Tornado

Hi Everyone, I'm sure most of you have seen the news by now, and the devestation that tore through Windsor today. First I would like to say that, thank the Lord above, everyone in our small family is alright, although a few of us are a little shaken up. For those of you who don't know, We actually live in Severance, which is about 5 miles north and east of Windsor. So our addition was not hit, the tornado passed through about 2-3 miles east of us. They are estimating it was an F-2/3 (similar to the one we survived in 2002 in Indy). Which by the way made this one a little more difficult to deal with.

Aliy's Story
I was out running errands with Riley this morning, we usually do this in the morning so that we are home in time for lunch. For some particular reason (Divine intervention) I decided to start with the errands on the south (Loveland/Windsor) and work our way north (Fort Collins). At about 11:30 I stopped to get gas, the last stop, on the north east side of the Fort near I-25 and Highway 14. The wind had really picked up, but high winds are nothing unusual here. Also, there was nothing on the radio to indicate anything other than the typical spring thunderstorm. (we had been in and out of the car listening since about 8:30 that morning and heard nothing about severe weather) We left the gas station and before coming up on I-25 it started hailing (again nothing unusual). The hail finally got so bad that I turned around to seek shelter under the awning of a local hotel. We waited for about 10-15 minutes and it started to slow up. Riley is asleep by this time. As soon as I turned back onto H-Way 14 the hail picked up again. By this time all the shelter spots are taken so I pull under some trees to seek shelter from the hail. It is now nearing the size of tangerines, larger than golf balls, but not quite baseball size. It's coming up on 12:15, and I call Cameron to let him know that he'll have to look the car over for damage, but I can't hear him from the noise of the ice hitting, so it's a short conversation. It finally lets up again around 12:20, and I get back on 14 and head east. About 5 miles east of 25 traffic comes to a dead hault. The sun is coming out by this point, so I pull to one side and see that some poor farmer's irrigation equiptment has been strewn across the road, taking a large chunk of fencing with it. Some nice people have stopped to move it, and we are quickly driving again.
The sun is now shining brightly overhead, but the wind is still horribly fierce, and I am fighting to keep the car straight the remainder of the drive. When I finally reach Weld Co. Road 74 (only one more turn to our house) I come upon about 5 telephone poles literally sheared in half and laying on the opposite side of the road. Every driver in front of me was attempting to drive across the downed wires, but once I saw that that also entailed driving under them at some point, I turned around and took another more southern route. Riley slept throug the whole thing! It was only after getting home, finding no power, and locating our emergency crank radio (Thanks Rodger!!) that I learned that the devestation I saw was actually a tornado.

After that cell phone service was very sketchy, and after many tries I finally got ahold of Cameron again and learned that he was ok, and he knew that I was ok also. Power came in and out for the next few hours, and it was only then that I was able to see the damage to Windsor. I am very thankful that the Lord decided to keep that information from me until I was home, because I had a hard time dealing with it once I saw it. If I had known at the time that the hail storm I encountered was the product of the tornado, many horrible and still vivid memories may have clouded my judgement, and I don't think I could have made the drive home.

Thankfully, there was only one death (thus far), a man in an RV at a campground. The damage will take a while to repair, and there will always be scars on the landscape and in our minds, but we will live to see another day. My prayers go out to those who have lost loved ones, homes, and means of stability (jobs, livestock or crops), but I also send praises to Him that things were not any worse than they are. Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers!! We look forward to seeing family next weekend, and celebrating Riley's First Birthday!!