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Beware: talk about language learning, college, and writing is expected, but anything goes. |
   THE AJM SAGA According to Dictionary.com a saga can be defined as the following: a medieval Icelandic or Norse prose narrative of achievements and events in the history of a personage, family, etc. Essentially, I think that definition sums up one thing I want to do with this blog: talk about myself. But, also, I kind of like the vibe it gives because I love Scandinavian things (especially concerning Norway and Iceland). The thing is? I have done blogs in the past about writing. While I intend to continue blogging about my writing process, I also want to branch out and talk about other things. However, this is my first time blogging in this format. In essence, this blog is also an experiment of sorts. |
| Every Spring and early Summer, it's normal to hear the tornado siren at least once. But you go in the storm shelter, wait it out, and it's all over in a matter of time. But this time, something was different. There was an alert on Wednesday night about a dangerous storm that would hit, and then on Thursday, April 25th 2024, the air throughout the city felt off. And although the damage wouldn't occur until the next day, it was easy to tell that something was off. Midwesterners are a strange breed when it comes to tornadoes. Oftentimes, a very typical way of dealing with them is to get your lawn chair and a beer and watch from the porch. And in a way, tornadoes fascinating and impressive. On Thursday night, I was talking to some other writers in a virtual write-in about what was going on, and I had a paper I was working to finish before the big day, because I knew I would be busy with it. One of the other writers at the event suggested checking some stormchasers out on Youtube. After that write in, I went home (was working in an office on campus at that time) and I began to watch a stormchaser online. They were a few hours away, and that's when reality began to hit. But at the same time, I did not know what was in store for the next day. At around 1:30 pm central the next day, a tornado watch was issued for Omaha. I had been watching the weather beforehand, and I had seen at least a few tornadoes touch down on the radar. At this point, I just had a Dr. Pepper placed in the freezer, and I was snacking on some Oreos. In that sense, I guess the midwestern stereotypes really did hit me. But when I saw that a tornado had hit Lincoln, I knew we were in for it in Omaha, and moments later, the siren went off. I grabbed my Dr. Pepper, a hoodie, and went off to the storm shelter. I found a corner, and I hunkered down with my phone to watch the radar as the day unfolded. But it was only a matter of time before I saw the track of a new tornado unfold. Seeing that line of damage left me in horror. That specific tornado touched down at 3:30 PM central time, and throughout the duration of the tornado, it had a windspeed of 170 mph recorded. The tornado was over a mile wide, and it traveled for 31.2 miles, finally relenting at 4:29 pm. Although it initially received an F3 ranking, recently it was updated to an F4 ranking by the NWS. For a brief background, tornadoes are rated after they occur by assessing the intensity of damage that is caused, and F4 tornadoes are relatively rare and only make up 2% of the tornadoes that occur. And there I was in that corner of the unfinished basement, watching the tornado as it barely missed friends, family members, and places that held value in my personal life. The vulnerability, the pit in the stomach, and the stress from the event is not something I will be able to forget. That was not the last tornado to occur that day. A tornado much closer to where I lived touched down. This particular tornado was seven miles from where I am, and since that day, I have seen the end of it's path. But there were so many tornadoes reported that day, with some having a violent intensity which hadn't been seen in Nebraska in nearly 10 years. Between Nebraska and Iowa, the National Weather Service notes that there were around 24 tornado tracks recorded that day. I think there's still some element of human curiosity. But the damage and vulnerability of that day also lingers with the event. It's one thing to see a tornado track on a map of a town you don't know. It's another thing entirely to see a tornado track on a trail that has a sense of familiarity. The uncertainty and vulnerability lingers. After the events, there are so many what ifs that will never be answered. In the beginning of April, Omaha was able to see 86% totality of the solar eclipse. Later on during May, there was at least once instance where the Northern Lights came down this far. In many senses, I almost wonder if some force in the greater universe was trying to apologize for the event. As a biology major who is interested in environmental science, I had studied weather before. But since then, I have regularly followed storm chasers online, tracking them and paying attention to where new tornadoes have occurred. So far, 2024 has been an extremely active year for tornadoes, with only 2011 being able to rival it. It might sound corny, but one take away I garnered from that day was to be grateful for what I have. Life, friends and family, and other possessions that I hold dear. Sometimes the weather can be quite unpredictable in a long term sense. In that manner of speaking, there are so many uncertainties. At this point, I am just glad that Omaha, for the most part, is okay in terms of life. But even still, hearing about a friend of a friend, or a family member of a friend losing their house is haunting. |
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