A Rough Ride

Thanks to ABC 33/40 Skywatcher Mike Lee for this account of the storm that rolled through Cherokee County Tuesday afternoon…

“Hey James,

We had some very tense moments here Tuesday. I wished I would have had a camera handy I would have had you some awesome video of the rotation and clouds. But I wasnt able to have one. I had surgery monday on my leg, and I am having to use a walker to get around, I cant put any wieght on my leg, so I couldnt carry the camera. However, I can explain this to you as we saw it.

I had just come home from the hospital Tuesday morning, and I had spent most of the day in the bed, and my cell phone has the warning system on it, and I began getting the warnings for DeKalb County. Then My scanner came across and said Dekalb was under a tornado warning special attention for the Collinsville area. So I got my walker, and my wife helped me out onto our front porch, and I looked back over lookout Mountain and it was black that way, lightning was almost constant and lots of thunder, but in between the thunder I began to hear a roar from that area that sent chills all over me.

As I watched the clouds make their way over the mountain I began to see a well defined rotation in the clouds, with lower clouds being lifted up into the storm, and the main clouds spinning like a top, then the sirens sounded in Leesburg. I told my wife and mother to get inside and I was coming behind them. As we came inside, Linda Mays said they were breaking away from news due to a tornado warning in our area, and we saw the hook approaching us. I was in the living room at that moment, hail began to fall and wind began to pick up. Then a quick moment of silence, then a soild hard wind hit, and a very loud roar was heard, I told my mom and wife to get into the hall and as we were going into the hall the power flickered off and on a couple times and went out completely, and it sounded like a jet plane was flying right above tree level, just a solid loud roar, the wind was blowing harder than I have ever seen here, and I was more scared than I have ever been in my life.

It lasted just a few seconds and then it was gone. Then my scanner began talking wide open, damage reports rolling in from Sand Rock, People Trapped in thier cars between trees that were down, roofs off moblie homes, right up the road from me about a quarter mile, walls of a barn were tore off and siding was tore off a home, trees down blocking roads all over the place. Multiple Fire Volunteer Fire Depts were requested to respond and help Sand Rock Volunteer Fire Dept. With all the trees and things they had. Lightning Struck a moblie home in the Ellisville Community south of Centre, but it didnt burn the home up, just filled it with smoke.

My Father, my cousin and my friend were in Dekalb County north of the storm watching it and said it was pitch black looking into it, and that one corner of it was a rain wrapped area, and when they were driving home, they took the same path the storm took and all along its path, trees were down, large signs were ripped down as well. so it did damage all along its path.

You did a great job of staying on top of the storm and the path it was taking. Thanks for everything you do. I just thought this might be of some help to you guys, and if you want to use it on the blog, please, feel free to do so, if it could help a person to see to take these things very seriously, then use it by all means. I already knew not to play around with storms, and tornado warnings, but what happened to us yesterday gave me a new outlook at it and a new apperication for the warnings. Thanks James!!!!”

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