I went out to Omaha for My sister's wedding for 10 days.
Quite possibly the oldest bridesmaid in the world:
I got my baby fix:
It stormed almost every day but one. My daughter was just asking about tornadoes the day before I got these amazing pictures. We were shopping and she was freaking out because the thunder and lightening was brutal. I told her that tornadoes mostly pop out of wall clouds and we didn't need to worry.
Well the next day (Friday July 27, 2008) I interrupted her shower to let her know the most amazing wall cloud was coming through. She shot these photos by the way. We were at my in-laws in Carter Lake Iowa approximately 1.7 miles north from downtown and the Quest Center where the olympic swimming trials are going on.
Picture one, mom (me) letting daughter know I have witnessed many many wall clouds and it is safe and I know what to look for. I told her we need to spot rotation in the clouds and a possible debris cloud underneath.
Picture 2, notice my daughter is getting brave and in the street now. Notice the debris cloud underneath in the lower left corner? Yea, that's about the time I spotted it too!
We are seeing definite rotation and debris cloud as the storm is moving 1.5-2 miles to the south of us. Note how we are making our way closer to the house...LOL!
Picture 4: Yea, it is what it is and before all hell broke loose:
This storm was fast moving and due north of us a big debris cloud was spinning and we could see debris flying all around and it sounded like Mike was rummaging through the kitchen utensil drawer minus him yelling "hun where is the potato peeler?"
My sister (who lives midtown Omaha) called me and screamed "get in the basement something just hit our house!" We lost cell service. We zipped downstairs and it was over with almost as quickly as it came through. After about 15 minutes of rain and wind and hail we popped out of the basement and all you could hear was emergency vehicles all around. My MIL was MIA for about an hour and pulled in and her car looked like she drove through the jungles with it camouflaged. She said trees were down everywhere (she works close to where my sister lives.)
We made our way to the old market for dinner a couple of hours later. The Quest building (where we are just a couple of miles from) had part of it's roof ripped off:
The next day we went to my sister's house. There was house damage here and there in her neighborhood. This one is taken from her backyard, 60th and Walnut-ish. A Walnut tree (go figure) fell on the garage behind her:
Notice the smathering of debris all over the siding. They were pulverized leaves. All the homes in the area had them on all four sides. The national weather service didn't call this a tornado, I am not a meteorologist, nor do I play one online. Never saw debris on all sides of a house from "Straight Line Winds" only tornadoes. I saw what I saw and I am sticking to it! Amazingly enough, with all this destruction, there were only two deaths in Council Bluffs Iowa from a tree falling on a car with people inside of it.
My heart and prayers go out to all who have damaged homes. I am amazed at the quick response from Omahans to get everything cleaned up. 1000s of homes are still without electricity today.
Seriously, there is NO PLACE like home.
Renee - congrats to your sister (and you). Oldest bridesmaid? - well I doubt it, but the best in your sister's eyes.
Amazing photos - glad to here no one was hurt. Tornadoes scare the heck out of me...much more so than earthquakes.
Jeff
Renee - Glad you & your family are all ok. Its been an incredibly rough storm season already, and its still June. It is amazing how communities come together in time of need.
Jeff: I hear ya! I would much rather have an earthquake over a tornado. Been through both!
Steve: I am amazed how rough it has been! Our old house was hit by a tornado last month. I have no doubt that the walnut tree came falling over because the ground is so incredibly saturated.
There is NO PLACE like home! I am so glad that you and your family are all okay. I hate those sudden storms.
A trip you'll remember, eh? Scary times.... I remember living in New Mexico - we spent some times during the sirens in closets due to Tornado Warnings.... Not fun.
(But I love that she had the camera and wanted to capture the moment. Not that I can relate or anything :)
Where was toto. At least nobody was hurt.
You are a beautiful bridesmaid. Happy to know you and your family are safe. It's nice to see you this morning as I enjoy following you.
Wow Renee! Glad that you are all unscathed and that the damage was minimal.
Congratulations on being the "oldest bridesmaid" in your mind. No matter the age, you look fabulous! As does the bride.
Renee.... Must have been exciting and scary for your daughter.... Guess I should stay in the Northeast because my eyes were not picking up any of the warnings signs you noted.
i am from omaha - glad to hear that you are all ok. i spoke with my mom today and she didn't even mention it. i hope the sirens were able to warn everyone to get to safety!
Sounds like a trip your daughter will never forget. Glad you all ended up ok.
Sounds like the trip was worth it but the weather was not...I'm used to that here...we get that everyday at this time of year.
Renee, I've never been near a tornado or a hurricane but those are the two forces of nature that would scare the heck out of me. I don't think I could get use to them either. Great photo's!
UGH I just spent a ton of time responding one by one to everyone and lost it! Thanks for the kind compliments and yes we were very happy be on the right side of this storm!!
I would prefer a snowstorm to that anyday. Glad everyone was safe. Be Blessed.
Renee, what an adventure you had with the weather visiting Omaha. I know some of our violent weather that incubates in Texas explodes in the central and northern plains states. Thanks for all your photos, and good no one got hurt.
Renee, your daughter was brave. I know about those weather anchors who won't call a spade a spade. I know a tornado when I see one! We had trees ripped out of our yard once by a tornado and the newscast didn't even say anything about a thunderstorm in our area. I guess we made it up! LOL I'm glad you all are safe!
Renee~ what incredible pictures. I was just reading a Newsweek article about the tornados in the Midwest whera an intire town was destroyed. So heartbreaking.
I also love getting a baby fix- it gets those wacky "I want another one" thoughts right out of my head!!
Renee.... or aka mamma Burrows for one day... lol My sister had twins about 2 months ago, so I am enjoying them. In regards to the storms down there, I know about them. I lived in Houston, Tx for a year... hope all is well.