Tornado Alley

Today saw its fair share of drama when the tornado sirens went off. In a matter of 5 minutes, I got about 6 e-mails that basically went like this:

• The conditions are right for a tornado to form ...
• There has been some rotation observed in the storm passing through ...
• A tornado has been sighted but not confirmed ...
• A tornado has touched down approximately 11 miles from Springfield ...
• The tornado is heading toward Springfield and is 5 miles west of town ...
• The tornado has changed direction and is heading northeast ...

Gina called and asked if the sirens were going off at UIS. They were. I was instructed to head to the basement of my building. I called and told Gina to do the same thing. The faculty, staff and students had a big party in the basement of the Public Affairs Center (PAC), while Gina showed videos to the boys (until the power went out) and let them run around. The power was still out when it was time for me to come home, and Gina couldn't get the garage door open, so I rode the bus. I felt like I was back in Charlottesville. We finally got reunited and we swapped tornado stories. Neither of us were ever in any danger, and it caused more a disruption than anything. Hopefully this won't be a regular occurrence for us, but I have a feeling it might be.