Now you know why we were so worried about you when you didn't show up here for several days.
Yeah I guess your concerns were justified. Thanks again for the thoughts and prayers.
Before the tornado hit I was at home watching the weather on tv. They said it looked like it would miss us to the north. The sirens sounded for the northern part of the city. Being that it was said to be heading north we went ahead with our plan to take our oldest son to dinner for his Birthday and headed out down Rangeline to the south.
Unbeknown to us it changed directions probably as soon as I quit watching. My wife said it looked really dark to the west as we drove. Right as we were getting out of the car at Red Lobster,the sirens started sounding all over town including where we were. We went inside the building and almost simultaneously the power went out there.
Inside they weren't doing anything,just waiting around. So I went outside to the front and looked down Rangeline to the northwest. I saw it coming across,just a huge wall of darkness on the ground. It didn't really look to be rotating,but it was moving quickly. The wind and rain hit and forced me to go back inside. Still they were doing nothing,nobody realized it was actually a tornado for several minutes until someone got a text saying it was on the ground at 15th and Rangeline. We were at 32nd and Rangeline. It wasn't until then that we were asked to move into the kitchen and cooler area. If it were actually going to hit us,it would have been to late.
After 10 minutes of waiting in the kitchen listening to the rain and wind,it quit and we moved back into the dining area. After a few minutes,the manager announced they would be closing since he did not know when/if the electricity would be back on. So we decided to go home,regroup and decide what we would do.
From 32nd we headed back north on Rangeline toward home. We didn't get very far. There's a viaduct between 28th and 30th on Rangeline. As soon as we drove over to the 28th street side,nothing could have prepared us for what we saw. At first just debris in the road,poles down. Then damaged buildings,the car lot full of damaged vehicles then nothing but destruction. Businesses and buildings were gone that we had just passed an hour earlier. Cars mangled in the middle of the road and just piles of rubble everywhere. No clear path to go anywhere and the police were there making everyone turn around.
I went back to 28th and turned to take some side roads(my wife's idea,I knew we wouldn't get far). We made on a few blocks only to be blocked everywhere by downed trees. Again,looking to the north,after a block or two,nothing could be seen but total destruction.
32nd street in a main thoroughfare so I went back south to it. Then headed west toward main street. That's probably 3miles or so. But we were met with police road blocks at 32nd and main. Looking to the north, again just devastation. I was not going to be allowed to go any further on 32nd,the hospitals were that way and they only wanted emergency vehicles on that road. Everyone was forced to go south.
New plan now. Go south to I-44 and take it to 43 which enters the city on the the far west side. But before we even got into town we were met with a long line of cars. Luckily,I know the roads well,so I took another detour and drove around through a neighboring town. This allowed me to get around to the northwest part of Joplin,and back to my house.
Now with my family safe,we were home. What is normally a 10min drive turned into 2 hours. But the sites will be permanently embedded for life. I know this a long post so I'll end here,but this isn't where my night ended. I hope to NEVER see anything like this again.
