buckaroo
Here kitty, kitty, kitty
I've always been fascinated with tornadoes and though I was born and raised in tornado alley, I've never really seen an actual funnel cloud that has turned into a tornado. (Saying that, I actually had an F0 tornado pass over me some years ago while on my route, story about that later) So with my fascination, I always look for videos of tornadoes and in some ways, envy those storm chasers. There are two different videos that show the Tuscaloosa tornado that was so devastating. I have witnessed what a top F5 tornado has left behind, seeing the aftermath of the tornado that has the top winds recorded at 301 mph, in the Oklahoma City tornado of 1999. That one was wide, strong and lasted a long time, but the Tuscaloosa tornado was probably just as wide, maybe wider, and lasted a long time. Not sure just yet the strength of it, but without a doubt, it was at least an EF4 and from what I've seen of the damage, it might very well have been an EF5.
As to having a tornado pass over me, it was while I was walking my route. The storm came up quickly and I was as far from my vehicle as I could be when it started to hail. I quickly ran to the nearest home that had a good porch and felt safe. Then I heard the noise and it got much darker. The rain began to go sideways and I thought... "oh sh#t". I backed up as close as I could to the house and prayed. I watched the rain come off the top of the porch going away from me, and then it changed directions. Now I was getting hit in the face with rain and dirt from the street. My ears popped and I really thought I'd bought the farm. But as soon as it appeared, it was gone and the rain also waned. I could see a lot of tree limbs in the street, but no other damage. I continued my route and later found more damage when I got to the end of my route. A tree had been blown over and landed on a Caddy. There were other damages that I saw later and when I got home, it was confirmed that a tornado had touched down and traveled less than a mile, right through my route. Even experiencing this, I was never able to see the tornado because of the heavy rain.
As to having a tornado pass over me, it was while I was walking my route. The storm came up quickly and I was as far from my vehicle as I could be when it started to hail. I quickly ran to the nearest home that had a good porch and felt safe. Then I heard the noise and it got much darker. The rain began to go sideways and I thought... "oh sh#t". I backed up as close as I could to the house and prayed. I watched the rain come off the top of the porch going away from me, and then it changed directions. Now I was getting hit in the face with rain and dirt from the street. My ears popped and I really thought I'd bought the farm. But as soon as it appeared, it was gone and the rain also waned. I could see a lot of tree limbs in the street, but no other damage. I continued my route and later found more damage when I got to the end of my route. A tree had been blown over and landed on a Caddy. There were other damages that I saw later and when I got home, it was confirmed that a tornado had touched down and traveled less than a mile, right through my route. Even experiencing this, I was never able to see the tornado because of the heavy rain.
