Tornado

The warnings were up by mid-afternoon and it was one of those days you could tell someone was going to get it. As I left work there were tornados to the west and north of us but nothing close. By the time we made it home more places were getting the take cover warning.

We went about our routines only keeping a watch on the sky and radar. I was messing around outside and watching the clouds when Jan came out on the deck to tell me there was a tornado sighted in Oregon and it was headed east. When I turned my head west and looked, the whole field near us seemed like it was lifting and the sky above was starting to turn.

I joined Cory, Jan and the dogs in the basement. At first there was little to notice but in a few seconds the roar began and the house started to rattle and shake. The power went out. We sat there until it got quiet and then I went back out on the deck to see what had happened.

To my immediate east the nasty beast was right there ripping, shredding and tearing. It was huge and then it calved into two before merging back into one in a few seconds.. Things were still flying around and the sky was savage so I headed back into the basement.

After a few more minutes of quiet, we went back out. Neighbors were also coming out to calls of, "are you alright? You okay?" Everyone was taking stock. There was a roof gone from a house behind us and there was other roof damage to see. Trees and limbs were down, windows blown out. Everyone was safe.

Our house was intact. Maybe some single damage. The yard and the trees were covered in shredded insulation from when the roof blew off the house behind us. But again, we were okay.

Now came the sirens, a sound we'd hear most of the night. Then came the med-flight helicopters which kept up until dark. At first light in the morning, the news helicopters poured in like a bunch of angry hornets. Helicopters gradually gave way to airplanes.

On the ground, heavy equipment and emergency service vehicles took to the streets. Many streets were closed off. Volunteer efforts began right away. Several days later we now have the steady sounds of construction and the "yeep, yeep, yeep" of machinery moving debris.

A few photos here...>