Tornado. 竜巻 / トルネード
This site is almost 3 years old. This is the very first non-Japan (China, India) -related piece I’ve posted here. Just thought I’d share. Here’s the thing — yesterday afternoon a tornado tore through the family property down in South Alabama (just south of Slocomb, Geneva County), missing the home where my mom lives by mere feet. These are a few photos — taken by my sister about 17 hours ago — of part of the scene.
Yellow pine tree uprooted by tornado. 1 March '12.
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Close call. Slocomb tornado. 1 March '12.
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On the family property, trees uprooted, snapped, by tornado. 1 March '12.
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On the phone, my 85 year old mom said she “could hear the [tornado’s] roar, but wasn’t about to go outside to investigate.” That Scots-Anglo pragmatism.
More photos, taken 3 days later. I came down to South Alabama to visit my mom and see this first hand.
Same tree as the one in the top two pics. Three days later.
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Same trees as those in the third photo above. Three days later.
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One of the several back yard trees that (fortunately) fell away from the house. My dog, Chloe, helps provide some scale to the tree's size.
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Another near-miss in the front yard.
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Neighbors' trampoline up in neighbors' trees. It wasn't there before the tornado.
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More heavy weather is predicted for the U.S. Midwest and South, extending into Alabama, today (posted 2 March 2012):
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UPDATE: In the 24 hours following this “hit” on at my mom’s home in South Alabama more storms swept across the U.S. Midwest and South, destroying neighborhoods, wrecking towns and killing more than 30 people.
LetsJapan 
It’s been a terrible day. I’m in the Houston area and so escaped, but have friends and acquaintances throughout the area, and have been tracking the system for about three days. At least there was good warning – they knew it was going to be bad. Still, that’s little comfort to the town destroyed today.
I’m so glad your mother is safe, and that her home survived. Like our hurricanes, tornados are terrifying experiences. It must be some comfort to you to have photos and such available – although unnerving, I’m sure.
I’ve been following your blog for a while now, and eventually will begin commenting more frequently. I do enjoy it, very much. I’m just having to learn to manage my time better so that I can do more commenting.
Thank you so much. So kind of you.
Please be, stay, in touch.
R.
Im so sorry to hear about this.. but I am SO GLAD your mom and her home are ok! Let me know if I can help in any way. xo
Thanks, Michelle. Much appreciated. Not a lot going on right now except some minor limb-clearing off the drives/roads around the property. Big tree removal won’t start for another week or two (according to my brother-in-law, who with my sister, lives down there). I plan to go down tomorrow to see it first hand and see what, if anything, I can do.
R.
I heard about this at the time. No idea it had struck so close to home. Glad your mother is all right.
Thanks, Lo. Not just close “to” home; close over and around home. My mom had no idea what was really going on. Which was probably for the best.