The Not So Whimsical World of Tornado Destruction
Shreveport, La - Let me start this post by saying I am a weather nerd. I really, really, really get a kick out of monitoring, following, and forecasting weather. I'm not sure where this desire comes from but all my friends will tell you this is the case. I get extremely annoyed in bad weather when I can't be near a full-color weather radar, and by my bed I have a National Weather Service radio which broadcasts all the weather service alerts for this region.
Just two weeks ago while driving to Lafayette, I used radars from both my phone and Donna's and, using comparative analysis, tracked a very severe storm to our west almost down to the mile marker on a paper map she keeps in her car. I like the power of knowledge when it comes to monitoring weather and the possibilty of it catching us. I simply do not like playing guessing games with serious and potentially dangerous weather. We barely slipped past the storm only to find out later it dropped a possible tornado right where we would have been if we had left Shreveport twenty minutes later than we did.
Last month, Donna and I both became certified storm spotters for the NWS when we took a class they sponsor every month. It was a very interesting class where you esentially learn the codes of storm reporting and thereby become the eyes and ears of the meteorolgist who only see whats on the radar.
For Christmas Donna got me a weather station which has everything from a remote rain guage to an anemometer which relays wind speed information to the base station which is in my room. (Like I said, I'm a nerd.)
All that back story brings me to last Thursday. Some bad weather was approaching the Ark-La-Tex and naturally, I was following its every move. By eleven oclock, it looked like the storm was going to miss us. Not only did it appear to be moving north of Shreveport but it appeared to be weakening as well.
Boy, was I wrong. I was standing in the back yard talking on the phone, believing the worst of the weather was over for the evening. Surprisingly, the lightning seemed to be getting closer and louder. Soon, the lightning got so bad that I retreated into the house with the dogs, who by this point has no interest in hanging around outside.
Amazingly, very little ran fell and my anemometer never rose about 15 miles per hour on the variable wind speed. It seemed the storm was a dud after all.
Soon the storm passed and the moon came out. Right after the full moon came out, I got a call from Donna who heard a news report (she was driving at that time from New Orleans up to Shreveport) that Shreveport had been hit by a tornado.
Not believing it possible, I immediately jumped in the car with my roommate Matt and to our complete and utter shock, within four city blocks of my house, the power was out and trees were blocking the road. NONE of us at the house had heard or even suspected a tornado had been forming. Apparently, the NWS itself was caught off guard by the strengthening storm because a tornado warning, as far as I could tell, was never issued for the Shreveport metropolitan area. One warning was issued for Bossier Parish but it was because of a different storm ten miles north of town. In one whole section of town the power was out, trees were down, powerlines were in the road randomly and every traffic signal was out. I am very leary of Shreveport drivers because they are pretty much the most ignorant drivers in the world, so Matt and I made our way home through the darkness dodging trees and powerlines and bad drivers.
The next day, in the daylight, Donna and I went on a drive and captured the following series of photos, which is pretty amazing because this damage was in a perfect line starting about four blocks from my house and continuing on for about two miles across the Red River and into Bossier City, where most of the damage occurred.
I think its worth noting that we found a Texas bluebonnet (in Louisiana of all places) during this tour of the destruction. And comically the perfectly intact delicate flower was right next to the giant tree that fell on Clyde Fant Parkway. (It's the tree Donna and I are pictured beside.)
One person in Shreveport was injured when a tree fell on her car but luckily no one was seriously hurt. This whole experience definitely taught me that violent weather can strike anywhere, anytime, and can catch you off guard even if you're paying attention to it. My advice would be to stay vigilant, be ready, and have a plan in case a tornado finds you. If this tornado had been four blocks south I may have lost the roof to my house. It's worth considering this tornado season. Trust me..I have.
That's the story of my life...
Just two weeks ago while driving to Lafayette, I used radars from both my phone and Donna's and, using comparative analysis, tracked a very severe storm to our west almost down to the mile marker on a paper map she keeps in her car. I like the power of knowledge when it comes to monitoring weather and the possibilty of it catching us. I simply do not like playing guessing games with serious and potentially dangerous weather. We barely slipped past the storm only to find out later it dropped a possible tornado right where we would have been if we had left Shreveport twenty minutes later than we did.
Last month, Donna and I both became certified storm spotters for the NWS when we took a class they sponsor every month. It was a very interesting class where you esentially learn the codes of storm reporting and thereby become the eyes and ears of the meteorolgist who only see whats on the radar.
For Christmas Donna got me a weather station which has everything from a remote rain guage to an anemometer which relays wind speed information to the base station which is in my room. (Like I said, I'm a nerd.)
All that back story brings me to last Thursday. Some bad weather was approaching the Ark-La-Tex and naturally, I was following its every move. By eleven oclock, it looked like the storm was going to miss us. Not only did it appear to be moving north of Shreveport but it appeared to be weakening as well.
Boy, was I wrong. I was standing in the back yard talking on the phone, believing the worst of the weather was over for the evening. Surprisingly, the lightning seemed to be getting closer and louder. Soon, the lightning got so bad that I retreated into the house with the dogs, who by this point has no interest in hanging around outside.
Amazingly, very little ran fell and my anemometer never rose about 15 miles per hour on the variable wind speed. It seemed the storm was a dud after all.
Soon the storm passed and the moon came out. Right after the full moon came out, I got a call from Donna who heard a news report (she was driving at that time from New Orleans up to Shreveport) that Shreveport had been hit by a tornado.
Not believing it possible, I immediately jumped in the car with my roommate Matt and to our complete and utter shock, within four city blocks of my house, the power was out and trees were blocking the road. NONE of us at the house had heard or even suspected a tornado had been forming. Apparently, the NWS itself was caught off guard by the strengthening storm because a tornado warning, as far as I could tell, was never issued for the Shreveport metropolitan area. One warning was issued for Bossier Parish but it was because of a different storm ten miles north of town. In one whole section of town the power was out, trees were down, powerlines were in the road randomly and every traffic signal was out. I am very leary of Shreveport drivers because they are pretty much the most ignorant drivers in the world, so Matt and I made our way home through the darkness dodging trees and powerlines and bad drivers.
The next day, in the daylight, Donna and I went on a drive and captured the following series of photos, which is pretty amazing because this damage was in a perfect line starting about four blocks from my house and continuing on for about two miles across the Red River and into Bossier City, where most of the damage occurred.
I think its worth noting that we found a Texas bluebonnet (in Louisiana of all places) during this tour of the destruction. And comically the perfectly intact delicate flower was right next to the giant tree that fell on Clyde Fant Parkway. (It's the tree Donna and I are pictured beside.)
One person in Shreveport was injured when a tree fell on her car but luckily no one was seriously hurt. This whole experience definitely taught me that violent weather can strike anywhere, anytime, and can catch you off guard even if you're paying attention to it. My advice would be to stay vigilant, be ready, and have a plan in case a tornado finds you. If this tornado had been four blocks south I may have lost the roof to my house. It's worth considering this tornado season. Trust me..I have.
That's the story of my life...
posted by Winston A. Hall at 9:31 PM
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