I remember watching thunderstorms each summer with my dad, we would either sit just inside the garage doors or on our small front porch. The smell of a thunderstorm is very distinct to me, so earthy, while a regular rainy day smells fresh and grassy. The storms in PA were more about rumble than about flash but the rain would pour; they would ride over us quickly and in the late afternoons (which is when they seem to pop up the most) the sun would show its face again and steam would rise from our driveway.
After moving to Minnesota, summer storms were redefined for me as a whole new weather phenomenon! Although I did already know that Minnesota could produce some dandy storms. The reason I knew this was because my best friend from college moved here and I had flown out twice a year over a four year period to see her and during one of those trips witnessed a MN storm firsthand. She was living in Uptown near Lake Calhoun. I don't remember where we were that day but the sunny skies suddenly had taken on an ominous tone (literally one that was a mix of green/black/orange. We rushed back to her apartment and pulled into the parking lot just as the first big fat raindrops began to pelt us, the wind gusted and was knocking things over on her first level abode as we entered. We slammed the windows shut and her lights flickered. It had gone from a beautiful blue sky to a dark angry one in a matter of 20 minutes. It was exciting, amazing and frightful. The storm raged outside for awhile and then cleared out. The fact that I can recall the details tells you that my mind was quite affected by it.
In May of 2007 we moved to MN; it was a beautiful and early spring and Cole who was 5 months old watched me as I unpacked our boxes and made our house a home. The weather was unusually warm for that time of year, not hot enough to turn on the air conditioner but muggy. We had some pretty strong thunderstorms roll through, typically in the middle of the night and I remember being awoken not by the clap of thunder but by the disco show that the lightening was creating. It would cut across the sky one after another and make me flinch as I lay there watching it in the skylights above our bed.
The week before Memorial Day weekend, Dave was working, Cole was napping and Tucker was supervising as I finished hanging odds and ends. It was mid-afternoon and the sun had been shining all day. The air had been calm with no movement; the humidity had been building as the dewpoints had risen each hour. I remember thinking that I should close up the house but I had been waiting until Cole woke up. I don't know what I was doing but I heard the winds pick up out of the blue. I thought it was odd considering how still things had been all but 30 minutes prior. I went out to our deck and gasped. A swirling sky of black clouds to our southwest was heading right for us. It was such a strange sight to be standing in direct sunshine at that moment and yet see what I was seeing. My memory rolled back to that visit with Heather. I ran inside and closed the downstairs windows. Though normally I would be ticked if anything woke Cole up, I was actually grateful that the gusts of wind were blowing doors shut upstairs as I heard him cry. I ran to get him just as the tornado sirens went off. My heart beat fast as raced around slamming the windows shut with Cole on my hip. The rain had begun to pummel the roof and the piercing sirens punctuated through the roar of the wind. I glanced through the back door and saw the darkness hovering nearby. Cole, Tucker and I got down to the basement and sat in the middle of our laundry room. I could now hear the hail hitting our house and I felt an overwhelming sense of anxiety. It takes a lot for me to feel this way and thus I was anxious over being anxious. With a newborn in a new house hearing tornado sirens for the very first time was simple unnerving.
Since that day, we have had numerous bad storms; one hailstorm got us a new roof. I don't mind them as much however I still get a lump in my throat when I see the sky turn the color of pea soup or when I see menacing clouds. Over the years, Cole has learned that we head downstairs when the sirens scream, that that is the safest place to be. When the F1 tornado hit North Minneapolis this past spring, it was hard to explain to him as he saw news footage why things like that happen. He has asked with concern every time since when we have a storm "is it going to blow our house away!?" I can't tell him "NO" because I would be fibbing so I have chosen to say "highly unlikely" which is the truth.
The damage reported by the media that was inflicted by that aforementioned storm all but 5 miles from our house must have had more impact on Cole that I thought. Obviously when they do news stories on tornadoes, they show a list of what things you should and shouldn't do. Cole can't read yet but he certainly remembers signs. Quite often this summer when we have gone potty at the library, Costco or the grocery store, Cole points out what he calls "your safe here during a tornado" sign. I agree and then say to myself "I sure hope we never have to be in here for any other reason than to go potty!"
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