Funnel Cloud! WAYYYY too close for comfort!

Driving back from OH yesterday, my trusty Garmin routed us off I-65 onto state roads to avoid the inevitable I-65/I-80 holiday weekend traffic fiasco. 

just after crossing into IL, on a state highway I can't recall, the storm came.  Clouds were black and ominous, with that green tint that Midwesterners know is bad mojo!  We were stuck in traffic (local wreck ahead of us) when the sirens started wailing and both our phones blew up with emergency alerts.  Tornado warning for the exact spot we were in!

We noticed staff from a nearby restaurant all out the back door looking up in the sky.  I looked up to see a HUGE funnel cloud in full rotation, not more than a quarter mile ahead of us and directly overhead.  It was the closest view I've ever had of one.  My wife, being from NYC, had never even been anywhere near a tornado or funnel cloud, so you can imagine how much she was freaking out. 

Having lived in Chicagoland most of my life, I know that if it's time to run for shelter, you WILL know and there will be no mistaking it.  I was formulating our exit plan while sitting in that line of cars watching what I expected to be all hell breaking loose at any second.  DW was gathering her phone and work laptop in case we had to make a run for it.  No way we were going to be stuck in that coach if that thing touched down!  As the line of cars slooowwwwly advanced, I stopped a bit short at the entrance to the restaurant parking lot, intending to swing in there as fast as I could and run for shelter if necessary. 

Let me tell you, if you haven't had a similar experience, it will get your adrenaline PUMPING! 

Very, very fortunately, the funnel began to dissipate and break up when it was directly over us, about the same time the wreck cleared and we could proceed the heck away from that storm.  Then, this morning, I hear on the news that the same storm went on to kick the crap out of IN and OH, with major property damage and injuries. 

Dodged a bullet yesterday, friends.  Glad our coach, and our butts, are safely back in storage.  I've been through three actual tornadoes previously, and this was the closest and scariest situation yet.  I don't care to ever get any closer!

I'm certain some of you have similar stories.  I'd love to hear them if you're so inclined.  Be safe on the road!

Glad things worked out for you safely....

;D However in a true southern drawl ...Where's the pic's.....No Pic's it didn't happen  ;D

I have seen a video where the cameraman and his driver were so close debris was bouncing off their pickup.... NOTE The driver ran a company.. He had a weather alert radio installed and when it went off they shut everything down and headed for the storm shelter. (In the plant. the owner was on the road) when the All Clear sounded they exited the shelter and found all was indeed clear

No plant
No machines
NO cars (one big block chevy V-8 but no car)
NOTHING

Now the good news
No injuries
Good insurance
Enough reserves verybody got a paid vacation while they rebuilt.

News today said one person was killed in that one in Ohio last night.
The worst I've personally experienced was in a 22' sailboat anchored in Florida Bay. Lots of wind and rain and lightning in the rigging sounded like bacon frying.
We had a tornado come through our neighborhood 4 or 5 years ago.  It missed us by about 1/4 mile and did some severe damage to 6 houses on our street. The tornadoes we get are much smaller and less destructive than what the Midwest gets.

Don't let anyone tell you a water spout won't hurt anything. Been close to them, seen cases of boat's losing hatch covers. Saw one come up a river, over a marsh, and onto land. When it was over water and marsh it was grey. When it hit land it turned black from dirt and debris, I guess. One person was killed, several houses lost.

April of 2012, I had gone to the hospital for a scheduled hernia surgery in the morning.  By the time my wife got me home and in bed it was early afternoon.  Of course, after having been under a general for the surgery, I was sleepy and groggy and I went to bed to rest.  Weather service had been predicting a huge number of strong isolated severe storms that evening that had a strong possibility of produces tornadoes.  So I am in bed asleep (so she tells me), and the weather alert radio goes off and is issuing a tornado warning for our area.  She popped up the radar and there is a large cell headed exactly for the house....yellow/reds/purple....you name it colors on the radar.  She quickly gather up some bottled water, a few snacks, our motorcycle helmets and the cell phones.  She then got me out of bed and led me to the walk-in closet in the bedroom, as we are on a slab and have no basement.  The tornado hit between 1/4-1/2 mile away from us, all the while me not knowing or remembering one thing from the whole incident.  Probably better off than knowing, experiencing, and remembering the "train" sound and the house shaking and hearing the strong winds.

Glad you are ok! I experienced a tornado in Edmonton Alberta in 1987, I don't ever want to go through that again, the destruction had to be seen to be believed!

I'm from ohio, and thankfully we are safe and sound. 15 minutes west and 15 minutes south of us, not so much. Way too close for comfort. Every year we go through tornado warnings but, this is the first time anything of any real magnitude has touched down, that I can remember .

scale obsession said:

I'm from ohio, and thankfully we are safe and sound. 15 minutes west and 15 minutes south of us, not so much. Way too close for comfort. Every year we go through tornado warnings but, this is the first time anything of any real magnitude has touched down, that I can remember .

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Glad you're safe and sound.  It had to get really scary there.

Gizmo100 said:

Glad things worked out for you safely....

;D However in a true southern drawl ...Where's the pic's.....No Pic's it didn't happen  ;D

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I know!  I was driving and plotting an escape, and my New Yorker wife was busy freaking out.  Only afterwards did we think of pics!

FunSteak said:

I know!  I was driving and plotting an escape, and my New Yorker wife was busy freaking out.  Only afterwards did we think of pics!

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If she wants to ride shotgun she has to have her camera ready at all times. She can still freak out ... But we need pic's and/or video. ;D ;D