I was working in my classroom a little before 4 this afternoon when the sky outside my window turned as dark as night, and a fierce wind bent trees and spun loose construction material in circles around the abandoned equipment. A visceral sense of foreboding had me considering whether my desk might be shelter enough should the storm intensify.
When the rain started, the room seemed to shrink, and the view was like the one through the windshield in a carwash. Construction workers huddled in the shell they had built, and waterfalls cascaded from the corners of the unfinished roof across the way. Just then, a strident alarm sounded from my phone- a tornado warning. Circular motion had been detected within the storm a few miles to the east.
In the west, though, the sky was beginning to lighten, and there was a noticeable decrease in the rain fall. The worst of the weather had clearly passed, at least for the time being. Any staff and students in the building must seek shelter at ground level. As the administration cleared the area, I packed up my things, and headed into the lightening afternoon.
When the rain started, the room seemed to shrink, and the view was like the one through the windshield in a carwash. Construction workers huddled in the shell they had built, and waterfalls cascaded from the corners of the unfinished roof across the way. Just then, a strident alarm sounded from my phone- a tornado warning. Circular motion had been detected within the storm a few miles to the east.
In the west, though, the sky was beginning to lighten, and there was a noticeable decrease in the rain fall. The worst of the weather had clearly passed, at least for the time being. Any staff and students in the building must seek shelter at ground level. As the administration cleared the area, I packed up my things, and headed into the lightening afternoon.
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