A Dark and Stormy Night

 Springtime in my neck of the woods is monsoon season. No, I don't live in India. Seasonal rains are common around the earth. Come July and August, it will be hot and dry, with little rain. 

Last Friday was a dark and very stormy night. We knew the forecast was for thunderstorms with lots of rain and possibly hail. There was also the possibility of tornados. I went to bed at my usual time with the knowledge that the night's sleep would probably be broken by thunder and lightening. I made sure to unplug all the electronics before settling down for the night. I've had the experience of a lighting strike frying my motherboard, so I take no chances.

About 12:30 am, the wind was howling, and the power went out. I could hear the rain beating against the windows. Our bedroom has a north facing window that never gets wet when it rains and the rain usually comes from the west. But this night was different. I'm glad I had chosen to close the window as it got a soaking. 

Of course, I was no longer sleeping, thought I tried. I kept listening to the sounds of the wind and rain on the metal roof, then I heard hail coming down. I have always heard that you can hear a tornado coming because it sounds like a freight train. I kept listening for such a sound, but didn't hear it. I did hear some noise that I wasn't familiar with, but didn't know what it was.

The power was out for a bit over two hours, then came back on and I went back to sleep. The storm was mostly gone. When morning came, the sun was out. I looked out the window to see what damage might have been done, then got dressed to go get downed branches out of the driveway. In the process I realized that there was a branch awfully low over the drive. On closer inspection, I saw that a tree had split in half and that half was now barely hanging over the drive. A branch of it was caught in the work of another tree branch. It was definitely more that I would be able to handle. Time to call on some help.

My son was able to get the branch down and out of the way. But it took a large forklift which had been rented for a building project to remove it safely. We were thankful the equipment was available. 

While the half tree was being removed we learned from a neighbor that a tornado had come very close and had destroyed much of our neighbor's property. We live in a rural area with farms around us. Her barns, garage, and outbuildings took a direct hit. He house had roof damage, but was spared being demolished. Another neighbor had his barn destroyed. We could see the path of the tornado by the damage to the trees.

On our way to church that morning, we were unable to take the road we usually took as it was blocked by debris, which meant going a different route. On the drive, we saw many trees twisted and torn by the twister a few hours previous. Local people were out with their chain saws and tractors clearing the road.

We would later learn that there were actually two tornados that came through our area. No, I didn't hear anything like a freight train, a sound I'm familiar with. But that odd sound I had heard was probably the twisters coming through. How very thankful we are for God's protection that night. Though there was damage, our neighbor was unhurt as she huddled under a blanket with her two dogs as the storm destroyed her barns. God kept us all safe.