Two Storms

In the middle of December we were warned of a big rain storm coming our way from the west, and checking radar online we saw a vicious looking red streak sawing across the state, with us right in the way. That gave us plenty of time to prepare, with the accompanying long term dread of what might happen. Later we could see it coming off to the west, maybe 20 or more miles away, with big dark clouds and plenty of lighting. As it approached the streaking lightening fired up along with the strobe lighting, the tornado sirens began blaring and the wind was gusting at over 80 miles per hour. The rain was coming horizontally and dirt and debris were flying all around. We took the dogs to the basement and stayed there until the all clear, about 20 minutes later. The next couple of days revealed how close we came to a tornado, as about 15 miles to our east along Hwy 169 there were scattered parts of grains bins, out buildings, trees and some houses.

About a month later, in mid-January, the next winter storm hit us with snow this time, around 12 inches according to the local weather report, but it looked like around 6 inches to us. Plenty of 3 foot high drifts, though, after the 30 plus mph winds kicked in. The old John Deere 420 (with a snow thrower mounted on the front) fired up and took care of the mess again. Maybe this snow will help a little with the now two year old drought we have been experiencing. There were big cracks in the yard before this latest storm. I am not rooting for more snow, more like hoping for a rainy spring.