cmk418: (butterfly)
cmk418 ([personal profile] cmk418) wrote2025-05-19 08:37 pm
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Update

A category-3 tornado ripped through my city last Friday. Fortunately, our apartment wasn't in the path of it. I went out to the north side of the city yesterday to drop off some donations and the devastation was incredible. I got lost on the way to the donation site and was driving around a park in the area and it was just tree after tree that had been uprooted in the storm. The other amazing thing was all of the people who came out to help- there were people on street corners handing out meals and water and the line of cars heading to drop off items at the donation site was quite long. There were already roofers up at the community center making repairs. It was great to see so many people working to make things a little easier. They were asking for donations of tarps today as it is raining here tonight with the possibility of another tornado as well.

In all my years in the Midwest, I have been around my share of tornado warnings, but I can't remember a storm like this in my lifetime. It was a beautiful day until around 2pm, then it started to get dark and grey and the wind picked up. It blew the power out at my office and the wind would rattle the doors and windows. The building the office is in is like a storefront and the front wall is mostly big windows, so not ideal to be sitting there when the wind picks up like that. There were no sirens, the cell phone warning never went off, and even the radio didn't have a tornado alert. That's how fast it happened, and it was over just as quickly.

Everything else is going okay. I haven't written much of anything. I've been reading a lot. I'm now working on "The Ministry of Time" by Kaliane Bradley. It's not too bad. I'm a little miffed that there only seems to be one team worth cheering for left in the NHL playoffs. My favorite team, the Ottawa Charge, has made the PWHL finals and I'm thrilled about that. It'll be nice to watch that for the next week.

That's all I've got for now. Hope you all are doing well.
cornerofmadness: (Gil)

[personal profile] cornerofmadness 2025-05-20 03:38 am (UTC)(link)
I am glad you are okay. These storms are terrifying.
thatwasjustadream: (Default)

[personal profile] thatwasjustadream 2025-05-20 04:26 am (UTC)(link)
I'm so sorry your city went through that. :(. It is amazing, how people step up. I hope the damage will be resolved sooner than later.

I've been through one hurricane and some severe thunderstorms, and they freak me out. Wind and water are scary forces of nature.

Oh, what a coincidence! I picked up The Ministry of Time at the airport on my way back from vaca last month. I read it - and now I'm reading it again. It was only after I finished it and read some of the post script that I realized ... it's kind of a self-insert historical fanfic, isn't it? I have a few bones to pick with it, but it stuck with me enough that I had to re-read it immediately. That doesn't happen often. I do like timey-wimey stories, so it may be that simple.

Enjoy the hockey!

rmc28: Rachel in hockey gear on the frozen fen at Upware, near Cambridge (Default)

[personal profile] rmc28 2025-05-20 08:45 am (UTC)(link)

I'm glad you're ok and it's good to know how many people are stepping up to help.

I'm also very pleased for the Ottawa Charge (although I have managed to watch very little PWHL this season, I do still follow updates on socials etc).

cornerofmadness: (Default)

[personal profile] cornerofmadness 2025-05-20 02:01 pm (UTC)(link)
It wasn't nearly as bad down here, not even a tornado watch, just rain
asphaltcowgrrl: (Default)

[personal profile] asphaltcowgrrl 2025-05-20 06:51 pm (UTC)(link)
Holy guacamole, I had no idea any hit your area. So glad you're safe, but the destruction was horrendous from what I saw of other areas. It's times like this when I'm grateful my dad got transferred out of Illinois.

I apologize on behalf of the VGK who apparently forgot they were supposed to show up for round 2. *facepalm* Congrats to your PWHL team though!
asphaltcowgrrl: (Default)

[personal profile] asphaltcowgrrl 2025-05-21 07:18 pm (UTC)(link)
That's awful. Your poor meteorologist. And can't say that I blame him - unfortunately, a lot of people are going to lose everything and/or die due to these stupid cuts. Glad that the warning was a false alarm though.

You and me both. God, they were so disappointing. But then, I think 3/4 of the team was injured in some way or sick with whatever had been going through the team the last 6 weeks or so of the season. I am sad about Toronto, too.

Oooh, okay, I will look for it when I get home tomorrow (I leave at 4). Love that they get rowdy, too. I really want to go to an Aces game. Got the chance to go to a couple of the Lady Rebels' games back when I was in middle school and they were so much more fun then the men's basketball. And that's coming from someone who is not a basketball fan.