YOU CAN TAKE THE GIRL OUTTA THE COUNTRY, BUT ....

Chicago's Storm of the Century

Growing up in Alabama I've seen so many tornadoes that when a friend invited me to see the movie Twister when it debuted I said no thanks, that's like reliving my childhood. I have a healthy respect for tornadoes and the damage they can inflict.

So Monday night I was a little nervous when the wind kicked up and trees started bowing to the ground. Suddenly the most intense lightning, thunder and rain hit with a fury I've never seen before in Chicago. I grabbed my little Mini-Schnauzer Jojo and headed for the lower level. Jojo is as scared of storms as I am and she was quivering and quaking.

Hubby asked where I was going and I told him to the "shelter. " He just laughed. A few minutes later I heard the first tornado warning siren ever in the city. Hubby headed for the basement and said that he'd heard on the news that the safest place was in the center room of the lower level. DUH. Exactly where he found me.

The storm knocked down huge trees all over the city, power to over 200,000 homes and tore off countless rooftops. The lightning strikes numbered over 9,000 and the Tribune said it was the most violent storm of the century. My rain gauge caught 2.5 inches in just an hour or so.

It was just as I feared the next morning -hydrangeas and other flowers took a beating but otherwise my garden was intact and a few trees on the street were trimmed by Mother Nature.

The storm was the closest to a tornado that I've experienced since moving to Chicago. The gale force winds were measured at 90 mph at the Lakefront, giving new meaning to the moniker " Windy City. "