I hate tornadoes. They are beautiful to behold, but the thought of being in one terrifies me. Unfortunately, tis’ the season for the twisters.
I have always been afraid of these powerful storms. It all started when I was around 8 years old. We had an old set of encylopedias, and I would sometimes thumb through and look at the pictures and read interesting articles.
One day, I read the “T” section, and I came across these terrible pictures of tornadoes and tornado damage. It was horrific. As I read about the power and destruction of these whirlwinds, I was terrified. I developed a “fear” of tornadoes at that point.
Oddly enough, this fear continued into my adult years. Whenever we were placed under a tornado watch, I would be tense all day. Whenever a severe storm would hit, I was usually on pins and needles until it passed. The thought of this barreling through my house just doesn’t seem pleasant:
I actually enjoy calm thunderstorms, but the high winds, hail, and threat of tornadoes make me uneasy.
My Tornado Close Call
So this past Saturday, we were once again under a tornado watch. It was hot and muggy outside, and I knew there was going to be a good chance of getting strong thunderstorms. Since I am always on alert on days like this, I was keeping an eye on the weather radar.
About 4:00 pm, I noticed a nasty line of thunderstorms was heading straight towards our area. Since I had to pick my wife up for work, I made the decision to leave early so I could avoid driving in these storms. So I left and headed to the hospital where my wife works.
Right when I got there, the storms hit. I watched the storms through the window inside the hospital. There was a huge gust of wind, which was strong enough to knock down a light pole in the parking lot. The pole landed 10 feet away from my car.
Then I hear on the intercom a “code torro” which is hospital talk for “tornado.” I checked my laptop, and sure enough we were under a tornado warning. Not only that, but the radar was indicating rotation right over the city where my house is. Yikes! I then saw what I believe to be a weakening funnel cloud, which was twisting and changing shape rapidly, which is right where a lot of damage took place.
It turns out we got an EF1 tornado in my county. It was about 100-150 yards wide, and stayed on the ground for a couple of miles. Luckily, it only trashed some barns, tore down some signs, damaged some roofs, and some other minor damage. No one was seriously injured or killed (thankfully).
Don’t let anyone sell you the old myth that tornadoes don’t happen in mountains. It doesn’t get much more mountainous than East Tennessee. We have hills and mountains all around my county.
My house wasn’t hit, but did sustain some damage from hail. I was told large hail hit this area while I was gone. It cracked our siding in about 4 or 5 places. We also had flash flooding everywhere in the county.
In any event, this has sold me on building a tornado safe room in my basement. I hope to start building either later this summer, or this fall. Tornado safe rooms are rooms made to specifically withstand the high winds and debris that occur during tornadoes. The apparently work quite well, as I have been looking at safe rooms online, and some houses are literally leveled, and the only thing standing is the safe room.
In my opinion, everyone should have a storm shelter. It is just common safety practice. Since this is severe weather season (at least here in the U.S.), just remember to keep an eye on the weather when you have a warning or watch. Get to a basement or interior room, and pray!
Update on My Cholinergic Urticaria
I have really been putting my hives to the test lately. I have been remodeling my house again, and I had to replace my patio door. I bought a new Pella sliding glass door to replace my old inswing door which was leaking.
I had to remove the old door, replace the subfloor and a piece of the rim joist that was rotten, and put in the new door (very heavy). All through this, I had to rely on my antihistamines to help me make it through.
I did have some attacks, but the antihistamines are the only reason I was able to do this. I took Allegra (H1), and then a couple hours later I took Zantac (H2). This combination worked quite well. I was able to hammer and saw in 75 degree weather with the sun beating down on my for nearly 8-10 hours non-stop work.
I only had minimal hives. Allegra wasn’t enough to stop it on its own with this heavy work, but when I added Zantac, it stopped the hives 90%. If you are struggling with cholinergic urticaria, I suggest you work with a doctor to find an antihistamine combination that will work for you. They won’t cure you, but they can help you get through the hard days.
Also, please be aware that not everyone can take antihistamines. If you are pregnant, have other medical issues, or are on other meds, you definitely need to check with a doctor.
I 0nly take antihistamines about 1 time per week at most. I try to avoid them at all cost if possible. I only use them when I have no alternative. This not only saves me money, but it also minimizes any long-term side effects, and also reduces the chances of the antihistamines losing effectiveness.
Oddly enough, I still didn’t sweat, despite working all day in the hot sun.
