Cold Approaches and Tornado Tale (Part 2) Continues...

HOME SPUN FORECAST: Warm today, in the low 80s with a SW breeze and a few more clouds. A cold front is approaching the Panhandle region today and will be on our doorstep Wednesday noon time. Should be passing through East Central Florida during the late afternoon or early evening under mostly cloudy skies, with maybe a rain shower or two. Otherwise, little impact with a return back to normal temperatures for the remainder of the week.

"TORNADO TALE" CONTINUATION- Part 2 - A True Story:

The west wind was changing, and in matter of a few seconds it had changed,and was blowing, undiminished, from the southeast toward the cloud. Lightning, the most fearful I have ever seen,

'~ .. then very suddenly, . . .

there was nonoise of any kind

...exceptforthe ex.troordlnary

hard pulsebeats In my ears

and head."

and wide as a house, flashed with some regularity between the scud-cloud and the ground.

In the comparative stillness following the terrific thunder crashes I couldhear a sustained hollow roaring, like a distant freight train. Feeling my wife's eyes on my face I said, "Sounds likeheavy hail." But it wasn't hail. She knew it wasn't, and I did too. You can't feel the sound of hail vibrating the air against your ear drums, norpulsating it against your face. This was a new sound, one we had never heard before.

The low, deadly looking scud-cloud was right on us now. and I could see no sign of a tornado funnel this side of the greenish rain. But it was there, and my wife knew it was there. I told her to go in and take the children. We had no storm cellar, but, had there been a tornado showing, we could have gotten into the car and run out of its path.

Now, we had to take a chance on it missing us. It was behind the rain, without question; I had seen them thatway. In another minute the low cloud passed close overhead, and the dusk of early evening enveloped us. I turned to go in, and as I went up the porch steps hailstones the size of tennis balls began falling on the house and in the yard.

These made my heart sink, for they almost invariably fall in the forefront of a tornado. They came down sparsely, one on about each square yard, but they made a most hideous bang and clatter, and I knew some of them were going all the way through our shingled roof. We all went into the west bedroom.

Lightning was striking all around the house now, adding its horror to the fast-rising din. As my wife snapped on the overhead light, a gust of wind and rain hit the west wall of the room with a crash. My wife was pointing to the west wall. "The wall's blown in!" She had to scream to make herself heard. I could see that it had slipped inward six inches or more at the ceiling, and was vibrating under the wind pressure.....TO BE CONTINUED....