Aftermath

I hear the storms here last night are getting national play. Sears store in a mall partially destroyed, at least 3 dead in a warehouse collapse, several tornadoes. We are all OK. The brunt of the damage was in south Memphis near the Mississippi state line (but somewhat near where I teach).

As for us, we monitored the storm, then went to Pei Wei for a fat Tuesday dinner to ride the storm out. Driving there, the sky was intensely dark to the south and west, but in the other direction there was clear sky and clouds. Side note, eating at a restaurant that shares a parking lot with the fire station, where the storm sirens are located, can be disturbing. When things hit, the rain was thick and sideways. Probably sustained 40-50mph winds. Water was forced under the doors of the restaurant and puddled inside. And after 10 minutes, things were over, aside from the continued media coverage. Another line struck about 10pm, but that was mainly thunder and lightning associated with the cold front moving through.

My school is open today, although some nearby schools are without power. I am guessing many of our students will also be without power, and not come to school (although why staying in a dark house instead of a lit school with hot food is appealing). Memphis City schools dismissed yesterday at 12:30 in anticipation of the weather. I guess they were a little early, but the kids appreciated it. Teachers, not so much, as we had to lose half a day of teaching, scramble to get all kids contacting home about the dismissal, etc. On the good hand, I got released an hour early and got the car inspected and voted. Win!