"tornado touched down" interupted my drive home tonight.

I drove north into town and into darkening skies. I listen close to the radio as more news fades in and out. The tornado is just 10 miles away from home and I'm driving towards it.

Lightning starts flashing over the skies as I can see the clouds move under the storm base in a different direction, they dip and go back up. Any second I think I'll be seeing a funnel drop infront of me.

I get home and run into the house, immediately tell my roommate what's going on. We drop power from all the electronics and grab the cameras to go outside.

We see the eye of the storm coming toward us, and all our neighbors head to the shelter. A few quick shots and less than 5 minutes later we are off to shelter as well. (I live in a mobile home.)

The radio says that the first line is now past, but the thunderstorm that follows is dropping torential rains and up to golf sized hail.

Funnel clouds are still forming not 15 miles west of us, and heading this way.

We pull into the parking garage and pull into a stall. Radio is now giving updates less than 5 minutes apart. Looking out into the street we can barely see across to the next building.

My roommate still managed to find an internet signal so we were updated with radio and radar. The radio station goes dead the lights go out and the sky is lit like noon day.

I quickly turn to another station hoping that something is still live and broadcasting. The winds pick up to a reported 70 mph and flash flooding and down powerlines have occured all over the city.

The sound of sirens pass by us as emergency vehicles pass by.

Finally a small lull in the storm. The roads are half flooded even downtown and the clouds are silhouetted against the horizon seeming like mountains in the distance.

**CRACK** Lightning struck straight down from the heavens. The streets to the SE are completely dark. The wind starts to howl as a Goodyear sign across the ways shudders and the two small trees infront of the garage start thrashing.

The rain pours down again, and there's litterally a 2" river coming down the drive ramp in the parking garage. Rain is misting in horizontally and the signs are swinging inside of the garage. Debris drift horizontally across our vision. It truly felt like a scene from the movie twister.

We haven't been able to retrieve the internet signal since the lightning strike. Evidentally it took out our source. We keep our ears open to the EMS radio annoucements.

About an hour later the storm lulls again and we hear that it is moving to the SE. We take the chance to drive home. Reports start coming in of down trees and power lines. Roads are blocked off from flooding, and the EMG Services are hard at work trying to keep people safe. Power is out in at least a half dozen towns and one of the hundred year old great trees in Oronoco lost the fight to the storm.

I pull into our street, there's little damage other than blown bits of leaves and a plastic chair.

We are home safe and sound. The last storm reports say it is moving to the SE and the tail end will miss us.

As I type this, power is gone.

-----
an hour later....

Tomorrow we'll here what damage has been done. There's at least one more tree down that fell on a garage.


What a night.
Jade