I spent Wednesday night in Lincoln Nebraska. We got in around 5pm and I was super tired and ready for bed. Thursday I had to be up at 4:30am local time, which is 3:30am mountain time. I settled in to my normal routine of heating up dinner, stretching and organizing my stuff for the morning. Between Denver and Lincoln there was a huge line of thunderstorms headed East towards Lincoln. I expected the storms to hit that night, but did not think it would be much worse than a gentle spring thunderstorm. As I hit laied down to go to bed a tornado warning was broadcast over the TV using the Emergency Broadcast system you always see tested. It warned of tornado's on the ground headed for central Lincoln. I was on the 13th floor of the Holiday Inn in room 1313 of all rooms!
Annoyed, I decided I would head downstairs and take a look myself to see how bad it was. Outside the haunting cries of tornado sirens filled the back ground and after walking around for a while I spotted a small funnel cloud. Between the visual obstructions of city buildings I watched it dance about, skip off the ground and stir up a bunch on paper and garbage, and then recede upwards. I lost sight of it behind the train station. Shortly after it started raining so I found some cover under a large concrete awning. There was a parking garage nearby that I planned on using for shelter if a tornado headed directly towards me.
Funnel Cloud
(excuse the poor cell phone quality)
I enjoyed the lighting show and thunder as I sat under the awning. I felt safe, taking in the storm, until I was literally blown out of my seat by what sounded like a sonic boom. I didn't even see the flash. It sounded like I was right below the blast of a 4th of July firework finale. Ears ringing and body shaken I decided it was time to head the half block back to the hotel. As I left the cover of the awning it happened again, every bit as bad as the first time accept this time it wasn't just sound. I could feel electricity come off the top of my head. It felt I was suddenly overwhelmed with static electricity, but it never sparked. It was a feeling that I have never felt before, then it disappeared as quickly as it came. It was by far the closest lightning strike of my life. My body surged with adrenalin and I broke into a full sprint towards the hotel. When I looked back I saw that it struck a high tension line pole right above me that was obscured by the awning. Mental note: When observing lightning storms under concrete awnings check for high tension lines overhead first!
Approaching Storm from the 13th Floor
I headed back to my hotel room tired but thinking that the worst was over. When I turned the TV on for an update it warned of more tornado's and a tornado watch until as late as midnight. I looked out my 13th story window to confirm the reports and saw wall of darkness approaching from the West. Needing to go to bed I considered just hanging out, but the local news station weather man was pleading through the screen for anyone who was watching in central Lincoln to take cover immediately. Needing a second opinion I turned to the weather channel which also warned of tornado's on the ground near Lincoln, Nebraska. There was a stark contrast between the two meteorologists. The weather channel guy was calm, collect, and professional while the local guy was anxious, panicked, and over animated. Maybe the proximity of tornado's to their respective studios had something to do with it. I decided not to chance it and headed back down stairs. Avoiding the claustrophobic basement conference room the hotel was pushing guests to ride out the storm in I headed for the parking garage. It had a concrete staircase that I could bail into of a tornado came. Safe from lighting I was awed by the power of the storm. After the initial wall the sky turned black even though it was only 7:30pm. Gail force winds carrying water and golf ball size hail pelted the parking garage. After an hour the worst of it was over and I really had to go to bed. Just as I was about to turn the TV off a sad story came on the air. Four Boy Scouts were killed in a camp about 60 miles away in Western Iowa by the same line of storms. For the article click Here.
Annoyed, I decided I would head downstairs and take a look myself to see how bad it was. Outside the haunting cries of tornado sirens filled the back ground and after walking around for a while I spotted a small funnel cloud. Between the visual obstructions of city buildings I watched it dance about, skip off the ground and stir up a bunch on paper and garbage, and then recede upwards. I lost sight of it behind the train station. Shortly after it started raining so I found some cover under a large concrete awning. There was a parking garage nearby that I planned on using for shelter if a tornado headed directly towards me.
Funnel Cloud
(excuse the poor cell phone quality)
I enjoyed the lighting show and thunder as I sat under the awning. I felt safe, taking in the storm, until I was literally blown out of my seat by what sounded like a sonic boom. I didn't even see the flash. It sounded like I was right below the blast of a 4th of July firework finale. Ears ringing and body shaken I decided it was time to head the half block back to the hotel. As I left the cover of the awning it happened again, every bit as bad as the first time accept this time it wasn't just sound. I could feel electricity come off the top of my head. It felt I was suddenly overwhelmed with static electricity, but it never sparked. It was a feeling that I have never felt before, then it disappeared as quickly as it came. It was by far the closest lightning strike of my life. My body surged with adrenalin and I broke into a full sprint towards the hotel. When I looked back I saw that it struck a high tension line pole right above me that was obscured by the awning. Mental note: When observing lightning storms under concrete awnings check for high tension lines overhead first!
Approaching Storm from the 13th Floor
I headed back to my hotel room tired but thinking that the worst was over. When I turned the TV on for an update it warned of more tornado's and a tornado watch until as late as midnight. I looked out my 13th story window to confirm the reports and saw wall of darkness approaching from the West. Needing to go to bed I considered just hanging out, but the local news station weather man was pleading through the screen for anyone who was watching in central Lincoln to take cover immediately. Needing a second opinion I turned to the weather channel which also warned of tornado's on the ground near Lincoln, Nebraska. There was a stark contrast between the two meteorologists. The weather channel guy was calm, collect, and professional while the local guy was anxious, panicked, and over animated. Maybe the proximity of tornado's to their respective studios had something to do with it. I decided not to chance it and headed back down stairs. Avoiding the claustrophobic basement conference room the hotel was pushing guests to ride out the storm in I headed for the parking garage. It had a concrete staircase that I could bail into of a tornado came. Safe from lighting I was awed by the power of the storm. After the initial wall the sky turned black even though it was only 7:30pm. Gail force winds carrying water and golf ball size hail pelted the parking garage. After an hour the worst of it was over and I really had to go to bed. Just as I was about to turn the TV off a sad story came on the air. Four Boy Scouts were killed in a camp about 60 miles away in Western Iowa by the same line of storms. For the article click Here.
The Storm from the Parking Garage
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