Storms and Playdates

If you don't follow the news or maybe if you live on the west coast and they didn't cover it, we had a series of very bad storms here yesterday. If you want to get technical, we have had quite a few storms lately. I believe, going into yesterday's first storm, we were on our fourth tornado watch since I moved here. Anyway, I knew a storm was predicted, but the day had been fine. Out of nowhere, it got very dark, there was rumble of thunder and thus began the most terrifying 40 minutes of my life. I have done my research and my sister lives in Kansas, so I know what to do in the event of a tornado. I was prepared. Over-prepared, really. I just expected some rain and wind and thunder. I have never seen weather like I saw in those 40 minutes. Never. This storm moved at 60 knots, the winds in excess of 65mph, with torrential rain, over 3000 lightning strikes in the region in less than an hour. I got DJ downstairs in the basement. Our basement is our rec room/play room, so its not a hardship to be down there. I turned on the news and we weren't in a tornado watch, it was a warning. There were very active rotations of air in the clouds. Our laundry room is built into the ground and I have no doubt we would come out of a tornado just fine, but it is still completely terrifying and I found myself panicking. Eventually, the storm quieted and the sun came out, like nothing had happened. There were a few broken tree branches, but everything was okay. After the storm passed through this area, it headed toward the Chesapeake, where a tornado touched down, doing some damage, but no death or injuries. Later last night, we had another powerful storm come through, which brought another tornado warning, but again, we came out of it just fine. I believe there were 4 confirmed tornadoes in the region, but the closest was an hour from us. I don't know that having been through this now, I will be any less scared the next time, but we did make it through. Tornadoes and Hurricanes...blech...where are my Earthquakes and Volcanoes?! :-)

On another note, DJ has a playdate tomorrow morning with his best friend from Preschool. We are meeting up at this great park near our house for about an hour. It was expected to be very hot this weekend 93-95 degrees, with excess humidity, so we are meeting up early. Yay for playdates and grown-up interaction!!!