Three Weeks: Weather

[branchandroot]

People moving to the Great Lakes basin from elsewhere often fret about tornadoes. I figure this is pretty much the same way I'd fret over earthquakes if I moved to the west coast. And whereas a long-time resident would blithely play guess-the-Richter, long-timers here just kind of shrug about tornadoes. They happen. Eh.

But you do get to recognize the signs.

When the sky is low and fast. When it's strangely warm and then abruptly cold. When the clouds have a greenish tinge and the light gets dusty looking and amber. When there are little dervishes kicking up persistently. These are the times one eyes up the sky and maybe wanders over to turn on the radio to listen for any warnings. One casually checks the location of the pets or the kids, just to know. One tries to recall, in the back of one's mind, where the battery powered radio is (or, these days, how much charge the iPod has).

Sharp response won't hit unless the siren actually goes off. That's when all the little, thoughtless preparations snap into gear, the adrenaline pumps, and it's Pets/Kids, Radio, Basement, Now. Breathe. Wait.

Waiting, predictably, is the hardest part.

Comments

[chronolith]

Earthquakes rarely give you any warning, but on the upside they tend to be over within 5-10minutes. Though the big ones have after shocks.

Perhaps a better analogy would be to southeastern folks and hurricanes?

[annotated_em]

*snorts* Yeah, and if you're me and you grew up in an area when the sirens go off every damn time it gets a little windy, you might not even have that last reaction. *rueful* Which probably isn't a good reaction to have dulled, all things considered.

[willidan]

Second the windy complaint. I moved from someplace they never played the sirens unless there was an actual tornado watch or warning to someplace they're afraid of strong winds. It took me a couple of years to get over the adrenalin rush and the search for shelter instinct. Unfortunately, now I sleep through the sirens. That's probably not good either.

[tessercat]

People moving to the Great Lakes basin from elsewhere often fret about tornadoes.

Really? Huh. *ponders* How do you define this basin, geographically?

Just curious, not meaning to be contradictory. ^_^ I've always lived on the north side of the Great Lakes.