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Hear The Wind Blow!: Greensburg, Kansas, May 4, 2007. (Part One) by Karen Lynn Vidra, The Texas Tornado
Sunday, January 6, 2013
Rated "G" by the Author.
That morning back in May didn't seem to forbode anything major was going to happen. The skies were clear, and other than warmer than normal, humid, and windy conditions, the sky did not have any clouds in it. It looked like it was going to shape up to be a beautiful day.
Yet the weather forecasters thought differently. They were sure that the ingredients for a possible severe weather event later in the day were coming together; yet many people were not even aware. They just went about their business, myself included.
I was busy trying to get the troops ready so I could have everything accomplished before we headed out the door for morning church services. The weather was the last thing on my mind.
We did just that: went to church; afterwards, we went out to eat, which was usually the customary thing to do afterwards. We went to IHop for lunch. I wanted to enjoy the company of my husband and our five children, who would probably be hopped up on ice cream and sweets. It was worth it, though; they were enjoying the weekend and we wanted to make sure that they did.
When I looked out the window of the restaurant, I noticed clouds starting to dot the sky. Friendly, puffy white cottonballs that looked harmless; the wind still blew out of the south at roughly 30 miles an hour; it was definitely not a day for hairstyles or hats.
I checked the phone when an alert status popped up, causing it to ring. I saw that our area was now under a tornado watch until roughly ten/eleven tonight. I still didn't give it much thought; maybe the storms would miss us or not even materialize: there had been plenty of false alarms beforehand, I remember thinking.
Yet I couldn't help thinking about the fact that tornado season was now in full swing and any storm could quickly turn severe; after all, the air was juicy with humidity and it was warmer than normal: prime ingredients for possible severe weather. Tornadoes were quite common here in Kansas; it was something to be expected.
I tried to put the weather out of my mind as I concentrated on eating and enjoying time with my family. Maybe as I look back on this I should have paid attention: it could have definitely saved me a lot of heartache later on.
That morning back in May didn't seem to forbode anything major was going to happen. The skies were clear, and other than warmer than normal, humid, and windy conditions, the sky did not have any clouds in it. It looked like it was going to shape up to be a beautiful day.
