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.