Freddy's Fantastic Foray

Dodging a bullet... (another one)

Yeah, yeah, I know, it's been awhile, but, well, heck, there just isn't much going on (at least here in the big town of Guymon OK) to blog about. Unless, of course, you all in WDC blogland want to hear about my latest programming, and the latest software and hardware upgrades to my PC. Yeah, I thought so...

So, here I am, with actually something to write about.  In this case, how 'bout a tornado?  It happened Thursday evening, May 31.  Yes, May went out like a beast!  (wait, isn't that supposed to be March?..)

Well, alright it was a funnel cloud (a tornado not reaching the ground), but it happened just as the "wrong" part of a tornado-producing thunderstorm moved directly overhead, and after this storm had in fact been producing tornadoes on the ground, one north of the big town of Eva, to the northwest of here. Then, just as the wall cloud (the dark, low hanging cloud from which 90 percent of all tornadoes, small and large, germinate) approached, a funnel cloud suddenly began snaking down. I said some choice word, my aunt jumped up and went into the middle bedroom, and I watched as it never seemed to touch the ground, moved behind an oak tree across the street and disappeared.

The tornado sirens blew about 10 minutes before that happened, so, thank gawd someone was on the ball somewhere. I say that because that has not always been the case around here for some reason - maybe the last scare in April where a wall cloud (no funnel cloud, but...) passed overhead, and no sirens sounded or anything, and couple that with the Greensburg, Kansas disaster, got someone 'round here on the ball.  We'll see if it lasts...

Yes, I am a "trained spotter" but not part of the local emergency management - only police and fire department personnel are authorized to report things like funnel clouds, etc, to local emergency officials. My reports must go to the National Weather Service in Amarillo, Texas.  But, that's not entirely bad - I reported golf ball size hail last April via a "quick" email message to the NWS, and in less than  10 minutes, it was being reported via an official update.

And, in our county we now have "Weather Radio" (knock me over with a feather...). Grant it, we're one of the last counties in the region, and we still aren't "Storm Ready", but, maybe when "that" tornado finally hits town, fewer people will die.

And, on that up note, I'll end this blog. Until next month!!!  (Jus' kiddin'...)

P.S.  Why, in the local paper the next day, was there no mention of any storm, funnel, tornado, nothing... ??  Well, I'm certainly sleeping better...

P.S.S  Ah...found it...off to the side...no pictures...small headline...and the headline is almost verbatim the title of this blog entry.  If I were the editor, I'd splash it across the top in big bold headlines, if only to keep folks vigilant, but that's just me...

P.ssssssssss  And, there are pics in the Weekend Edition, and a bigger headline, though second from the top.  Therefore, at least partially, my bad... But, I guess I was the only one to see the actual unmistakable funnel cloud, just like I guess I was the only one to see the wall cloud in April...