Nothing says living on the prairie like a good old fashioned thunderstorm in the spring.
We really haven't had a lot of of big thunder booming storms roll across the prairie this spring. When you don't have a basement in your little house, you are thankful. When you look out at your already browning pasture, you think again and you pray for rain. It's only June and we are in desperate need of some moisture. Anytime I talk about needing rain, I feel like an 80 year old farmer.
Yesterday afternoon just before I left the office, Handy Man emailed me and said it was supposed to storm all evening. After picking up the kids, we watched the storm begin to build as we drove home. A large mass of clouds, still high and flat in the sky, began crackling and lightning flickered all around. Our Brown Eyed Girl was a little disappointed that she didn't get to play outside before dinner was ready. So was I. Thank goodness it was a left-over night. Trying to cook in the kitchen with both kids inside pulling on me and the dog under my feet every time I turn around is far from my idea of winding down at the end of the day.
By dinner, the storm clouds were building in size and began terracing in form.
When the clouds start to look layered like this out on the Eastern Plains, it is NOT a good sign. Each lowering cloud makes up part of a wall cloud - often a precursor for tornadoes. In fact, most strong tornadoes form from wall clouds.
Our little house on the prairie sits just high enough on the rolling hills out our way that we get a 360' view of the Eastern Plains. In spring storm season, it can be a pretty humbling place to live. From the porch swing, we can watch large cloud formations build south of us in the Black Forest and the Springs area to our left and then look to the north over our right shoulders and watch the weather out near DIA. At times, we find ourselves sitting right in the middle of two large cells, sunshine overhead.
I have come to be proficient in tornado 101. Ten thing I have learned:
- Terracing clouds (wall clouds) are not good. (Funnel clouds are even worse.)
- Tornado producing storms (typically) travel North-East.
- If the storm is coming from Parker (just West of the house) - we're good.
- If the storm is coming from Castle Rock (South-West of us) - not good.
- We lack a basement.
- We live in a manufactured home.
- We live too far out of town to hear tornado warning sirens.
- If we get a reverse 911 call, it's not good.
- Little House on the Prairie + Tornado = pile of sticks in Nebraska.
- We have two options.
- Evacuation
- Nice knowing ya!
Handy Man was busy watching the Doppler radar on the laptop while listing to the news coverage on the television. He is more of a technical observer of storms. I prefer to glue my nose to the window pane.
About 7:00 I screeched for Handy Man to look outside (again) at the clouds. I told him I was pretty sure there was a funnel cloud forming.
He disagreed.
I rolled my eyes. He thinks he knows everything. Just because I haven't watched as many episodes of Storm Chaser as you have, Handy Man, doesn't mean you are an expert. Just keep watching your multi-colored blobs on the computer.
About ten window peeks minutes later, I screeched for him to come look out the window again. I said, "That my friend is a funnel cloud. It's a tornado!"
He disagreed.
"Are you kidding me? Look how long and slender that cloud is becoming. It most definitely is a tornado."
He disagreed.
Oh what the heck does he know anyways???
In the time it took me to change window views, my funnel cloud had turned into this...
Zooming with an iPhone is not the best idea. The photos get extremely pix-elated. The gray haze of the sorm didn't help matters much.
Instagram to the rescue!
Okay so it's not the BEST picture. But hopefully you get the idea.
And by golly - Handy Man agreed it was a tornado.
I made sure to say I told you so.
As soon as it appeared, it was gone. Disappearing back into the wall cloud.
Weather reports came in all over the Parker area and parts of the southeast metro area of record hail amounts. Some areas recieved ping pong ball and golf ball size hail with the storm. Accumulating hail piled up more than six inches deep. Parker actually had to dust off the county snow plows to plow the roads.
Handy Man did a little dance. While others dread hail - Handy Man sees green.
After we put Mr Blues Eyes down for the night, Handy Man and I took our Brown Eyed Girl out side. The storm had pushed itself far enough back west that it was safe for us to sit out on the porch swing and watch the lightning show over Denver.
Quite the sight from our little house on the prairie.
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