Monday, June 8, 2009

wind funnels in the area



quick, you see a tornado! what do you do? well, when we lived in minnesota, well known for its tornadoes, we'd run to the bathtub and wait, or hide in a hallway in a walmart (i honestly believed we were going to die during this episode. the wind was so strong, we sat in our car on the protected side of the walmart building, watching the light poles bend at a 45 degree angle. the wind subsided enough that we could get out of the car and run into the building, then into the protected hallway. i've never been so scared.), or drive really quickly while on the freeway (our three experiences with tornadoes--we never saw one, but the sirens were warning enough). but when we live in colorado, where you don't think of tornadoes being in the neighborhood (always more north and west of us), you run upstairs and grab your camera so you can take pictures! kelly was heading back to church yesterday afternoon and he came running into the house and told us all to come outside NOW! we did so and got to see a powerful sight, a whirling, swirling wind funnel. calling it a wind funnel somehow makes it sound much less dangerous than a tornado. we just stood and watched it swirl, it wasn't big, it seemed far away, and it didn't appear to be moving, so i ran in and got my camera and took a series of pictures. then i proceeded to let the neighbors know so they could come outside and see it too! it started hailing and pelting down rain, and after about 10 minutes it dissipated itself and life went on as normal. come to find out from the news, it was just about a mile away. nice. no wonder we could actually SEE the whirling swirling action going on... next time we see a wind funnel, it's into the basement. after a few pictures.

16 comments:

Vivian Masket said...

Good grief! I was in Target during the hail, but, thankfully, we didn't have sirens or a tornado in Denver itself! Did you catch the story about the man in Aurora who was photographing the tornado and landed in the hospital after it picked him up and threw him back down in his yard???!!! Yikes!

Rachel Carlson said...

we had our neighborhood warning sirens go off, tons of hail and a 'sighting' of a funnel cloud. the sky was amazing that day!

Houston said...

Em, I worry...

justem said...

Whoa. Scary.

Sarah Hodgkinson said...

Glad you're safe, Dorothy.

Anonymous said...

What an amazing photo!!!!! I wondered how my Denver gals were faring in this unsettled weather. Stay safe!

meganklauer said...

Holy moly! Great pic, but so glad everyone is okay!

Debbie Sherman said...

Wow!!! Too close for comfort!!!

I was thinking about all you Denver girls on Sunday!!

Julie said...

Very cool picture. Growing up and living in the midwest, helps know when you can run outside or run into the basement :)

Ronda Palazzari said...

me a chicken, me hid in the basement.

MAM said...

OH my goodness! Too much excitement for me. Glad all is well!

lisa truesdell said...

holy freaking moly. to the basement w/ you, girl!!

nicole said...

this is where i would start freaking out having zero exposure to this {i just walked over to the dresser to knock on some wood}. glad you're OK. this is one of those things that i'm completely content with seeing on the weather channel and not in the distant skies {though i used to want to be a storm chaser...stupid, stupid, stupid...}.

Julie said...

I knew there was something you missed about Minnesota! So far no sirens this year.

Angie M said...

That is an awesome pix. Not so awesome to be next to.

Jenn said...

I still live in MN and you did exactly what this MN girl would do! Grab the camera! Get a good shot! I LOVE that type of stuff...used to fall asleep to twister every night in the summer when we didn't get enough storms...glad all is well though!