STORM2K

(for those who don't get my emails...)

whatta night! to try and be brief, i was at work (hotel) when the tornado sirens for Macon county IL went off around 12:45 AM. just prior to this, i was on the third floor shooting video of what i believed was a wall cloud in the hope of pulling a capture from as it was illuminated by lightning. when the sirens went off, we went into emergency mode notifying guests of the warning and advising them of what to do to be safe (go into bathroom or come downstairs). it was a very tense moment for me when i was downstairs at the height of the storm being able to see horizontal rain through the window and not being sure what was happening outside. although people weren't happy in being awakened, we were able to maintain calm with many thanking us later for ensuring their safety. i on the other hand wonder how i kept my cool for with sirens and wind blowing knowing what i saw when upstairs, i was honestly a bit scared. thankfully it did not take long for the "all clear" to come from local met Joe Bauer on WAND TV. we were spared any significant damage at my location but some places were not so fortunate. much respect to whomever made the call here and got those sirens fired up...

in being able to review video from overnight, confirming a wall cloud between I72, Forsyth and approaching US 51 by Hickory Point Mall. i was on third floor of my work facing due W. time was 12:45 AM

the only worthwhile capture
http://pawleewurx.com/misc/wallcloud1.jpg

considerable tree damage in and around my block from
Ash St. to Mound and in between MLK and US 51. photos
taken 3:30 AM

MLK S bound between Ash and Mound
http://pawleewurx.com/misc/DSC03202temp.jpg

church lot on corner of US 51 and Mound
http://pawleewurx.com/misc/DSC03208temp.jpg

house on Constant View N bound
http://pawleewurx.com/misc/DSC03209temp.jpg

same street different side
http://pawleewurx.com/misc/DSC03210temp.jpg

(and i still have video to go through of a really
intense pre-work electrical show from 11 PM!)

Wow... very intense for you for sure. I worked at a hotel for a short time and I don't know what I would have done should a tornado threaten it. Glad you stayed calm.

And... is that fruit in the front yard of that house?

who knows, i think it's bags of mulch and rocks for landscaping. gonna be awhile till they get around to that project...

Thanks for posting pictures. Hopefully no one was injured.

Very good wall cloud picture there. I read your post and found myself remembering the storms I went through. I also work at a 175 bed hotel in Tuscaloosa Alabama. I got some questions I would like to ask you, about hotel procedures and whats the best way.

weatherguy1 wrote:Very good wall cloud picture there. I read your post and found myself remembering the storms I went through. I also work at a 175 bed hotel in Tuscaloosa Alabama. I got some questions I would like to ask you, about hotel procedures and whats the best way.

in the event a warning is issued, if have enough lead time, i call each room and wake them. my dialogue is as follows...

"this is paul at the desk and i am sorry to wake you. we are currently under a tornado warning and ask that you please seek shelter in your bathroom or on the lowest floor."

if i have no lead time, i run down the hall beating on every door whereby once i have their attention basically say the same. having to do it this way sucks for being out of breath. i work a 61 room facility so if you work at a 175 room facility, i sincerely hope you have additional staff. if not, focus on advising rooms in the path of the tornado (such as W). remember, it's not the tornado that gets people, it's the flying debris. getting them away from windows and to an interior area (even hall) betters survival chances.

We have a all-call system to alert guest. its a microphone next to the fire pannel behind the front desk and each room has a speaker and there are several speakers all over down stairs. It has gotten wild in here sometimes. I guess people dont belive what the tv is showing or what we are saying and thay want to go outside to see for themselfs. Our front door is on the southwest side of the building. And then we have 2 tv's on the way to the ballrooms we use as shelters, so then we have people blocking the lobby hallway watching the storms on tv. And people look at us like we just fell off the moon or something when we ask them to clear the hallway. It gets fun in here sometimes.

the links do not work for me

sorry for the broken links. i dumped the temporary image files as it is end of the month. all of the pictures can be found in the gallery below... enjoy!

http://www.pawleewurx.com/mayday.html

Thanks pawlee. Great pics!!