Grand Forks and the twister
This part of the world gets some strange weather. Tany and I are now in Grand Forks, North Dakota, where the Buffalo outnumber the humans significantly and the state tree is believed to be the telephone pole. This place really is mostly empty.
We arrived on Thursday in time to be at Tany’s cousin’s wedding at the weekend. On Friday evening we went out for a meal just as a tornado warning was being issued. A tornado warning is sounded by pick up trucks driving around town with a siren in the back, it’s a bit like a mobile air-raid warning. Then there’s the radio, which is a bit ‘War of the Worlds’ as an automated message is sent out across all stations, and panicked announcers try to find the words to describe what’s going on.
Most sensible people are told to hide in their basements – most property’s have basements either to hide in or keep warm in during winter – we were less sensible and went out to the restaurant.
At some point I’ll upload the pictures for this, but it really was quite impressive. While we waited for a variety of steaks to be cooked we stood outside and looked at the swirling dark sky and waited for something to happen. The wind picked up and it looked as though we were going to get hit by something, but then the storm front moved through and the rain fell. Something like 7 inches fell in about an hour. Enough to make the Red River rise (this is a popular place for flooding) a few more inches and make the charge to the car after the meal a really soggy experience.
Fortunately, for the wedding which took place outside in a park the next day, the weather was near perfect. It was still blustery, but that was probably good for drying the ground out, and the rain didn’t arrive until well after the ceremony. We did think that the clouds were going to settle right over the top of us at one point, but I honestly think prayer held out as we watched another weather front slide by.
Today is Sunday and it’s still breezy but the sun’s out and we had a pretty good day. Tomorrow, after a bit of shopping, we are heading out of town to the family property by a lake in Minnesota. Working up to 4th July celebrations and for me to attempt to waterski. I’m not sure what the internet situation will be like there, but if I have the opportunity I will keep you updated.
