Another Scary Storm...(Above Our House looking straight UP!!! It doesn't even look real!!)

My Anxiety has decided it does NOT like Scary Storms & Tornado's.

We are under a Tornado Watch.

The Sky is so unreal here.
It looks like something out of a movie.
I'm probably NUTS for going outside. But if I didn't you just wouldn't believe me!!!
Can you see the Swirls?! AKA Rotating???!If you think I edited these... NOPE! Just added a date stamp & a border!!!!!

I seriously cant even get anything done.
I keep pacing the floors.
And looking out the windows at the sky.
I don't know how people don't freak out here?!!
Tornado Season in Spring, my butt!!!
More like all Freaking Year LONG?!!!

If you don't believe me.. ask My BFF, Ginny.
She was on the phone with me while I was freaking out.
Or My Husband Alan... it took me 3 hours to cook pasta for dinner!!

We had 3 Tornado's touch down within 5 Miles of us.

I'm not sure if I can handle this on a permanent basis.

Our 1st Tornado Siren

Every Evening we have the same routine...
We check the weather.
Our clothing is laid out.
Shoes are placed by the basement steps.
Our laptop Case packed with our external hard drives and chargers.
And the dog leashes on top of the kennels.

We do all of this in case Tornado Sirens go off in the middle of the night.

So with all of that said. It was no different last night.

Last night before bed, I checked the weather. I saw a Big Storm way up north on the Minnesota/Canada border. Normally, the storm, would proceed east thru Northern Wisconsin and toward Michigan. Since I thought we had nothing to worry about. I told Alan, "Don't worry about getting things ready. I'm really tired, lets just go to bed".

BIG MISTAKE

Fast Forward... I'm asleep. Dreaming. Because its 4:45am...
All of the sudden in my dream I hear this faint noise... and it just doesn't quit.

I wake up.
I lay there for a few minutes. I can still hear a faint noise.
I think to myself "Huh.. that's really weird."
I get up. Walk over to our bedroom window.

The Sky is Green. A Minty Green. The clouds are low. It is EXTREMELY Windy. (as in 65mph)
I open the window.

(This is not my video but it shows you exactly what we hear when it goes off and how fast these storms move in)


I realize what is happening!! I am completely dumbfounded!!
I just stood there, almost as if I was in a trance! I couldn't take my eyes off the window!!

So many thoughts went thru my head...
Oh My Gosh this is the REAL thing!!!
I can't believe how Green the sky is!!
What time is it??
I shouldn't be standing here!
The Clouds look so weird!!!
Most importantly, how long have the sirens been going off?!
And how much time do we have??!

I stood there for only a minute, but I felt like I was standing there for at least 5 mins.
As quickly as I realized what was happening my adrenalin kicked in.

I yelled to Alan.. "AL WAKE UP!!!! ALAN ITS A TORNADO SIREN!!! GET UP!!!!".
Alan jumps up. He immediately asks... "HOW LONG HAS IT BEEN GOING OFF?!"

I am scrambling to put my sweat pants on. At this point I'm shaking. I am so caught off guard, I literally put 2 of my legs in the same pant hole twice!!! We are throwing our laptops and cells into our computer bag. I slip on my shoes and put the bag over my shoulder.

I run over to Brenton's room. "BRENT WAKE UP! WE GOTTA GO! THERE IS A TORNADO COMING". Brenton starts crying and says "My tummy hurts! I don't want it to come today." He wasn't moving. So I picked him up in his blanket and put him in the hallway. I told him to run to the basement!

I run into Savannahs room. I literally just scooped her up and ran toward the stairs. Mean while Alan runs to the other side of the house to grab the dogs and there leashes. We all meet on the stairs.

We all get into our tornado room in the basement. Which consists of a room with all 4 walls in-cased in cement. We had camping chairs already set up, our emergency bags which consisted of changes of clothing for each person, shoes for the kids, and our toiletry's. We also had our 72 hour kits, along with snacks for the kids, a few toys, and sippy cups.

We sat in the basement for 35 minutes.

We watched the doppler radar go over Dubuque.
The kids were quiet and just held onto the dogs.
While sitting there I did discover my bra was on inside out. My shirt was backwards. And I had 2 different socks on.

The rest of the day has been pleasent. Sunny and no signs of a cloud in site. The Storm had winds over 100 mph to the east and west of us. Tornado's in Minnesota and damage all the way to Chicago.

Later on I didn't hear the kids playing anymore. This is how I found them...

Looking back I think it would have made a really great 1920's silent film! You know with the old pianos playing? With Captions in between scenes. :)

Hopefully these occurrences will be few and far between.

Tornado Warnings

It's days like today that I DO NOT like living in IOWA.

The Clouds were kinda swirly this morning...
(yes this is the sky currently... Wouldn't that make you Nervous?!)

The STAT's for the day...

HIGH 82 Degrees
HEAT INDEX 86 Degrees
HUMIDITY 98%
GUSTS 25mph

TOR/CON List has rated us a 5 today and a 6 tomorrow.. For those of you who aren't sure what I'm talking about... 50% chance of tornado's today and 60% of tornado's tomorrow.

Knowing a Storm is coming makes your anxiety go thru the Roof.


Here are some Tornado Facts...

•They may strike quickly, with little or no warning.
•They may appear nearly transparent until dust and debris are picked up or a cloud forms in the funnel.
•The average tornado moves Southwest to Northeast, but tornadoes have been known to move in any direction.
•The average forward speed of a tornado is 30 MPH, but may vary from stationary to 70 MPH.
•Tornadoes can accompany tropical storms and hurricanes as they move onto land.
•Waterspouts are tornadoes that form over water.
•Tornadoes are most frequently reported east of the Rocky Mountains during spring and summer months.
•Peak tornado season in the southern states is March through May; in the northern states, it is late spring through early summer.
•Tornadoes are most likely to occur between 3 p.m. and 9 p.m., but can occur at any time.
(I actually find comfort with this during morning thunderstorms)
•The most powerful Tornadoes occur in the United States.
•A typical tornado only lasts for a few minutes.
•Every tornado has its own color, sound and shape.
•Tornadoes is from the Spanish word, tronada, meaning thunderstorm.
•Dust Devils are strong tornadoes that pass over desert areas.
•Some people in ancient times thought dust devils were ghosts.
•The chances that a tornado is a F5, the highest classification for a tornado on the F-scale, is less than 0.1% (so far 6 for 2011)
•Tornadoes have been reported in every state in the US and also in every season.


Tornado Myths

MYTH: Areas near rivers, lakes, and mountains are safe from tornadoes.
FACT: No terrain is safe from tornadoes. In the late 1980's, a tornado swept through Yellowstone National Park leaving a path of destruction up and down a 10,000 ft. mountain.

MYTH: The low pressure with a tornado causes buildings to "explode" as the tornado passes overhead.
FACT: Violent winds and debris slamming into buildings cause most structural damage.

MYTH: Windows should be opened before a tornado approaches to equalize pressure and minimize damage.
FACT: Opening windows allows damaging winds to enter the structure. Leave the windows alone; instead, immediately go to a basement, interior room, or bathroom without windows.

More Storm Clouds & A Tornado Watch

More Storm Clouds
&
A Tornado Watch

Tornado Watch's are a common thing on a Sunday Afternoon in Iowa. It's hard to not take Pictures of all these amazing clouds!!! Photos don't even do it justice for how magnificent and Awe striking they are. In a span of 5 hours I took 224 pictures!!! Here are some of my favorites!!! :)

Brenton is My Little Weatherman... Always watching the Weather Channel!! When he hears the words IOWA & Tornados on TV... he always goes into his room and packs up his worldly prize possessions into his backpack... just in case!! ;)

The Sun would randomly peak out & shine thru...

At times It got so dark you would have thought it was dusk...

It was difficult to keep the kids away from windows or doors the whole afternoon.
Watching the Storm...
Impressive Storm Cells!!!(do you see the 2nd Storm Cell in the back?)


Storm Clouds on there way Out...
Red Skies at Night, Sailor's Delight.

Only In IOWA...

In Honor of Our First Month of becoming Iowan's,
I Present...

Only In IOWA...

Only In Iowa do you have Barns EVERYWHERE!!!

It's kinda Ironic, driving around and seeing a Kohls followed by a Barn, Sams Club, and then yup you guessed it A Barn!! Such a change of scenery. I guess I never noticed how much I am in love with this Huge Structures!!! Somehow being amidst all of these Barns it kinda seems like home.... Perhaps being drawn to these in the first place were another testament of where we were headed.

Only in Iowa are you CONSTANTLY listening for a Tornado Siren...

Alan laughs at me, because since arriving in Iowa, I am on alert. Subconsciously, I have been listening for such a siren. I am so worried!!! That I wont wake up or hear it when it goes off! I have already mistaken our Master Bedroom Fan, kids magnet alphabet fridge toy, kids sonicare toothbrushes and even Brenton yelling in the playroom in the basement. Needless to say, I think I have a Giant Paper Bag with My name on it in the tornado room for when I hyperventilate due to shattered nerves.

Only In Iowa, does your Weatherbug go off WARNING you that you are in a TORNADO WATCH.

We experienced Our first Severe Thunderstorm aka Tornado Watch. The storm moved in extremely fast and almost appeared from no where on the Doppler. (yes I watch the Doppler... I even animate it to see its progression) I have never seen lightning like this, except for once in my life. (back in navuoo on a family vacation when I was 9.. and which is only 3 hours South of us) The lightning literally does not stop lighting up the sky. The clouds were low and unsettling. Before the storm it was 62 degrees... within the hour we hit almost 80 with 75% humidity. I am guessing the barometer level changed so drastically it triggered some minor anxiety. We live 4 miles from downtown where they experienced Softball size hail from this storm!! I was not prepared for a Tornado Watch so soon upon our arrival to Iowa. For some reason I had it in my head that we still had a good month to prepare. Our House actually has a Tornado Room in the back corner of the basement consisting of all 4 walls of cement. We spent Sunday 4/3 quickly gathering emergency kits, flashlights, snack foods, blankets, camping chairs, ect to go into our room. Lets hope we never have to use it!

Only in Iowa, while driving around town do you hear such a joke...

As I was driving to Sams Club the other day (a whole whopping mile). I heard a commercial...

guy 1: Do you have Hail dents on your car??

guy 2: HAIL YAH!!!

We are still laughing about this and between my siblings this has been our reply for everything!!! (photos are from our local newspaper!)

"How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?

A woodchuck would chuck all the wood he could if a woodchuck could chuck wood?"

Only In Iowa Wood you have a Woodchuck as a Pet aka Groundhog...

First mistaken for a Beaver we named him Beav...(as pointed out in the first video) However after much analysis of our photos we have come to the conclusion it is a Groundhog. Hence Beav has been named Wood. (what can I say our kids are original! ;)) Every day we see this guy come out of the woods and partake of our scrumptious backyard grass. :) Best part is we do not have to worry about feeding it or cleaning up after it... What a perfect pet!!

Only In Iowa do the Birds chirp at Night?!

On our Anniversary the kids had gone to bed. And Alan & I were enjoying some yummy spinach & cheese filled Raviolis while tuning into the Jersey Shore. (Yes we like to keep things classy! lol) It was probably around 10pm and we could still hear the birds chirping!! I thought this was so strange. And so every night after the kids were asleep, I opened the door and low and behold they keep going!!! I especially love the Woodpecker that woke me up this morning at 4am. But that aside Iowa has the most stunning birds I have ever seen EVER! Here is a list in our area..I promise to do a future post on the gorgeous birds in our backyard. :)

Only In Iowa do you have CORN in your gasoline!!!

Hey!! I really don't mind because it usually means cheaper gas by a whole whopping 10 cents!!! HAIL YA!!!

Only In Iowa do your pets BECOME Bird Prey...

Just in the few weeks of being here our poor dogs have been the apple of multiple birds eyes... (especially Red Tailed Hawks) Going outside with them every time has already become old. However this is the price you pay when you live within 5 miles of the great Mississippi River. In one months time we have already seen Osprey, (catching a fish over the Mississippi... gorgeous bird in flight!!) Bald Eagles, Turkey Vultures, & Red Tailed Hawk!!! Thank you Dubuque for your wide selection of GIANT Birds!! For a good story go here...

So as you can see Our Adventures never have a dull moment!! And I am sure since, I have this many story's to share in the first Month. There will be more in 2 months time... Special Thanks to the BFF Ginny for the Inspired Blog Title!!!

To Be Continued....