Friday, April 10, 2015

"It takes a real storm in the average person's life to make him realize how much worrying he has done over the squalls.” ― Bruce Barton

My sister and her family watched this F-4, 200 mph tornado cross the field directly behind their home. Thankfully her home was not damaged.

Northern Illinois tornado

Fairdale, Illinois, the entire town leveled.  Two women killed.

Aerial views of the tornado damage in Fairdale. Photo taken Friday morning from the Thursday night tornado.

I give credit to the weather forecasters in my area.  At times they were almost frantic following the paths of the tornadoes.  The obvious distress could be heard in their voices and no doubt inspired the residents to pay heed and  seek shelter.


Trees are stripped clean along Route 64 in Rochelle.

The new radar equipment pinpoints rotation which allows minute by minute warnings.  Thank you weather forecasters and thank you first responders.

After her close brush with the tornado, my sister wasn't able to sleep so she collected anything she thought victims and first responders might need and drove to Rochelle were the tornado touched down first.  

9 comments:

Gardener on Sherlock Street said...

The power of these storms is amazing. Having had friends deal with tornado destruction, one of the things we found most needed were totes with lids so people could collect their possessions and store them somewhere while rebuilding their homes and lives. Packing material for any breakables that didn't get destroyed is good too. You go to help and realize you have no place to put the items you're salvaging. The red cross does a great job of getting people what they need during the time. Bless your sister for helping.

Nan and =^..^= said...

Oh my that is so scary! Glad your sister and family are safe and you are, too. A great quote…
take care...

Naturegirl said...

I know from experience the power and devastation of a Tornado! Last Spring we had one pass through our neighborhood, it did not touch down, just passed through and in 3 minutes 800 old Oak trees came down like match sticks! 5 of those were in my wooded garden! Sill hubby and I stood paralyzed as the winds came towards our garden room window! A miracle not a one fell on our house just surrounded our house! My car was totalled..a write off as one mighty Oak came down on top of it!
Those 5 trees costs us over $10,0000 to clean up! Insurance does NOT cover acts of Nature! I should post about this as our little rural town looks so pathetic now....too costly to most to clean up the debris!
I can only imagine how folks feel when everything they own is destroyed! The power of Mother Nature!!

Lowcarb team member said...

Tornado's sure are scary and so powerful. I've not experienced one so can only imagine the awful mess, chaos and heartache it can bring to those affected.

Take Care

All the best Jan

Anita Johnson said...

I am so thankful your sister is OK...your quote couldn't have been more appropriate. Reading the comments is amazing too.

sweetbay said...

I'm so glad to hear your family is OK.

Tornadoes like that are so destructive and terrifying. Back in 1989 there were several tornadoes spawned in our area overnight (very unusual for NC) and several people died. Now there is a warning system in place for anyone who wants to subscribe to it.

troutbirder said...

Oh my. Scary. Thank God I've never seen one up close....

Anonymous said...

So glad you and your sister are okay. Tornadoes are serious stuff. ~~Dee

Rose said...

So glad you and your sister are safe! In the fall of 2013 a tornado leveled a small town near us; they are still rebuilding. But thankfully no one was hurt, and the disaster brought out the best in people as so many people from the surrounding area came to help clean-up and do whatever was needed. Scary times.