Boy that
WAS close! The tornado lifted about 2 miles west of me and split into “Sisters”, meaning two tornadoes. They were in the air so there was minimal damage. I lost one small tree at the edge of the yard. The larger sister skirted to the north of me. The smaller sister went right over my house.
It was still daylight so I could watch the tree tops to tell me what was happening. Quick primer/map on what to look for during a tornado… 1st Pic - The tornado is the red circle labeled “T”.
1) With a tornado approaching from the west and you are located just north of the path… The in-flow winds travel for the East to the West. The tree tops will bend to the west. (position A & arrows).
This is what I was seeing as the tornado approached my home. I was still breathing easy.
2) If I was south of a tornado’s path the winds would blow from West to East, position “B”. The tree tops will bend towards the East, out flow winds.
3) If the winds are switching rapidly East to West then West to East and back again it means I am in a tornadoes path, the bull’s eye… It’s time to crap my pants, labeled “C”, in blue.
I was seeing position “A” winds as the tornado approached, no worries. Then suddenly I started seeing “C” winds. The pucker factor definitely went up for about 30 seconds.
For me tornadoes at night are very scary. I can’t see the tree tops to get a good idea what is happening. I can only see tree tops during flashes of lighting. I’d much rather have a close call during the day.
Pic 2 – tree down
Pics 3 & 4. The leaves covering the highway only go 100yrds to the east and 100yrds to the west. That’s how I know for sure the smaller of the sisters went directly over the house.
The storm was moving about 70mph according to the weather man. A few miles to the east, after it past my house, it dropped back to the ground. There was a lot of damage and several injuries. Thankfully I’ve heard of no deaths.