This week we had a huge storm roll through. I guess there had been a tornado watch, but since I don’t live in an area that is remotely near tornado country, I didn’t really pay attention. The weather was blistering hot, three or four days of 100 degree weather, also not our typical June weather.

I had cooked outside on the grill and asked the kids to remind me to go back out there and cover it up in a little while, after I let it cool. I am somewhat forgetful about covering the grill, though I do make an effort since our last grill rusted out after a few short years.

It was probably around 8:30 at night when the wind suddenly picked up. The sky turned weird. The rain began falling like I have never seen rain fall before. It was then that I remembered the grill. “Oh, I will just run out and cover it,” I thought.

I got to the screened in porch and as I saw small branches and leaves being ripped off of the trees, I thought better of it and ran back into the house. That was when the wind really picked up and whipped around in all directions.
Within five or ten minutes, the worst of the storm passed and we were left without power.

The next morning we went out to examine all the damage. Our street was littered with toppled trees. And when I saw branches that were easily 6″ in diameter had been impaled into the ground a foot or so, I was glad I had decided not to go out. My grill is replaceable, my skull not so much.

What should you do if you are caught outside during a storm? The biggest killer is lightening. Rain isn’t going to kill you. Flying objects in high winds could though. The National Weather Service offers tips to staying safe on their website.

Most of them are things I already knew, but still it might be useful to go over the list with your children, in case you are forced to let them out of their protective bubbles.