One could get to thinking that liberals represented the greatest terror to common sense Nebraskans, but we've been hit hard by weather which is worse.

Sunday morning at 2:30, we got brushed by a category two tornado. Destroyed houses a block from us, but only did a few trees on our street. Sure did shake the house. Lost power for 12 hours.

Last night (Wednesday), we really got pounded with a line that wouldn't go away. Tornado after tornado. Radar showed several within blocks of us, but we never experienced anything. Sadly, one hit a boy scout camp and killed four 13 and 14 year olds, and injured 30 to 40 others, many with head injuries.

With each storm we get from 2" to 8" of rain and the ground won't hold any more. Fortunately, it looks like the weather systems have moved on and we have typical June summer sunshine for the next week or so.

When these storms hit, the 3 major TV stations all go solid weather and all have some very sophisticated radar. It's something to behold just to watch the outstanding visual presentation.

Wow.

Sounds like you guys are getting beat up huge! I know what you mean about the visuals. It's really something to see everybody trying to make sense of it, stay safe and stay informed.

IMHO, this is one of the things about the middle of the country that bonds people in ways not understood very well in the more mild areas. Sometimes bad stuff happens and sometimes you might find yourself needing some help from that guy down the street.

Hope you are safe.

Deane, to those of us out here in the West, that indeed does sound terrifying! I'm glad it spared you and yours.

Deane, that sounds like a pretty damn scary experience. I am really glad your family is safe. Sure it might sound corny, but you were in my prayers. The way they described the situation on the cable networks was very dire. I feel for the friends and families of the victims from yesterday's deadly tornadoes. My hope is that the region gets a break and soon.

I also hope that the many folks affected by the flooding start to see some tangible help. I have read reports from Iowa that are very Katrina-like and it makes me sad. With all the help we offer to people outside our borders in a disaster, you would think we would be able to muster the same sort of outpouring right here at home. We really need to keep our National Guard stateside.

The aftermath is now proving rather interesting relative to the scout camp. Some callers to talk shows can be pretty stupid.

One lady is on a tirade that the camp should be shut down and investigated. Another that they should have had sirens. Another that the kids shouldn't be outdoors like that, they should be at home.

Fact of the matter is that they did have sirens and they did go off, however, there wasn't much time as these tornadoes were popping up out of nowhere with little warning.

The siren did sound and the scoutmaster yelled "everyone under the tables". They were inside, not outside. The scouts did as they were trained, hit the floor, covered their heads with their hands, and then all hell broke loose. The tornado hit the building with a roar, windows smashed, glass flew everywhere, the roof came off, the walls caved in. Scouts were hit with flying glass and debris. 4 were killed. Others were using their training with CPR, and the report is those young people, instead of panicking, went into action to try to save lives.

It really irritates me to hear these morons do their criticizing, when there hasn't been a single thing show up at this point that anyone was negligent or could have acted differently than their leadership did. It was an act of nature and we do our best to be prepared, but things happen and they always will.

My parents grew up in the mid-west and these are the kinds of stories they would tell us.

For sure the whackos come out and say stupid things, but more often than not your very best rise to the occasion and remind you how important it is that we need each other.

You really find out who your heroes are during times like this.

Deane - KMTV uplinked their air signal to CBS last night so I had a chance to watch while I was at work. I've never before seen live coverage of a violent storm passing by. It was riveting. I saw the live interview with a witness to the tornado that went through the scout camp. He said the fatalities were from a falling fireplace chimney, and that the sirens worked. Trouble was the storm was moving so fast that there wasn't much advance warning. I feel for you folks back there. Must be terrifying. But I gotta give "Action 3 News" a big pat on the back for their coverage.

Deane_johnson:
One could get to thinking that liberals represented the greatest terror to common sense Nebraskans, but we've been hit hard by weather which is worse.

Sunday morning at 2:30, we got brushed by a category two tornado. Destroyed houses a block from us, but only did a few trees on our street. Sure did shake the house. Lost power for 12 hours.


Two things, you choose to live in the midwest where you know damn well this is going to happen year in and year out. I'm sorry you are getting hit so bad this year, but as I said THAT'S the midwest.

The other thing, global warming, enjoy it it's only going to get worse.

Aok,there are risks of nature no matter where one choses to live. It's tornadoes in the midlands, earthquakes on the West Coast, Hurricanes in the south and east.

Tornadoes usually only strike a very small area, sometimes only a block wide. Problem starts when a bigger one hits and you're standing in that small track.

I've lived most of my life in the Mid-West, except for 10 years in Oregon, and I've never before seen a tornado. This is the first actual experience I've ever had with one, and now only got clipped by the edge.

I'm thankful that in the NW we seldom hear the word "rotation" used in a local TV weather segment! Geez, last night on KMTV I saw symbols superimposed over a radar map that I've NEVER seen before!

One could get to thinking that liberals represented the greatest terror to common sense Nebraskans, but we've been hit hard by weather which is worse.

Glad to hear your okay...
BUT....
Common sense and Nebraskan don't fit. If it did in anyway YOU WOULDN'T BE LIVING THERE!
Have fun with that....