Woah.. I got a small taste of it might be like...
Posted: Thu Sep 22, 2005 12:43 pm
So I live in a northwestern suburb of the Twin Cities in Minnesota, and last night we had some pretty severe storm activity. We had straight line winds of only around 70 mph (that's what the News said, I'd say higher), but that was enough leave 160,000 people without electricity until the next morning/afternoon, enough to topple several of those giant steel power transmission towers near my house, enough to twist and turn stoplights at practically every intersection from my college to my house, leave roads covered with various debris, and leave signs and trees bent, if not completely down. I have a new respect for nature after being through this. I can't even imagine what a hurricane would be like... 3x as intense winds lasting all day? >_<
I was in college when the storm hit. The power went out, and everyone scattered to the hallways overlooking the courtyard of the school. We knew there were some storms coming this way, but I don't think a single person was expecting what was about to happen. I'm not exaggerating this at all, the sky went from being bright and having thin clouds, to being completely dark within 4 minutes. I couldn't see a tree 20 feet from the window I was looking through, and yet, stupid college kids were running out to their cars. There was at least 60-80 lighting flashes every minute, which provided a very small glimpse of visibility at times, enough to see trees being consistently pushed down to angles where they should have been snapping in half.
They're saying there was a confirmed report of a Tornado touchdown in Brooklyn Park, MN, which is where my school is, but I saw no obvious evidence of that, and I don't see how someone could tell there was one in that sort of visibility.
I have to say it was pretty interesting though. On top of the beauty and power of a storm that just demands respect, it seemed to bring everyone together. Typically people at my school are fairly quiet, and keep to themselves for the most part, but during the storm everyone was friendly and talkative. It gave us all some common ground, and given the circumstances I doubt anyone was concerned about making a good impression with someone new. Is it sad that it takes something potentially disastrous to bring out a sense of community?
As I was driving home, I got my first real wake up call to how sudden things can be changed. I suppose it's almost like one of those big life revelations. I don't think I have any property damage personally, but I can't help but feel some loss because of the damage to the community as a whole.
I was in college when the storm hit. The power went out, and everyone scattered to the hallways overlooking the courtyard of the school. We knew there were some storms coming this way, but I don't think a single person was expecting what was about to happen. I'm not exaggerating this at all, the sky went from being bright and having thin clouds, to being completely dark within 4 minutes. I couldn't see a tree 20 feet from the window I was looking through, and yet, stupid college kids were running out to their cars. There was at least 60-80 lighting flashes every minute, which provided a very small glimpse of visibility at times, enough to see trees being consistently pushed down to angles where they should have been snapping in half.
They're saying there was a confirmed report of a Tornado touchdown in Brooklyn Park, MN, which is where my school is, but I saw no obvious evidence of that, and I don't see how someone could tell there was one in that sort of visibility.
I have to say it was pretty interesting though. On top of the beauty and power of a storm that just demands respect, it seemed to bring everyone together. Typically people at my school are fairly quiet, and keep to themselves for the most part, but during the storm everyone was friendly and talkative. It gave us all some common ground, and given the circumstances I doubt anyone was concerned about making a good impression with someone new. Is it sad that it takes something potentially disastrous to bring out a sense of community?
As I was driving home, I got my first real wake up call to how sudden things can be changed. I suppose it's almost like one of those big life revelations. I don't think I have any property damage personally, but I can't help but feel some loss because of the damage to the community as a whole.