#arwx

[amassofhumanity]

82 degrees in mid-November. Rather warm for this time of year in Northwest Arkansas.

[getoutofthisplace]

Dear Gus & Magnus,

Bad weather hit Central Arkansas this afternoon and the tornado sirens went off right before Gus's school let out. Mom called me because she was torn on whether to take cover in the basement with Mags and Suki or try and go get Gus before any weather hit our neighborhood. She was worried that if she didn't go get Gus, the school would let him out anyway and then he'd be walking home alone -- something he hasn't done before -- and then the tornado would hit. But she also didn't want to take Mags out into the weather. I was watching news coverage at work and it seemed like it was west of us, so I told her to go get Gus. But then Sasha, who was in line for pick-up at PHE commented in my work chat that the kids had been locked inside for safety. I called Mom and she and Magnus turned around went to the basement.

I've always told her that the absolute safest place in the basement is underneath the stairs, in the small little storage cupboard. A few minutes later, Mom called me back and said they had made it to that small space, but that the door had latched behind them and locked them in. She told me not to come let them out, but to be ready to come do so as soon as the tornado had passed. The news reported that the tornado was in Riverdale, just down the hill from us, but they were showing footage of it crossing the river to the north, so I felt certain I could drive from downtown to our house safely. I didn't like thinking about Mom and Magnus being stuck in that small space in the dark. And what if the tornado did hit our neighborhood and they really got stuck in there, but I couldn't get to them because of debris and road closures or whatever? Or what if Gus got stuck at school and I couldn't get to Hillcrest?

I grabbed my keys and ran to the parking deck. A man taking cover in the stairwell opened the door for me and said, "Come on in!" When I told him I had to drive to Hillcrest, he told me not to, and then wished me luck. I raced through downtown along 2nd Street, and then 3rd, just like I do every day, but faster and more alert to everything around me. By the time I reached our house, the weather had settled somewhat, but my adrenaline had peaked. The air reminded me too much of the day Nene and I rode out the tornado in the hallway in Beebe in 1999. (In that linked video, you can see an 11th grade version of me at the 7:04 mark, sitting behind the dude in the black shirt.)

As soon as I opened the basement door in the kitchen, I could hear Mom reassuring Magnus underneath my feet. I heard her say, "There's Daddy," and even though I knew they were safe before that moment, hearing Liz's voice broke me. I had tears in my eyes when I unlatched the door and saw them standing there. But I also couldn't help laughing because I hadn't expected to find Mom wearing Magnus in the carrier, I hadn't expected them both to be wearing bicycle helmets, and there was also something funny about seeing Suki standing there with them. Mom laughed through tears, too. The three of us stood there and held each other for a few minutes.

"I told you not to come," Mom said.

----

We went upstairs to keep an eye on the news. The tornado had continued on its path northeast and we kept an eye on Beebe. Sasha called and said she was with Gus and could drop him off at our house.

After she did, I could finally feel myself start to relax. It felt good to have us all in the same place. It always does.

Dad.

Little Rock, Arkansas. 3.31.2023 - 3.00pm.

[toddwr88]

Sunset

[art-by-sable]

Possibly a small shelf cloud? It was in front of a line of storms advancing from the southwest. Apologies to the highway department dump truck for briefly blocking their driveway lol. I hope tumblr doesn’t compress this panorama like it did the last one I posted.

[tremendousinternetyouth]

The boardwalk at my park (and now it's raining hard again, so...it'll just get worse.)

[amassofhumanity]

Big hail in Tontitown, Arkansas. About 7 miles northwest of me. For scale that appears to be a lime.

[amassofhumanity]

Hey, Mother Nature! I’m not a fan of this yo-yo weather pattern. Please cut it out. Thanks.

[amassofhumanity]

I’m actively procrastinating cleaning the apartment because the threat of tornadoes is “likely” and maybe the twisters will do it for me.