Tornado jitters.

[ugadog99]

Honestly, I'm getting a little wiggy here in Atlanta. The wind is high and it's very humid. We are in for a night of it, I'm afraid.

You're right, minkydog, it's really weird here. The humidity is so high, and the wind is unbelievable! Stay safe, everyone!!

 

[LilyWDW]

Just south of Knoxville is under a Tornado Warning... Hamblen, Jefferson, and Cocke also just went under a tornado warning. That is 2 counties southwest of us, so if it keeps going northeast, we may get hit by this storm set.

 

[ladycollector]

I am so tired of this crap. Another storm with a confirmed tornado is south of us... ugh

 

[minkydog]

Okay, all my tornado-savvy DIS friends, help me figure this out:

We have an interior basement room that we have always used during severe storms and tornados. And that's great during the daytime, but at night, not so great. Getting me, DH and DD18 down there in the middle of the night isn't a problem. It's Christian. It is very hard to get him up or down the stairs during the night. He's shaky on the stairs during the waking hours, but once he's gone to sleep you can forget it. Christian is too large for us to carry. Our bedrooms are on the top floor and what i've been doing is everyone else goes to the basement and i sit next to Christian with a blanket over the two of us and pray the windows don't go out. Obviously, this is not a great plan. I'm just not sure what to do.

 

[LilyWDW]

Okay, all my tornado-savvy DIS friends, help me figure this out:

We have an interior basement room that we have always used during severe storms and tornados. And that's great during the daytime, but at night, not so great. Getting me, DH and DD18 down there in the middle of the night isn't a problem. It's Christian. It is very hard to get him up or down the stairs during the night. He's shaky on the stairs during the waking hours, but once he's gone to sleep you can forget it. Christian is too large for us to carry. Our bedrooms are on the top floor and what i've been doing is everyone else goes to the basement and i sit next to Christian with a blanket over the two of us and pray the windows don't go out. Obviously, this is not a great plan. I'm just not sure what to do.

Do you have an interior bathroom or a closet with no windows on the floor you and Christian would be? That would be safer then staying in his room. Could you get him down there NOW and just stay down there?

Hopefully you won't have to deal with it...

 

[Sorilla]

Keep my fingers crossed

 

[Leajess99]

Okay, all my tornado-savvy DIS friends, help me figure this out:

We have an interior basement room that we have always used during severe storms and tornados. And that's great during the daytime, but at night, not so great. Getting me, DH and DD18 down there in the middle of the night isn't a problem. It's Christian. It is very hard to get him up or down the stairs during the night. He's shaky on the stairs during the waking hours, but once he's gone to sleep you can forget it. Christian is too large for us to carry. Our bedrooms are on the top floor and what i've been doing is everyone else goes to the basement and i sit next to Christian with a blanket over the two of us and pray the windows don't go out. Obviously, this is not a great plan. I'm just not sure what to do.

If you have an interior room or closet or bathroom with no windows than that would be the next best thing.

Another idea that may, or may not, work, can you have him sit on a pillow or a rug and slide him down the stairs?? Is there a bathroom down there??

Prayers for all affected by all these nasty storms.

 

[wdwmom0f3]

It is rough right now here in Alabama. The one that did so much damage in Tuscaloosa is now headed toward my family in Calhoun County. My sister just sent a picture of her kids in the bathtub with their bike helmets on. We tease her about it, but it really is a great idea.

Whew, before I got this finished, the thing has passed them and is a little north of them now.

Everyone stay safe tonight!!

 

[minkydog]

I do have an interior hallway. I don't think we could both get into the bathroom--we don't have a tub or anything, very very small bathroom. But I think I could drag him off the bed and into the hall if I had to. I think i'll go fix up a spot before we go to bed. The wind is really thrashing the trees around. It's literally howling out there. It would be great if this were Halloween...and without the tornados...

 

[laurie31]

Okay, all my tornado-savvy DIS friends, help me figure this out:

We have an interior basement room that we have always used during severe storms and tornados. And that's great during the daytime, but at night, not so great. Getting me, DH and DD18 down there in the middle of the night isn't a problem. It's Christian. It is very hard to get him up or down the stairs during the night. He's shaky on the stairs during the waking hours, but once he's gone to sleep you can forget it. Christian is too large for us to carry. Our bedrooms are on the top floor and what i've been doing is everyone else goes to the basement and i sit next to Christian with a blanket over the two of us and pray the windows don't go out. Obviously, this is not a great plan. I'm just not sure what to do.

Minky, go downstairs now! Make cots down, there, do whatever you have to do to spend the night down there. These are not the small EF1 or 2 type tornadoes. They are HUGE! My hometown was hit this afternoon by one that was 1/2 mile wide. My parents have damage but the house is okay.

We were actually hit this morning at 6:30 by a small one. We've lost 11 trees and have some damage to things like fences but our house is also okay. It looks like a war zone in our neighborhood though. Several people do have trees on their houses and power lines are everywhere. They say we won't have power back until this weekend at the earliest. We are very shaken, but I feel bad complaining since we are all okay, our pets are okay, and our house is okay.

There are fatalities EVERYWHERE in AL. The tornado that just hit Tuscaloosa had been on the ground since MISSISSIPPI!! 4 children are confirmed dead in Tuscaloosa with 15 more critical. The hospital in Russellville (northeast part of the state) was destroyed, and we haven't heard the casualty report from that. Cordova has mass casualties. Heaven only knows what just happened in Birmingham, and another one is headed south of town towards the heavily-populated suburbs as I type. I think 14 counties are now under tornado warnings.

Everyone be safe!!

 

[golfgal]

Okay, all my tornado-savvy DIS friends, help me figure this out:

We have an interior basement room that we have always used during severe storms and tornados. And that's great during the daytime, but at night, not so great. Getting me, DH and DD18 down there in the middle of the night isn't a problem. It's Christian. It is very hard to get him up or down the stairs during the night. He's shaky on the stairs during the waking hours, but once he's gone to sleep you can forget it. Christian is too large for us to carry. Our bedrooms are on the top floor and what i've been doing is everyone else goes to the basement and i sit next to Christian with a blanket over the two of us and pray the windows don't go out. Obviously, this is not a great plan. I'm just not sure what to do.

Can you sleep down there to start? Will he go to bed down there? How about sleeping on the main floor somewhere so you can go into a room there or at least only have to go down one flight of stairs? Can you teach him to sit on his rear and go down the stairs that way so he can get down to the basement?

 

[golfgal]

Minky, go downstairs now! Make cots down, there, do whatever you have to do to spend the night down there. These are not the small EF1 or 2 type tornadoes. They are HUGE! My hometown was hit this afternoon by one that was 1/2 mile wide. My parents have damage but the house is okay.

We were actually hit this morning at 6:30 by a small one. We've lost 11 trees and have some damage to things like fences but our house is also okay. It looks like a war zone in our neighborhood though. Several people do have trees on their houses and power lines are everywhere. They say we won't have power back until this weekend at the earliest. We are very shaken, but I feel bad complaining since we are all okay, our pets are okay, and our house is okay.

There are fatalities EVERYWHERE in AL. The tornado that just hit Tuscaloosa had been on the ground since MISSISSIPPI!! 4 children are confirmed dead in Tuscaloosa with 15 more critical. The hospital in Russellville (northeast part of the state) was destroyed, and we haven't heard the casualty report from that. Cordova has mass casualties. Heaven only knows what just happened in Birmingham, and another one is headed south of town towards the heavily-populated suburbs as I type. I think 14 counties are now under tornado warnings.

Everyone be safe!!

I agree--not to scare you more but the last large tornado that hit in our general area (an hour north of us but still) a family didn't go to the basement, they went to a room on their main floor, they were all sucked out of the house and they all died.

 

[grafxgirl]

The weather has been strange here in WV too. We've had quite a bit of flooding, but we've also had several tornado warnings for our area. I live in the Eastern Panhandle (on a mountain). We are currently under a tornado warning until 2 am here. The rain is pouring, the lightning is streaking and the wind is kicking unbelievably hard right now. Guess we'll all be sleeping in the basement family room tonight.

 

[wdwmom0f3]

Minky, go downstairs now! Make cots down, there, do whatever you have to do to spend the night down there. These are not the small EF1 or 2 type tornadoes. They are HUGE! My hometown was hit this afternoon by one that was 1/2 mile wide. My parents have damage but the house is okay.

We were actually hit this morning at 6:30 by a small one. We've lost 11 trees and have some damage to things like fences but our house is also okay. It looks like a war zone in our neighborhood though. Several people do have trees on their houses and power lines are everywhere. They say we won't have power back until this weekend at the earliest. We are very shaken, but I feel bad complaining since we are all okay, our pets are okay, and our house is okay.

There are fatalities EVERYWHERE in AL. The tornado that just hit Tuscaloosa had been on the ground since MISSISSIPPI!! 4 children are confirmed dead in Tuscaloosa with 15 more critical. The hospital in Russellville (northeast part of the state) was destroyed, and we haven't heard the casualty report from that. Cordova has mass casualties. Heaven only knows what just happened in Birmingham, and another one is headed south of town towards the heavily-populated suburbs as I type. I think 14 counties are now under tornado warnings.

Everyone be safe!!

It's really scary! We are in Alexander City and it has just now started to rain here. The wind has been going crazy all day though, and it already looks like we had a bad storm from the tree limbs down, just from the wind. I can't imagine what to tomorrow will look like.

I know B'ham was hit hard. I took DH's car in to be serviced today and the guy there said it took him 5 hours to get her from B'ham this morning. It normally takes him just over an hour. I think I would have just turned around if I were him.

Minky, I was also going to say that I would go ahead and get him downstairs right now. These tornadoes are HUGE. I wouldn't take a chance tonight.

Here we go.... the sirens are going off!!

 

[LilyWDW]

Tornado warning just a single county Southwest of us (Greene) and we are waiting to get a warning here. So, i might be gone for a bit as I take cover. Hopefully it will stay a bit north and not come through us. East Tennessee is getting hammered! Especially along I81.

 

[mandy200587]

I just heard from my friend against the Alabama/TN border. She's looking up to 7 days w/o power.

 

[minkydog]

Can you sleep down there to start? Will he go to bed down there? How about sleeping on the main floor somewhere so you can go into a room there or at least only have to go down one flight of stairs? Can you teach him to sit on his rear and go down the stairs that way so he can get down to the basement?

I don't know if i can get him down there. And I'm very sure there will be no sleeping down there. The interior room is very small. Not big enough to lay him down. My downstairs is pretty exposed--bit vaulted ceiling, big ole windows. I think the upstairs hallway might actually be safer. I don't know if I can keep him confined in the basement. Christian is severely autistic, bigger and stronger than me, and it's very hard to get him to change his routine. I don't want to get into a wrestling match with him. Ugh. These storms are just passing over the state line into Georgia. I think I'm going to be up late watching the weather.

 

[golfgal]

I really want to complain about our rainy, gloomy weather, but I can't after reading these posts about all the tornadoes down south. We had a week like you are having about 8 years ago or so and it was just horrible. We got zero sleep for a week. Luckily we didn't have any storm damage to our house. Hang in there everyone!

 

[SaraJayne]

I don't know if i can get him down there. And I'm very sure there will be no sleeping down there. The interior room is very small. Not big enough to lay him down. My downstairs is pretty exposed--bit vaulted ceiling, big ole windows. I think the upstairs hallway might actually be safer. I don't know if I can keep him confined in the basement. Christian is severely autistic, bigger and stronger than me, and it's very hard to get him to change his routine. I don't want to get into a wrestling match with him. Ugh. These storms are just passing over the state line into Georgia. I think I'm going to be up late watching the weather.

Minky, even if you and your DD need to physically sit on him to keep him in the basement, STAY in the basement to keep everyone safe and alive.

The lowest level of a house is always the safest.

These storms/tornadoes are massive and life-threatening.

 

[minkydog]

Okay, there's a huge tornado in Cave Spring, GA, about an hour from us. I went down and fixed up the basement room.We'll just have to squeeze in there regardless of what Chrstian does. It might be a very long night, but we'll be pretty safe down there.