A Twisted Sight
With summer season coming to a close, let us discuss how a couple nights in July really changed my perspective. This year more than any other year there has been an outbreak of tornadoes in the Midwest. More specifically in Illinois. So far, there have been a total of 130 tornadoes in Illinois alone. And depending on who you ask, Illinois may or may not be considered Tornado Alley. I, for one, consider Illinois to be in Tornado Alley. We may not experience as many tornadoes nor as powerful as the rest of the bunch: Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Missouri. But 2023 seems to be the year of the tornado in Illinois.
Fun fact, “Tornado alley is a term mostly used by the media to describe a region or area with a frequency of tornadoes. The National Weather Service and NOAA have never given an official definition to the term nor specified an actual area that is tornado alley” (www.groundzeroshelters.com).
With these are unprecedented times of the weather turning on a whim. The timeline from Wednesday, July 12th, 2023, to Friday, July, 2023 shows that. All three days started off with beautiful, hot, sunny, humid weather. And although it did not look as if it were to rain, out of nowhere, a storm would appear. And it was not only a regular thunderstorm, rather we were constantly under a tornado watch.
Wednesday, July 12th, 2023, started off as any other. That day it was sunny, the weather was nice, everything was calm. It was not until I made it in the door of my apartment when everything started to go downhill. First came the tornado warning alarm on my iPhones where there is a loud, high pitch noise with a message reading, “NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE: TORNADO WARNING in this area until 7pm. Take shelter now in a basement or interior room on the lowest floor of a sturdy building. If you are outdoors, in a mobile home, or in a vehicle, move to the closest substantial shelter and protect yourself from flying debris. Check media”.
I was caught off guard by the noise alert and jumped out of surprise. Then, outside my window I noticed that the clouds were getting darker and darker. They also appeared to be moving faster than normal. Shortly thereafter, the wind picked up. And I quickly made the decision to head to the bottom floor of my apartment complex. After all, I would rather be safe than sorry.
Upon heading down, my dad called and we discussed how he was experiencing a tornado warning in the suburbs as well. My mom also expressed to me that she too was in a tornado warning. However, as I was on the phone with him, I met a fellow neighbor in apartment complex. She was the sweetest. We bonded over the fact that we both took precautions and we were nervous of the impending storm. She made me feel seen and heard. It was the first time, I got to know another one of my neighbors on a personal level.
Meanwhile, of those of us who decided to shelter in place at the first floor lobby, we quickly ended up getting to know one another. The woman I had met early on, she told us how she survived a tornado once upon a time and how her community went without power for 3 months during the 1990’s. Insane. As for the rest of us, we had not experienced living through a tornado. As the night went on, we shared stories, a few laughs, our radar trackers, and the news. However, while we were together, we heard of a tornado that had touched down northeast of us in Sitckney and was was heading in our direction of Lincoln Square, Lincoln Park, Rogers Park, and Edgewater. While we were bunkered down, I went to the back door, all I could see were dark clouds, hanging low. Then, sometime thereafter, I went out the front door and to my east over the lake, there was a white/light grayish cloud hanging low. It looked like a hook. And behind that, there were some questionable looking clouds.
As I turned to walk back inside, to the West, it was blue skies, the sun was popping out and it felt as if I was experiencing two different dimensions at the same time. At that moment, I felt relived and a calming feeling came over me. I knew it was over. Then, our group slowly separated until no one was left.
That night, the National Weather Service said that there was a total of 13 tornadoes, including two that hit my hometown. Both of my parents as well as the rest of my extended family and my friends were all okay. The same cannot be said for several communities though.
Moral of this story, is to always listen to the emergency texts, sirens, radio stations. Take cover when directed as it could save your life. And, who knows, you might make new some new friends while you are at it. Anyway, I hope you stay safe and have a wonderful week!
As a signature of this blog, I like to end each post with a suggestion to “Pass on kindness”. After all, there is no such time as the present to “Inspire Those Who Inspire You”. Passing on kindness, does need to be this big, elaborate ordeal. You could smile at a stranger, compliment something you love about someone’s outfit or personality, tell someone how proud you are of them or that you thinking of them. Even small acts can have a huge impact on someone.
