F-3 June 1st

This past Wednesday my hometown, Springfield, MA (incidentally, where we're living right now) was rocked by an extremely rare (for this area) natural disaster. A powerful tornado (which so far has been rated by the National Weather Service as an F-3) touched down in our area and wreaked chaos and disaster to many homes and businesses. Our house and property was spared, but many of our friends and neighbors are still in shock as they pick up the remaining fragments of their homes. The tornado ripped its way East just a block North of our house late Wednesday afternoon. We heard a screaming/whistling/roaring sound and saw people running full speed down the street searching for cover as debris swirled through the air and trees bent nearly in half under the strain of the wild winds. We had no idea what was going on. God spared our lives yet again that day, and we continue to be deeply grateful for all we have and the good health and safety with which we've been blessed.

These photos don't do the destruction justice. This area has braced itself for hundreds of years for winter storms like Nor'easters, blizzards and deadly ice storms. But we are in no way accustomed or prepared for the tornados that routinely rip their way through the Midwest.