Storm Chasers For A Day....

It Was A Dark and Stormy Night Morning....  Actually, it was a dark and stormy Memorial holiday weekend here along the Florida panhandle.  Pensacola received major thunderstorms and we were eye-witnesses to nature's wrath and beauty. 

With a good friend in town visiting us, our family headed out to breakfast and to site-see on Sunday, May 30th.  After stuffing our bellies full of bagels and eggs, we drove to a local memorial park.   Our crew hoped to pay tribute to America's fallen heroes and military men and women who have served our country.  However, instead of visiting the memorial, our eyes and minds became sidetracked with the incredible stormy weather that was literally right above our heads. 

Although we have great respect for the armed forces, our family decided that standing next to metal flag pole and metal statues was not a wise decision.  We can return to the park another day to pay respects.  So we became storm chasers determined to pay homage to mother nature....

Here are some amazing weather photos that both our friend John and I captured during those stormy, morning hours along Pensacola, Florida's bay and standing at downtown Palafox Pier:




(Just as we left the parking lot of our breakfast bagel shop, I noticed this water spout -- which for those of you who may not know - a water spout is like a tornado over water-- forming over Pensacola Bay.  Our friend John captured the picture with his camera phone from the insides of our truck.  May 30, 2010) 





(That water spout began to grow as we drove along the bay roads, trying to determine which direction it would go, not to mention what direction we should go too!)






(We stopped at a local pier to gain more camera shots and to let Vivian run around with the pigeons and egrets before the rain fell.  See the clouds rolling in -- the calm before the storm!) 






(The storm clouds actually looked beautiful hovering over the bay and the boats parked along the pier.) 






(Normally this pier is packed full of visitors.  You could see that on a stormy day like this though, our truck was one of the only vehicles there.  We stuck around until the rain began to come down.) 



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I'll admit that I felt both excited and a little scared being out there near the water as this storm was rolling in.  If Vivian wasn't with us, I might not have been afraid at all.  But I was concerned about her safety, especially when we saw the water spout growing over the bay.  

I've been fortunate to avoid any personal encounters with tornadoes, including one moving along water like the one we saw yesterday.  I have shared my experiences and the horrific events during Hurricane Katrina - those I witnessed when we lived in Louisiana; however, I was in a concrete building/military shelter during that storm.  This time we were in a Nissan truck or simply standing on our own two feet along a pier.  Different scenario.  Especially with a child at your side. 

What is it about storms and nature's wrath that evokes the human spirit?  I know my dad always became a little bit crazy when the rain would come pouring down.  He'd sit on our back porch drinking his whiskey with music blaring loud.  When the thunder would boom, he'd yell and laugh along with it.   He even had a close encounter with lightning one time too while working in the yard.  Though it was all in good fun, I'm sure there were moments when my mother and I thought he was being ridiculous.

I usually like being at home beneath my sheets when a storm comes.  My brain knows that the weather won't last but I sometimes have a few moments or minutes of anxiety when it feels like my dwelling place is the target of destruction.  Typically I worry more about losing power for hours or days than the actual end results of a rainfall and windy debris.  After all, my freezer is stocked up full of goodies that I don't wish to lose! 

Vivian had her first moment of fear regarding the weather this weekend too.  A loud thunder noise made her scream.  She even peed in her pants a little from the startling noise.  I hugged her and held her.  It took a few minutes before I could talk her down to feeling safe again.  I'm sure we'll experience many more occasions like this in the future.  I need to put on my brave face and hat when this happens. 

No matter what we encounter, we'll hold hands and stick together as a family.  We won't be naive to believe that we can't be destroyed but we will still find a way to appreciate weather, even in the scary, stormy occasions. 

Do storms excite you or frighten you?  Could you ever be a storm chaser?   Many of my friends LOVE to be in the midst of storms and even find them romantic.  What do you think about storms and crazy weather conditions?  What does your family do to feel safe during a terrifying case of mother nature?