Kentucky really did have some crazy twister hit the other night. A rare tornado and squall of storms that marched right across the whole state in the wee hours of the morning. In Richmond KY, I was aware of the storms but I didn't start to get alarmed till about 1:30 AM. I was still up and watching the radar. The last twister I was involved with was in 1974.
I made a few calls to alarm some other sleeping folks to go run for their lives! Believe me when you get a call after midnight you know it's trouble or someone has died. I could tell in their voices that I had scared the devil out of them and now they had to decide what to do, where to go and what to save.
What is really funny to me is that when I know it's going to hit I have to figure out just what to take with me to the basement. National news article
What would I think was valuable?
Here's what I took with me:
Chanel(my dog), both sets of car keys, checkbooks and credit cards, my client file & notes, laptop with the Sprint
air-card(so I could stay up on the weather radar, a few extra clothes, coat and shoes(I once went through a
tornado and all I had were the clothes on my back, believe me I want some clothes this time), bottle of water
(later went back up to get a banana in case I got hungry), flashlight and the last thing I picked up was a video
of my Dad(the only one I have). Funny, out of everything I have this video and Chanel was what I thought I could not replace.
The house popped, cracked and groaned. I could hear the wind slamming rain against the French doors. I knew it would be scary to listen to all this upstairs. The basement is usually fairly soundproof. Chanel had already vanished to a spot somewhere under the bed.
Well...we waited the storm out and finally after about 3 AM, I went up to see if the upstairs was still there. About all the wind had done was knock over a chair on the deck and move my grill sideways 10 feet. Nothing happened this time.
I found out today that others were not so lucky. Over 50 people died as a result of these storms.
Please be sure to always take these tornado warnings seriously and have plenty of home insurance!!
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Lizette Fitzpatrick - Baby Boomer Real Estate Relocation Specialist with Prudential Don Foster in Richmond, Kentucky.
Rated number #1 featured Kentucky Realtor® on Activerain.com and Localism.com. Publisher/Author for the only Central Kentucky email newsletter on local real estate listings and sold properties, Kentucky relocation, local events, homeowner information and fun! For more information on Lizette, Kentucky Horse Farms, Prudential Don Foster, Madison County, Fayette County, Richmond or Lexington, Kentucky click on Lizette.us.
See for yourself what Lizette's extraordinary clients have to say about their Kentucky real estate experience.
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Hi Lizette - so glad to read you're okay! I can only imagine how terrifying that must be, and how sad for those impacted by losing family and friends in those storms.
Ann
Hope all is okay for you out there! Must be quite a terrifying thing to go through! Good luck and we are all praying for you out there!
Hi Lizette,
So sorry to hear about such a tragic loss for so many folks.
Ann - The loss of seeing all your things distroyed instantly is mind boggling. I wouldn't want to go through it again.
Richard - Thanks for stopping by with your comment and prayers.
Lynda - Yes, many people have lost homes and loved ones. Tragic indeed. To have a feb. tornado is extremely rare here. It's quite windy tonight also!
I am thrilled to know you and that cute little dust mop came through ok.... it is funny what we take in times like this
Lizette, That series of storms was devastating especially at this time of the year - obviously the death toll points that out, Karen
we are just glad that you are alright and able to blog about it.
your friend in Charlottesville
Hi Lizette,
Glad to see you are okay! You are so right out of everything the only 2 things you could not replace are Chanel and the video of your father. If at all possible you should see if you can get a copy of the video made and keep it in a safety deposit box or something like that.
Thesa - Chanel was a little scared by the wind and since then has been sleeping under the bed at night. A new ritual I think.
Karen - It's a very weird thing for storms like that to even be around here in February.
Charles - Me too! Thanks for checking in on me!
Trace- That's really a good idea. I do need to put it on a DVD and stash it in my lockbox.
awe she will be up on the bed in no time - I woke up this morning with Max on my bed sleeping on my husband's side of the bed (he was on the road) he had his head on my husband's pillow and was stretched completely out - dogs! what would we do without them?
Thankful you are all safe! In East Tennessee we did not get the damage like Middle and West Tennessee. We are so very fortunate to live near the mountains that help protect us from tornadoes. It is a rare thing when one hits here. It scares me just to think about it. I am so glad you didn't have any damage.
Lizette--Glad to hear that you and Chanel are safe! I hate tornado season...It is so disarming when you lose all control to Mother Nature.
Thesa - I can see that happening! Our dogs run our lives for us.
Connie - Lucky for you that tyou don't have to worry about them. We miss you!
Teri - The bad part of it is that there is not enough warning for you to prepare and save stuff. A fire would be terrible too.