Sunday, April 26, 2009

The National Weather Service has issued a severe weather warning...

I love weather. Especially severe weather.

I don't really know why. I think it has something to do with living in Iowa my whole life. I have spent countless hours sitting in front of the television, watching KCCI and trying to figure out where a storm is heading. I know how to read weather maps. I've sat in the basement until the sirens go off. I've had 2 snow days in a row due to epic blizzards.

So of course, when I moved into my apartment in downtown Grinnell, one of the first thoughts that came to mind is "What do I do if there's a tornado?" I'm on the second floor of a building, with a coffee shop below. I talked to my landlord, and he said,"Well, if the coffee shop downstairs is open, you can just go down there... But these buildings have been around for over 100 years, so they're really sturdy." Then again, the cyclone that destroyed campus passed through around 120 years ago... And of course, if the coffee shop downstairs isn't open, my options are pretty limited. I can either run over to the Bourbon Street Pub and drink my troubles away or head to campus to sit around in some public building until the threat has passed.

At 5 pm this evening, the National Weather Service issued a tornado watch for Poweshiek County. And that is how I came to be where I am right now, which is sitting in the red alcove seat on the second floor of the JRC where I have cell phone reception and a clear view of the sky out the window. I have WHO 13 and KCCI 8 and the Weather Channel open in my web browser. I have a baggie of crackers, a Diet Coke, and two books in my bag. I am in this for the long haul.

I always wonder if people from other parts of the country pay as much attention to weather as Midwesterners, or if I'm unusual even among Iowans in this respect. In any case, there's no way a storm will catch THIS Iowa girl unprepared. Most of the bad stuff has passed to the north or south, missing Grinnell and hitting Marshalltown or Kellogg instead. I guess this is probably a good thing, but let me tell you this: I am going to be SO mad if I go through all these trouble and we don't get at least a severe thunderstorm warning!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I can attest to the fact that no one in this country cares more about the weather than the Midwest. Not on the East Coast. Not on the West Coast. I think it stems from the many ways that the weather can kill you in Iowa and it's surrounding states. Between sunstroke, flash floods, hail, tornadoes, high winds (and falling tree branches), thunder storms, blizzards, ice storms and thundersnow I think the Midwest has it covered. All you'd need is for an errant hurricane to strike...