Lucked out....this time.
The forecast this evening called for a possible tornado.We don't get many tornadoes in New Jersey.
But, about 3 times per year we get warnings of potential ones.
To the defense of the news, we actually do get a few small ones.
One time one formed right in front of me.
It got started on a hot summer day, No clouds at all.
An SUV stopped at a 4-way stop sign and when it drove away, a very small tornado started,
During the next 5 minutes, it got bigger, and bigger & bigger
and was shaking large trees. Luckily it ran into a tall brick college dormitory,
or it probably would have kept growing.
About 20 years ago, a tornado went down a main street one block from where I was living at the time.
I didn't know it at the time. The next day I learned about it, as I witnessed the damage it
did to a strip mall a block from my house. It ripped the roof off of one building and some
air conditioners out of the walls of other buildings.
This summer New Jersey got some water spouts off the coast in the Atlantic Ocean and
also a tornado that fell some trees.
Getting back to tonight, I decided to walk to a store to buy some chicken. The store is perhaps a mile away.
When I got outside, it was strange. It was totally overcast, complete cloud cover.
It wasn't raining, but it was quite threatening. I debated driving or not, and chose to walk anyway.
As I began to walk, I noticed that every 3 seconds or so, lightning happened.
There was lots of lightning, but it wasn't the typical cloud to ground lightning.
It was all above the lower cloud level.
So, the clouds would light up all over the sky every 3 seconds or so, and thunder was mostly
not present.
On my walk back, the cloud lightning still continued every 3 seconds, and the last 600 yards, or so, it
started to drizzle a little bit. When I got 2 steps from my front porch, the clouds let loose.
They were pouring out buckets of water. Luckily, I had a wind breaker on, and my house key out of my pocket already. So, since I was in the rain less than 2 seconds, I didn't get drenched.
I lucked out....this time.
Comments (16)
Photographing wildlife, is as close as I get to animals, since my pet rabbit died from cancer..
Regardless, perhaps you can't handle my blogs. Perhaps you would be better served elsewhere.
c - I am not making light of anyone's depression. I am merely recognizing the symptoms of yours.
S - I spent some time in Kansas and knew a person who used to chase tornadoes to photograph them from afar. A tornado can definitely outrun you and change direction. It's best to get to good strong shelter quickly.