Digital Analogue

Yikes!

I had just brought Nutmeg in from his walk (hurry up Nutmeg, it's going to start raining any second) at about 10:25 when the sirens started going off. So, I scoop him up and grab a leash, grab the radio, and go to my basement. The absolutely spectacular electrical storm we'd been having—which was already picking up wind—got even windier and started pouring rain. Knox County had apparently been under tornado warning until 10:30, based on radar, but then it got extended to 11:15 when an actual tornado was sighted a few miles from town. So we settled in.

It was a little worrisome when the radio station suddenly cut out, and six of the eight or so strong FM stations were just broadcasting silence (the other two were broadcasting music). Apparently several stations had been tied into the live broadcast from downtown, which got hit with a power problem. They came back a bit later, and the rest of the warning period was uneventful other than hearing the wind and driving rain. Oh, and the hail.

The radio was warning of possible baseball-size (!) hail, and it sure sounded loud, but when I finally went outside about 11:25 (maybe fifteen, twenty minutes after the last round of window-pelting hail) it was only about nickel-sized. And the window that I didn't get a chance to close got completely soaked. But this part of town appears to have come through unscathed. Power's out in other parts of town, and they're reporting that the flagpole at the post office is bent over, but we'll see what that means.

Aaaaand they just went back to regular programming. So I guess that means the danger period is really over now. :)

"These conditions can signify one of two things: (1) some horrible disease, trauma, or other problem, or (2) nothing." --Cecil Adams