock music... video games... internet ****...


...liberals...
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publiusvarus wrote:
we all know liberals are well adjusted american citizens who only want what's best for society. While conservatives are evil money grubbing scum who only want to sh*t on the little man and rob the world of its resources.
#25 Apr 17 2011 at 5:23 PM Rating: Good
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Debalic wrote:
Aripyanfar wrote:
Then we pooh poohed the pundits who would inevitably make a political statement about what the emotionally ill perpetrator "really" was influenced and set off by. You know... rock music... video games... internet ****...


...liberals...

Kiss Kiss.


Body count up to 45 now according to Aussie news. =(

My condolences for your losses. I know 45 isn't huges in the scheme of things, but then even one early death is a sad sad thing.

Hey, want to have another Anthropomorphicgenic* climate change debate? =D

*Edit yeah, yeah, whoops.

Edited, Apr 18th 2011 9:22am by Aripyanfar
#26 Apr 17 2011 at 6:51 PM Rating: Good
Anthropogenic, you mean.

Well, so I assume...
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