Tornados, ice storms, and other cuddly weather disasters
The last part of the title was really just me copping out on creating a full list. When writing (especially blogging) I have a habit of wanting to describe things in blocks of three. Perhaps its an unspoken commitment to ancient patterns, or maybe it’s just me being anal, regardless I’m a tri kind of guy. Anyhow, I really only have two cuddly weather disasters to discuss. First, tornadoes. I’ve never seen a tornado outside of Hollywood depictions and it’s not on my bucket list anyway. The reason I bring it up is because one touched down near my parent’s house last week causing a path of destruction through my old neighborhood.
Looking at how close it came to ripping the roof off my old stomping grounds, I was hit with a combo of sadness and helplessness (and a smidge of coolness). Since when does Vancouver Washington have a tornado problem? Then, last night, my current stomping grounds (Pullman WA) was hit with a severe ice storm that laid a nifty blanket of ice across the Palouse. This morning, my 5-minute bus ride to campus took an hour because the bus couldn’t get up a hill.
Is it just me, or does nature seem to have a grudge against the world lately? Severe weather in the English Channel sank a ship yesterday and several people froze to death in the Middle East after getting caught in a cold sap. I don’t want to make the obvious connection that these severe weather patterns seem like something out of a Hollywood movie, but don’t these examples seem like something out of a made-for-tv movie? While a rationalist may address these examples with a simple explanation (hey, it’s winter), the extremist in me is left to watch the skies. Be wary gentle readers, weathermaggedon is upon us.