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

[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.

[branchandroot]

*moderately disdainful* Wimps.

Also, not good safety procedure, seriously.

[dragonwolf]

My city tests the sirens every Wednesday at noon. Evidently, they changed that one week because a storm was coming in at that time and they didn't want people mistaking the real thing for the test. I didn't hear that bit of news, so suffice to say, it freaked me out a little when the siren went off at a weird time and the clouds hadn't come in yet. :D

[branchandroot]

Yikes! Yeah, a change in routine for the sirens makes everyone jumpy, I think.