My daughter-in-law arrived at my home this morning during a heavy rain storm, accompanied by her daughter and her two young grandchildren, who are visiting here from San Antonio. They didn't leave home in the rain, but it was coming down buckets by the time they arrived. After a lot of kissing and cootchy-cooing (on my part), getting the baby out of the car seat, helping them shake out umbrellas and finding a spot for their damp shoes, we settled down to look at photos of my granddaughter's new home in SA.
In the midst of our conversation, my granddaughter's cell phone buzzed; it was her husband, calling from a tornado shelter at Jefferson, AR, approximately 50 miles south of where I live. He is working for a few weeks at The National Center for Toxicological Research which is located there. In Arkansas, where they are installed, tornado warning sirens will (and should) get your attention! He and others from the NCTR had been evacuated into a place of relative safety; he was calling to alert his wife to the possible impending danger to our area and to assure her that he was safe.
I don't watch TV during the day, and didn't have a radio on, either. Rain, especially lately, even when accompanied by a few thunder claps, is simply "rain." However, as soon as I heard her say "tornado," the TV was turned on to the channel which has the best weather reporting. We were relieved to see that where we live (NE of Little Rock) was not in the tornado warning area, even though we were, by then, experiencing very, very heavy rainfall, and moderate-to-strong wind gusts.
However, sad, sad news for other parts of the state: six confirmed deaths, many injuries, and untold hundreds-of-thousands of dollars in damage to property. As far as I'm able to tell at this point, the nearest tornadic touch-downs were about 60 miles to the northwest and 60 miles to the north of here. TV remote crews were on-site in two of the hardest hit locations, and the video footage tells their tragic stories to those of us who are fortunate to sit in dry and unscathed homes.
My thoughts and prayers go out to those who suffered losses today.
7 comments:
We have good friends down near Magnolia, and then also around Harrison. Our prayers are to keep you safe and for the others - strength to deal with what has happened.
Take care, have a wonderful time with your family.
Pat. so glad to hear that your family is safe.. I will pray for those who have been effected by this storm..
Thanks for your kind and beautiful words on my blog today. I am so glad that I could make you happy with my photos.. thanks so much for sharing..
I'm thinking about all those in Arkansas...you're in my thoughts and prayers.
Grew up in Columbia, MO (the BEST town on earth) so know a little about tornado weather.
Blessings!
abb
While we could sure use some rain, we sure don't want any twisting action! My thoughts and prayers are with all those who have been dealing with violent weather. Lord come quickly!
Our newspaper yesterday had an article about the Arkansas storms. It said in Bee Branch, a father, mother and preschooler died when their house was hit. Their older child had left for school, and so survived, but what a tragedy for that child to lose his or her family.
Thanks for your "keep safe" wishes, friends.
Jeannelle: Sadly, Bee Branch is the one I mentioned that is 60 miles north of me. We saw part of the devastation on TV. Just awful!
Will be praying for the families that have lost so much in these storms. Glad you and your are safe and sound.
Ranch Wife
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