Severe Weather

I had the opportunity to take another trip to Alabama for disaster preparedness training. This time around, there were several more people from my company that went. This was definately an eventful trip!

One day, one of the ladies from my work started saying that she thought it would be awesome if there was some severe weather (tornado). She said that she didn't just want heavy thunderstorms, but an actual tornado to touch down in the area. Let's just say that she kind of got her wish. During class on Tuesday, we heard that there was a tornado watch in the area. That is less severe than a warning, but I guess you still need to be on guard for the possibility of a tornado. A few people from my work went outside, and it was amazing to see how fast the clouds were moving. The sky wasn't really dark, but you could see that in the distance, the clouds were really black and it was raining hard. We also heard a rumor that a tornado had been sighted about twenty miles away, but it hadn't touched down. About twenty minutes later, one of the instructors told us that the buses were there to take us back to our dorms and that we needed to load them as soon as possible. So, we head outside, and the sky is really getting dark, even though it is still in the afternoon. As soon as we got back to the lodging area, we were told that a tornado warning was in effect and that we needed to go to the tornado shelter area.

Brynn, me, Jamey, and Ann in the tornado shelter

After fifteen minutes or so, we received word that the warning had passed, so we decided to see if we could get a ride into town. Then, we heard sirens go off, which signaled another tornado warning. There was a voice over a loud speaker that instructed us to return to the tornado shelter area. Eventually, the warning was lifted and we were able to go about our business, although they wouldn't take us very far away from the base. The next morning, I was watching the news and they said that they believed the neighboring town had received some damage from a tornado or small winds...I am just glad that wasn't us!

Besides the tornado, we still had a good trip. My coworkers and I tried to have as much fun as possible. We played a lot of card games, went bowling, and tried some of the local, authentic restaurants: Cooter Brown's Rib Shack (yes, literally a shack), Dad's BBQ (like Training Table, but all BBQ), and Top O'the River (fried catfish, anyone?).

I was also able to get some sweet boots from the local Tractor Supply Company. I think that a few people from my group were a little surprised when I said that I wanted to stop there, but I am so glad that I did. I wanted to buy some when I was in Alabama in September, but I didn't have enough room in my suitcase. I am glad that I didn't leave empty handed this time!