Welcome to Lowell

We had only been back in the States a few days when we had our first storm. We only heard thunder a couple of times the two years we were in Scotland, so this storm was a bit frightening. It reminded me that we are no longer in the land where nature is safe.

Shortly after we stepped outside to watch the storm on Sunday we heard the tornado sirens. I asked if that was just the 7 o'clock siren the town sounds everyday. Josh was staring at the sky and shook his head. We went in to turn on the radio, which was giving a local advisory, naming Lowell as one of the towns where people should take cover immediately. This was a tornado warning, meaning a funnel cloud or tornado had been spotted. This is different than a tornado watch, meaning there is simply the possibility that there could be a tornado.

The voice on the radio said the storm would be in our town in about 30 minutes. Josh, always being prepared, went downstairs to set up our hide out. He decided that we would hide under the pool table. There he placed a couple of bottles of water, torches (flashlights), our gortex rain jackets, my wellies, and his boots.

So we watched, waited, listened.

I remembered from shows about tornadoes when people said it sounded like a freight train coming through. My heart stopped at one point when the thunder was low and rumbling continuously. It could have sounded like a freight train. The strange thing was that there was hardly any wind! The sky looked ominous and we could see clouds swirling that seemed like they could form a funnel any minute.

The clouds passed and the rain subsided. We were all safe and sound. What a welcome to the Midwest!