Monday, February 04, 2013

Tornado Alley!

Monday, February 04, 2013  at 8:28 PM
Last week, I was working in in my home office while Jennifer was in the living room doing what she seems to constantly be doing...feeding Baby C.  She was watching the weather, and I overheard the weatherman talking about the craziness that was brewing.  He said that there was a possibility of tornados, and they were heading straight for Calhoun, which is the town my parents, grandparents and uncle/aunt live in.  That made my ears perk up, and I quickly went out to see what the weatherman was saying.  He zoomed in the on the map to see the little communities that were in its path, and I knew that was exactly where my parents lived!  I quickly texted them to make sure they knew it was coming, and they did.  They had been watching the weather too.  They had seen it go through Adairsville, a town just to the south, and here's what it looked like as it crossed I-75.

Yikes!  That sucker was huge!!!  I kept watching as the twister went through their community and kept going and then called my mom.  She said that they heard it coming and had already cleared out a spot under their stairs to hide in.  Once it was on them, they both got in there and just prayed.  She said it sounded "just like a freight train," but 30 seconds later, it was gone.  My dad said that he opened the door and could see debris all over everything outside.  The Lord sure protected them as it is obvious that the tornado went right by their house!  The only damage to their actual house was some bumps and bruises to the gutters, a cracked outer pane of a tiny window, a 2x4 that spiked through their roof and let water drip onto the ceiling making a large brown spot, and LOTS of their trees down.  They were totally fine!!

You can see the tornado's path as it ripped through neighborhoods.  This is the neighborhood in front of my parent's.  Their house is right next to that lake.

The middle of the three houses closest to the lake is my parents.  There USED to be a nice thick tree line.

This is the street right before my parent's street.  I can't tell you how often I've walked this street
My dad said that he was going to be doing some chainsaw action on Sunday, so I went up to help him. As I drove in his subdivision, there wasn't much damage until I actually got onto THEIR street.  Then, all of a sudden, there were piles and piles and piles of trees that had ben piled by the curb.  There were people everywhere helping other people.  There were houses missing windows and siding and their roof.  I pulled into my parent's driveway and just lost it!  I just started crying...probably because of a little shock/fear, but also because my parents went right through a tornado and were still with us.  I got out of the car and just hugged and hugged my dad!

Just a few minutes after I got there, a whole crew of church members showed up with chainsaws and man power to clear all the snapped trees.  It was AWESOME!

There USED to be an awesome row of Cyprus trees between the houses.  The poor neighbor obviously had some damage as well as completely losing his detached garage.

We had fun even if it was hard work
Soon after we started work, my sister and brother-in-law showed up to help.  We stacked a little firewood, wouldn't you say?

One of the coolest parts of the day was when four teenagers, sophomores in high school, came over to me and said, "Sir, can we help you?"  They jumped right in and helped us pick up all the trash, shingles, busted siding and large sticks that littered the yard.  It's pretty cool to have complete strangers show kindness.  Cool kids!
Left to Right:  Braxton, Allie, Haley, Brandon
P.S.  Braxton lost half of his house but was over here helping us

It's hard to see how big those piles are, but they are HUGE! 
Some newspaper took this picture which is the house next to my parent's house.

It really is a sobering experience to see the raw power of nature.  But at the same time, it really is a faith-building sight to know that my God is so big and powerful that there is nothing He cannot do.  I praise Him for keeping my parents safe through the storm.

Thanks for reading!

15 comments:

kessia reyne

Glad your parents were okay! Tornados are one thing I DON'T miss about the South (one came through on my very first day in Tennessee). But it is cool to see how the community comes together to lend helping hands. That's always so encouraging.

Jill

Oh my gosh, that is so terrifying. I lived in Huntsville, AL for a stretch of time and it was tornado central down there and scared the crap out of me. I'm glad your parents were okay and only minor damage ... and so cool the community all lent a hand in helping the clean up. These vicious storms are a reminder, I think, that we can never take the simple things for granted.

Johann

That is very scary! Glad everyone is fine. We don't get that here where I live.

Big Daddy Diesel

I am really glad everyone is ok

Beth

I am so glad your parents are ok! God is good!

Coy Martinez

YIKES!!!! Tornadoes scare the living daylights out of me. I live in an area where tornadoes roll right through and especially at night when I know there's a chance, I just can't sleep! What a GREAT thing you parents are ok and that their house made it out with only minimal damage! It can always be so much worse. They were protected :) AND, that is cool that those kids came over to help out!

Unknown

Wow!!!! I totally forgot that your parents were up that way Matt. I am so glad that they were safe and that God was definitely looking out for them! Yikes!

Jford

Glad to hear everyone is ok!

Emily

So glad to hear that your parents are okay! And what a great response from the community!

Poenitz

Wow, Mother Nature is powerful! Glad your folks are safe!

Karen

So glad your parents are ok!

Ironman By Thirty

Wow! How did I not hear about this on the news!

I am super glad that everyone is OK!

However.... I am less sure about you and the chainsaw.... ;)

Kevin

Wow. That is scary. Glad to hear your parent's made it though it safe. It's great to see how people come together and help strangers in times of tragedies like this

Caratunk Girl

Holy crap!!! I am glad everyone is OK!!! That is so scary. I am terrified of tornados! I don't know why, I mean, I live in Maine. We have 1 tornado every 50 yrs or so.

I was in Nebraska once for a conference, and the entire weekend we were in the cellar of the hotel because of tornado watches. I am not a drinker really, but I started buying 2 beers at a time from the bar because I was freaked out.

Anyway, that is so scary!! Again, very happy to hear everyone is OK.

Unknown

That’s really terrifying! It’s a good thing your parents found out about it and immediately hid themselves. With that strong of a tornado, there’s no doubt on how capable it is to cause a massive damage like that. How are your parents now, by the way? I hope the gutters, the cracked window, and their roof have been repaired by now.

Nelson @ Royal Roofing & Siding

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