Day 33: More Storms
Hey, Toto, there’s a reason we didn’t visit Kansas, dangit!
Today we drove from Nebraska into Iowa and then Missouri (completely bypassing Kansas.) At first, we were impressed with the number and size of all the corn fields. Then, I turned on the radio and heard yet another National Weather Service alert. It is scary hearing the alert sounds when they are not followed by actual instructions instead of “This has been a test of the emergency broadcast system….” There was a 9-10 hour tornado watch. It seems that watches with such long time periods are quite uncommon, but the announcer kept stressing how unstable the atmosphere was over Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas and Missouri.
It was, at times, hard to keep the truck on the road. We passed a train that appeared to have been blown off the tracks - it was completely derailed. We passed a tractor trailer on its side, as well. We even passed two large billboards that had been blown in half. I don’t think these were a result of today’s wind, but probably from this past weekend’s storm.
However, as we drove, the announcer continued to alert residents, in counties we’d already driven through, to take cover. Several tornados touched down in areas we passed through today, shortly after we passed through.
Tonight we’re in High Hill, Missouri. There are still several storm watches in effect. They expect substantial amounts of rainfall tonight. I just walked outside to watch the lightning dance of the clouds. It is really something to watch. The wind is blowing and the rain has already begun to fall.
