Drops of water were hitting my face
across the room. I tried to assure her.
"That gust always comes ahead of a
rainsquall," I shouted.
But there was no abatement in the
deafening hubbub outside. I know it
was growing in intensity by the second,
and-realized that a tornado was
right on us. I yelled in my wife's ear:
"Everybody in the back room: Get
under the bed!"
'~ .. the side offhe room
came in as if driven by one
mighty blow of a gigantic
sledge hammer."
Under a foolish impulse I jumped to
the south window for a last look outside
before following the family. As I did so
the overhead light went off (3:04 p.m.,
as shown later by our electric clock).
Between the flashes of lightning it was
as dark as midnight, but by shielding
my eyes I could see somewhat. I saw
that my neighbor's house across the
vacant lot was standing, but trees and
shrubbery out that way were flattened
almost to the ground. From the course
the planks, sheet-iron, and other debris
took as they 'flailed over the lot, I saw
that the wind was from due west. It
was a grim perspective, but out of it all
I gathered a bit of hope.
The wind was from the west! It
should have been from the south. While
a tornado, as a whole, moves generally
eastward, the funnel itself rotates
counterclockwise, and the west wind
indicated that we were in the southern
edge of the twister. It, apparently, was
passing just north of us. And too, the
vivid lightning and rending crashes
were passing on and there was now a
decided lull in the screeching roar
outside.
And then very suddenly, when I was
in the middle ofthe room, there was no
74 Weatherwise
noise of any kind. It had ceased exactly
as if hands had been placed over my
ears, cutting off all sound, except for
the extraordinary hard pulse beats in
my ears and head, a sensation I had
never experienced before in my life.
But I could still feel the house tremble
and shake under the impact of the
wind. A little confused, I started over
to look out the north door, when I saw
it was growing lighter in the room.
The light, though, was so unnatural
in appearance that I held the thought
for a moment that the house was on
fire. The illumination had a peculiar
bluish tinge, but I could see plainly. I
saw the window curtains lying flat
against the ceiling, and saw loose
papers and magazines packed in a big
wad over the front door. Others were
circling about the room, some on the
floor and others off it. I came out of my
bewilderment enough to make a break
for the back of the house.
But I never made it. There came a
tremendous jar, the floor slid viciously
under my feet, and I was almost thrown
down. My hat, which I had not removed,
was yanked off my head, and
all around objects flashed upward. I
sensed that the roof of the house was
gone.
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