The path of the storm
28/04/14 05:30
I’ve never lived where tornadoes are common. There was an occasional sighting of a funnel cloud in the southwest corner of North Dakota when we lived there and I got a good view of a tornado that did touch down while we were living there. That particular storm ripped through some fields and destroyed a few highway signs, but there were no buildings in its path. There have been some sightings of tornadoes in Western South Dakota but there is no record of the storms reaching quite as far into the hills as our home. There was severe destruction in the town of Oglala, about 75 miles south and 25 miles east of Rapid City, a few years ago. But I have spent my life outside of tornado alley, the wide swath from Nebraska to Texas where tornadoes are most frequent and where the destruction is most severe.
I do, however, pay attention to the weather in those states, especially western Missouri, where our daughter lives. So far, we’ve had a pretty good tornado season in the US. Severe storms have been less frequent and less destructive than has been the case some years. But it is early in the season and the tornado sirens were going off as we visited with our daughter yesterday. I could see the large pattern of severe storms off to the west of Kansas City on the radar application on my phone and I kept track of it as the worst of the storms were pushed to the southeast. The worst of the storms were passing south of where our daughter lives. Our daughter and son-in-law do have a secure shelter int he basement of their home, but I couldn’t help worrying a little.
The region is populous and though the storms missed our daughter and son-in-law’s town, there was plenty of destruction from the storms last night. The reports I have read this morning indicate that alt least 17 people have died, most of them in towns close to Little Rock, Arkansas. A big twister, estimated to be a half-mile wide swept through the northwest suburbs of Little Rock, destroying homes and other buildings and tossing vehicles about. In the town of Victoria and $14million school was destroyed. Fortunately there was no one in the school at the time, but it gives one pause to think of the destructive power of the storm and the potential for even worse casualty numbers from such events.
In contrast, the most destructive storms in our area seem to be blizzards. They can bring down trees and cause a lot of destruction, but we generally don’t have our cars tossed about by the storms. Locals can remember the intense destruction and loss of life that occurred in 1972 when intense rain caused flash flooding that tore through Rapid City. The creation of a floodway in the city, advanced flood warning systems throughout the county and changes in building codes and locations of homes should help to keep casualties and destruction down should we experience a similar flash flood in the future.
There are plenty of forces in this world that are more mighty than we. Severe weather reminds us that while we can plan and prepare, there are risks involved wherever humans live.
A Temple University physics professor has proposed building a series of great walls - barriers nearly a thousand feet high and 100 miles long to act like hills to break up the wind patterns before twisters can form. Apparently the most destructive tornadoes need open and relatively flat country in order to develop. The incredibly high price tag of the project - $16 billion - would be offset by storm damage that would be prevented according to Professor Rongjia Tao. I confess I’m a bit skeptical about the plan. Something tells me that the plan might not work and even if it did work, there are quite a few possible unintended consequences of structures that are a thousand feet tall and a hundred miles long. Imagine the destruction that would result if one of those walls fell down! I’m not sure that the people living next to the walls would feel safer the first time a storm came bearing down on them. And the walls would pretty much prevent you from seeing the sunset. Agricultural production would decrease in the shade of the giant walls. I’m pretty sure we should think this one through a bit before we start construction.
We like to believe that we are invincible - that with enough money we can solve any problem - that we can live wherever we want and do what we want. We humans are, in fact, a very capable lot. We have solved some pretty big problems and we have discovered how to extend the span of human life and how to protect ourselves from some kinds of risk and danger.
But we will not live forever.
Each of us will one day die. And most of us will face the grief and sorrow of the loss of a loved one as we travel through the journey of this life. As terrible as some events such as a destructive tornado are, they are never the whole story of our human lives. Arising out of the destruction of last night’s storms will be tales of heroism, survival amidst incredible odds, strength renewed, and the trump of the human spirit in the midst of destruction and grief. God doesn’t send storms into our lives that we might demonstrate what we are made of, but God gives us strength and courage in the midst of terrible events.
I keep my eye on the weather forecasts. I even worry a little bit. I contribute regularly to disaster relief funds and participate in preparedness training. We’ve got our storm kit in our home and in our vehicles. But there is much in this life that is beyond our control and sometimes in this life you have to roll up your sleeves and go to work with the cleanup after the storm that you could do nothing to prevent.
I do, however, pay attention to the weather in those states, especially western Missouri, where our daughter lives. So far, we’ve had a pretty good tornado season in the US. Severe storms have been less frequent and less destructive than has been the case some years. But it is early in the season and the tornado sirens were going off as we visited with our daughter yesterday. I could see the large pattern of severe storms off to the west of Kansas City on the radar application on my phone and I kept track of it as the worst of the storms were pushed to the southeast. The worst of the storms were passing south of where our daughter lives. Our daughter and son-in-law do have a secure shelter int he basement of their home, but I couldn’t help worrying a little.
The region is populous and though the storms missed our daughter and son-in-law’s town, there was plenty of destruction from the storms last night. The reports I have read this morning indicate that alt least 17 people have died, most of them in towns close to Little Rock, Arkansas. A big twister, estimated to be a half-mile wide swept through the northwest suburbs of Little Rock, destroying homes and other buildings and tossing vehicles about. In the town of Victoria and $14million school was destroyed. Fortunately there was no one in the school at the time, but it gives one pause to think of the destructive power of the storm and the potential for even worse casualty numbers from such events.
In contrast, the most destructive storms in our area seem to be blizzards. They can bring down trees and cause a lot of destruction, but we generally don’t have our cars tossed about by the storms. Locals can remember the intense destruction and loss of life that occurred in 1972 when intense rain caused flash flooding that tore through Rapid City. The creation of a floodway in the city, advanced flood warning systems throughout the county and changes in building codes and locations of homes should help to keep casualties and destruction down should we experience a similar flash flood in the future.
There are plenty of forces in this world that are more mighty than we. Severe weather reminds us that while we can plan and prepare, there are risks involved wherever humans live.
A Temple University physics professor has proposed building a series of great walls - barriers nearly a thousand feet high and 100 miles long to act like hills to break up the wind patterns before twisters can form. Apparently the most destructive tornadoes need open and relatively flat country in order to develop. The incredibly high price tag of the project - $16 billion - would be offset by storm damage that would be prevented according to Professor Rongjia Tao. I confess I’m a bit skeptical about the plan. Something tells me that the plan might not work and even if it did work, there are quite a few possible unintended consequences of structures that are a thousand feet tall and a hundred miles long. Imagine the destruction that would result if one of those walls fell down! I’m not sure that the people living next to the walls would feel safer the first time a storm came bearing down on them. And the walls would pretty much prevent you from seeing the sunset. Agricultural production would decrease in the shade of the giant walls. I’m pretty sure we should think this one through a bit before we start construction.
We like to believe that we are invincible - that with enough money we can solve any problem - that we can live wherever we want and do what we want. We humans are, in fact, a very capable lot. We have solved some pretty big problems and we have discovered how to extend the span of human life and how to protect ourselves from some kinds of risk and danger.
But we will not live forever.
Each of us will one day die. And most of us will face the grief and sorrow of the loss of a loved one as we travel through the journey of this life. As terrible as some events such as a destructive tornado are, they are never the whole story of our human lives. Arising out of the destruction of last night’s storms will be tales of heroism, survival amidst incredible odds, strength renewed, and the trump of the human spirit in the midst of destruction and grief. God doesn’t send storms into our lives that we might demonstrate what we are made of, but God gives us strength and courage in the midst of terrible events.
I keep my eye on the weather forecasts. I even worry a little bit. I contribute regularly to disaster relief funds and participate in preparedness training. We’ve got our storm kit in our home and in our vehicles. But there is much in this life that is beyond our control and sometimes in this life you have to roll up your sleeves and go to work with the cleanup after the storm that you could do nothing to prevent.