All About Storms by Alex
Here is a story that was written, and illustrated, by Alex.
All About Storms by Alex
Some storms have rain thunder and lightning. Some storms have twisters. Some storms by water have hurricanes. Some storms in the winter are called blizzards. Also storms can have heal heal heal. (hail, insert pictures of a lot of hail of various sizes falling from the sky).
Storm Safety Tips
If you are driving in a storm with rain you might want to stay in the car.
The End.
Today’s post was brought to you by my storm-loving son, Alex. I am a weather-junkie myself, I remember receiving a cloud kit when I was in elementary school and thus sparked my love of weather and storms. Alexander came about as a result of being newlyweds stuck in an ice storm (how perfect hehe) so he’s been a storm-lover from the get-go.
We will often sit and watch twister shows on TV and after watching a recent series, Twister Sisters, he declared that he wanted to go storm chasing. I told him that I would take him on a storm chasing vacation for his 16th Birthday to which he quickly replied “Pops can come too!” So we’ve got my dad on board and the three of us will head to Tornado Alley for Alexander’s 16th birthday.
Although we don’t currently live in Tornado Alley, Alexander was born in Arkansas and some maps consider it to be a part of Tornado Alley, a fact of which Alexander is proud. He will also enthusiastically tell the story of his first tornado warning although he doesn’t remember it personally.
In December of 2001 when Alexander was not quite four months old, I had a hunkering for a chicken sandwich from Burger King (I know, I know, bad for me!). While paying for my sandwich, the tornado sirens went off. My eyes bulged because my son was at home and here I was, two miles away. I quickly drove home and ran into the house to find my husband and son in the closet. Now this wasn’t our first siren and we didn’t always go into the closet (we’d watch the radar to see if we needed to), but this was the first siren with a wee one so there was no question.
There on the floor in the closet was my son strapped into his car seat with the handle up and a pillow over it (so as not to suffocate him) and daddy sitting there with his arms wrapped tightly around the car seat. I was instantly relieved, I was back home with my family. Although it was very windy, the tornado didn’t hit our apartment. It did, however, cut through a neighborhood about a mile away. That was our closest encounter with a tornado during the two years we lived in Arkansas.
One month later, we were back “home” in Arizona with family.
Image courtesy of the National Severe Storms Laboratory.
April 16th, 2008 at 10:10 am
I love the twister sisters. My son(aspie) and I are also fascinated by storms. I lived through a tornado myself. I was about 10 and the sky changed. The winds picked up our barn and carried it into our backyard. It totally scared me but I have been fascinated by them since. When the skys change like that one day I freak. But I am in california were tornados are very rare. I love to watch the people just stand there and the winds are blowing them over or the hail is slamming on the windsheald lol!
April 16th, 2008 at 10:21 am
Wow how scary, I’m glad everything went well during your tornado experience as well. I’ll have to tell my son that someone posted to his story and has some things in common with him, he’ll love it!
April 17th, 2008 at 12:55 am
That must have been quite frightening.
We sometimes have tornadoes in the UK but they are only small ones but even so they cause a lot of damage and there have been some fatalities.
I remember The Great Storm that we had in 1987 and the roof coming off my daughters school when they were in it. All I remember was desperately trying to get to the school to fetch her,and this was all before mobile phones which made it worse.
April 17th, 2008 at 10:09 am
Egads Allyson, that had to have been absolutely frightening. When things like that happen, you just want to be *with* your children. Pre-mobile phone days you had no way of knowing anything until you got their too. Yikes!