A Stormy Night

I like thunderstorms as long as they don’t cause harm.

There’s something cozy about hunkering down at home with my family and riding out a little thunder and lightning.

Last night was so much worse for many people in the Midwest. My heart goes out to those who suffered loss, injuries, and damage.

Working forty-minutes away from home can be scary in cases of severe weather. Unlike the Twin Cities, towns are spread-out and the roads to work are two lane highways. Sometimes I see consistent traffic and sometimes they’re lonely. I’ve learned the hard way that just because the weather looks fine in town doesn’t mean it’s fine in-between towns, let alone 40-minutes away.

I remember taking this photo on the first time I had to turn around and return home after attempting to drive to work in January. The blowing snow conditions across the rural highway caught me off guard.

Now, thunderstorms have replaced snowstorms. I tried to beat the storm clouds home yesterday after work and arrived about an hour before our phones sounded with tornado alerts.

The homes in our development have no basements, so we curled up on the closet with the dog nestled between us before the power went out. The storms rolled all night and the power never returned.

This morning, I cleared out our fridge. We’re supposed to get more storms tonight, so, even if our power is restored, there’s no point in cooking until we’re in the clear.

All in all, we’re very fortunate. A lost fridge is a nuisance, but really nothing compared to lost life or property damage.

Did you experience any storms recently? Do you have any safety tips you can share? 

UPDATE: Power came back on this afternoon!