Cole's Tornado & Musings

Second Post of the Day

If Music City Son Cole could have another profession, my guess is that he'd be a storm chaser. Since he was little, storms have fascinated him. And yes, I did drive him around a couple of times to follow storms when he was in his teens. I share his fascination.

During the huge storm breakout in the Midwest this week, Cole and Emily had a tornado (not yet on the ground, thank goodness) pass right over their home in Spring Hill, Tennessee. 

This is the tornado that went over Cole and Emily's home. The video was taken after it had touched down in Spring Hill.

(The following pictures are all taken from Spring Hill social media sites, news outlets, or were sent to me by Cole. I left credits on them if they were there.)

Tornados form as spinning tubes that are horizontal to the ground and then, if conditions are right, tip and become vertical. (See video below.)

Which probably saved their home from being destroyed as this was an ugly tornado when it was on the ground.

Once it touched down, it was huge. (Thompson Station and Spring Hill are twin cities.)

Here's a quick video that shows how a tornado begins as a horizontal tube that becomes vertical if conditions are right.

Tornados are a fact of life if you live in the Midwest. You get used to them, but you also have to be alert and cautious, too. Like they did to our friends in Indy, they can pass right next to you and not cause any damage.

A direct hit, however, can be devastating.

In 2016, a friend in Illinois lost her home to a direct hit from a tornado. (Read about that here.)

And my father's home in St. Louis was hit when he was a little boy. He was upstairs and one of those windows blew in on him. 

I was heading out to the barn to see Abby one afternoon when a small tornado unexpectedly dropped onto the ground in the field next to me. I learned during that experience why you see cars driving past tornados because I did the same thing.

Pony Pals Ian, Mila, and Lukie's elementary and middle schools took direct hits and the elementary school was closed for a year and the middle school for two. In this blog post, there is a link to security cameras inside the middle school that filmed the tornado destroying the building. I still get chills as I watch the walls peel off the gym or the roof cave in on the hallways (where kids would have been sheltering for safely.)

I've seen many tornados, but fortunately I've never been in a spot that took a direct hit. I will always find them fascinating, but I have a very healthy respect for them and the damage they can do.