It was graduation weekend in Clay County.
The last day of school for Sandy Creek kids was Wednesday, May 18.
The end of this year has been particularly hectic. Last Monday, I left Sutton at a quarter to five. I had to get home to get my kids and myself ready for the Elementary concert at Sandy Creek.
As I was leaving town, I had finished up a phone call setting up live streaming for a weather app. I knew there were some storms forming, but didn’t think much of it.
As I was about to turn onto Highway 14 from Highway 6, I noticed spotters were out from Clay Center.
I continued on, as I had to get us all to the concert on time.
I have a radar app on my phone the National Weather Service in Hastings uses. I thought perhaps I should pull it up and take a look. That’s when I saw it...
A large hook just west of Fairfield. It was about this time my phone started ringing. It was Tanner asking me where I was.
I told him I saw the hook, and knew I was driving into the storm, but was going to keep going. If it got too bad I would just pull into someone’s yard.
Once I got out of Clay Center, the rain picked up. A few miles out of town I saw more spotters and a sheriff’s deputy turned around on the road and parked to watch.
I pulled my phone out and tried to give this live stream a try. As I’m staring at the clouds, I see the rotation and striation.
My phone begins to ring again, I ignore the calls as I’m trying to live stream this incredible event.
I continue driving, at this point the supercell is directly above me. As I turn off of Hwy 14 onto 74, the rain is coming down so hard I can barely see. Hail starts hitting my car, also.
I try to make a quick decision as to where to go. Should I park at Sandy Creek, try to make it to the driveway of the house with the big red barn...
As I drive, it clears up a bit and I pull into John Deere and park. I publish my first live stream video and start another one.
I am elated. Here I am sitting in a parking lot facing a tornado that has formed and is coming down. This live stream is going to be incredible. I’ve never been through an experience like this before.
My phone begins to ring again, numerous times. I ignore and continue streaming. The large tornado dissipates and a smaller rope tornado forms. Once that one dissipates, I stop and prepare to leave.
I soon realize the phone calls kicked me off of live streaming. I have nothing, no video of this incredible tornado and experience of a lifetime.
I am not a happy camper, sigh. Oh well, there is nothing that can be done about it now. I have the experience forever ingrained into my memory.
Upon arriving at home, I find out Sandy Creek had been hit by the tornado. I grab my camera again and head back out to see the damage.
By the time I arrived home that night, it had been a few hours since the storm. There were still piles of hail in my yard and the power had apparently gone out.
I discovered a couple days later when I had time to sit down for a bit that my local channels had disappeared. Turns out the storm had messed with my satellite dish.
To be quite honest, I am glad I was not at home. I have to park my car outside and honestly, storms fascinate me. When they hit, I like to be out where I can see them and whats coming.
As we were in the parking lot at Sandy Creek we noticed a small funnel form off to the south a good distance. I did catch a picture of it with my camera, however it disappeared about as fast as it appeared.
It was not nearly as exciting as what I had experienced earlier in the evening. Sandy Creek had a fair amount of damage, enough to close school for the following day and cause a late start the day after that.
It just added even more stress to the staff at SC. They have done all they can to pack in every activity that was planned before the year comes to an end.
The last day of school for Sandy Creek kids was Wednesday, May 18.
The end of this year has been particularly hectic. Last Monday, I left Sutton at a quarter to five. I had to get home to get my kids and myself ready for the Elementary concert at Sandy Creek.
As I was leaving town, I had finished up a phone call setting up live streaming for a weather app. I knew there were some storms forming, but didn’t think much of it.
As I was about to turn onto Highway 14 from Highway 6, I noticed spotters were out from Clay Center.
I continued on, as I had to get us all to the concert on time.
I have a radar app on my phone the National Weather Service in Hastings uses. I thought perhaps I should pull it up and take a look. That’s when I saw it...
A large hook just west of Fairfield. It was about this time my phone started ringing. It was Tanner asking me where I was.
I told him I saw the hook, and knew I was driving into the storm, but was going to keep going. If it got too bad I would just pull into someone’s yard.
Once I got out of Clay Center, the rain picked up. A few miles out of town I saw more spotters and a sheriff’s deputy turned around on the road and parked to watch.
I pulled my phone out and tried to give this live stream a try. As I’m staring at the clouds, I see the rotation and striation.
My phone begins to ring again, I ignore the calls as I’m trying to live stream this incredible event.
I continue driving, at this point the supercell is directly above me. As I turn off of Hwy 14 onto 74, the rain is coming down so hard I can barely see. Hail starts hitting my car, also.
I try to make a quick decision as to where to go. Should I park at Sandy Creek, try to make it to the driveway of the house with the big red barn...
As I drive, it clears up a bit and I pull into John Deere and park. I publish my first live stream video and start another one.
I am elated. Here I am sitting in a parking lot facing a tornado that has formed and is coming down. This live stream is going to be incredible. I’ve never been through an experience like this before.
My phone begins to ring again, numerous times. I ignore and continue streaming. The large tornado dissipates and a smaller rope tornado forms. Once that one dissipates, I stop and prepare to leave.
I soon realize the phone calls kicked me off of live streaming. I have nothing, no video of this incredible tornado and experience of a lifetime.
I am not a happy camper, sigh. Oh well, there is nothing that can be done about it now. I have the experience forever ingrained into my memory.
Upon arriving at home, I find out Sandy Creek had been hit by the tornado. I grab my camera again and head back out to see the damage.
By the time I arrived home that night, it had been a few hours since the storm. There were still piles of hail in my yard and the power had apparently gone out.
I discovered a couple days later when I had time to sit down for a bit that my local channels had disappeared. Turns out the storm had messed with my satellite dish.
To be quite honest, I am glad I was not at home. I have to park my car outside and honestly, storms fascinate me. When they hit, I like to be out where I can see them and whats coming.
As we were in the parking lot at Sandy Creek we noticed a small funnel form off to the south a good distance. I did catch a picture of it with my camera, however it disappeared about as fast as it appeared.
It was not nearly as exciting as what I had experienced earlier in the evening. Sandy Creek had a fair amount of damage, enough to close school for the following day and cause a late start the day after that.
It just added even more stress to the staff at SC. They have done all they can to pack in every activity that was planned before the year comes to an end.
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