Storm of the Century?

Like the words superstar or awesome, the phrase “storm of the century” loses some meaning after a while. Whether it is our own habit of over emphasizing things or reliance on superlatives and impact adjectives or whatever, we hear things like this and they sort of roll off our backs. That is until you are so close, so involved, you swear that you hear the storm breathing, until you realize that that is your own breathing sounds and that scares you even more.

Yesterday, Massachusetts was hit with a series of violent, intense thunderstorms which spawned (at current count) 10 tornadoes touching down throughout the area. At least two were in Springfield, one in Monson that may be the same one to touch in Brimfield, among them. Given these facts, I offer a few comments on my connection to the storm.



(damage to Main Street church)

I work in the town of Palmer, on the border of the town of Monson, Massachusetts. The building where my office is located is a program center in the south end of the facility campus. In my office, my back faces the window, and I was busy yesterday afternoon after attending a couple of meetings in a different building. As of 2:30 pm, the skies were sunny, the air thick and the a/c in my office beckoned. At 3:30, a colleague mentioned an approaching storm and I looked outside to see a grey, foreboding sky, a thicker feeling in the air and the rumble of not far off thunder. A quick check of the weather channel on the computer showed a strong storm in Springfield that was quickly approaching us in Palmer. I left work at 3:50, about 10 minutes early, hoping to get a jump on the storm. A tornado touched down in the area less than 20 minutes later.



(Main Street, Monson MA)

As I drove home, all I was thinking about was getting to my house before the rain started and as I pulled into the driveway, the first drops of rain hit my car. As I got in I was at first surprised that Mrsfabp was not home as her car was there in the driveway but then I remembered that she had an appointment in Palmer that afternoon and that she was going to take my son’s car. This produced the first pangs of anxiety as I had just left Palmer 30 minutes ago. By 5 pm at our house it was as dark as midnight, no exaggeration. This was when I thought I was hearing the storm breathe, the sounds coming and going, until I realized that it was my own breath I was hearing and I was a bit scared. Then the skies opened up and for the next 45 minutes there was an intense thunderstorm. Our lights flickered several times, the computer went off and we lost internet and phone service for a while. My cell phone rang and it was Mrsfabp but it was difficult to hear her as the signal was poor and fluctuating. Eventually I found out she was safe and waiting out the storm and when I got internet service again, found out my daughter was also stuck in work but safe and waiting out the storm too. Needless to say, I was very concerned but feeling helpless throughout all of this. Several storms seemingly passed by over the course of the next 90 minutes.

The town of Monson was devastated by a tornado that passed through at around 5 pm. This is less than a mile from my office. Our facility built a new home for our residents about a half mile north of the facility and the storm passed almost directly over it, as it traveled from Wilbraham through Monson and into Brimfield. Thankfully, while every house on the block suffered extensive damage, our facility home was untouched and undamaged. I believe that this could be what some people refer to as a miracle.



(Town of Monson, MA)

If you go to YouTube or Google news and search “tornado Monson” or “tornado Brimfield” or go to NECN.com there are some scary scenes and videos posted by the people there along with the news reports. The local news reports have raw footage of the funnel cloud hitting Springfield.

You know, with all the recent tornado damage in the country, one becomes almost immune to the stories, to the damage to the devastation, and I never really contemplated the life changing impact of these events. I sat in work, watching a TV news report while a person who works at the facility quietly cried next to me. This series of storms in Massachusetts did not impact me personally but I still am waiting to hear from a friend who lives just outside of town. I also just heard that someone who I know from work, who retired a couple of years ago, who always asks me about my kids when I see her, had her home completely destroyed by the tornado. I feel so sad for these people, the ones I work with, the ones affected by the storm. We are safe yet that has a hollow sound to it. There is still a sense of horror and empathy present. It will be a while until things return to any semblance of order around here.