A week ago Wednesday, on June 1st, I had the chance to do some primary source research for my book when there was a tornado warning in my town. I ended up in the basement with my dog, listening to the thunder crash overhead and the rain and hail pound down outside, hoping and praying that all would be okay… and kicking myself that I didn’t bring a pen and yellow writing pad.
A tornado watch means that conditions are ripe for the development of tornadic activity and to keep a close eye to the sky and ear to the weather if you’re going to be out and about… but a tornado warning is serious stuff. It means that a funnel has been spotted in your area and is either on the ground already or could be momentarily.
Here in Northampton, we were very lucky. The funnel never did touch down. However, our neighbors in several other western Massachusetts towns were not so lucky, as a huge EF-3 tornado ripped through their communities leaving a path of destruction up to a half-mile wide.
As unusual as it is for Massachusetts to have tornadoes, it is a much more common occurrence in states that are a part of Tornado Alley… like Iowa.
My book takes place in a small rural town just south of Iowa City, Iowa, and as the plot unwinds, my characters have to face some severe weather of their own, including tornados. There is a scene where Jacy and Travis and Olivia are sitting in the basement at the Beal’s house, terrified, wondering what is going on out there, as the tornado siren blares from the direction of the fairgrounds.
So thank you Universe for keeping us all safe! And for helping me to write more detail and tension into the tornado scenes in my book!
June 10, 2011 at 12:32 PM
That’s the great thing about being a writer. Everything is material. Glad the tornadoes missed you!
June 10, 2011 at 10:40 PM
Thanks, Ruth. Me too! I have a writer friend that believes that you attract to you the things that you’re writing about… so I hope it wasn’t my fault that the tornadoes came to Massachusetts :) I guess I’d better finish this book up in a hurry and move onto something else… maybe a book about a person who wins the lottery and has so much money that she’s able to support all of her family and friends for the rest of their lives!!!