As soon as we got back in the car, I turned on news radio to get the latest. Surprisingly, a handful of counties, including ours, were under a tornado warning! It was a bit surreal as we drove toward home, just waiting for the storm, still to our west, to hit. Brittany stayed on the phone with her husband while I focused on getting us home before the storm. Realizing we wouldn't make it in time, and strongly encouraged by Brittany's husband to find a safe place, I suggested seeking shelter in the basement of the library. We pulled up, parked the car, and hurried to the building. The library's employees directed us to the basement, where everyone else was already gathered. We stayed there for an hour, sneaking up the stairs to get reception to make calls and assure our families we were safe, listening to the crazy wind, and looking up as the lights flickered.
Brittany and I may look frightened, but we felt safe in the library's basement, and we agreed there was no better place for two bookworms to be stuck during a storm.
Finally, it was safe to leave. I drove the car slowly down the street, doing my best to avoid fallen branches or flooded pavement. Main Street was closed, likely because of fallen trees or power lines. Our town was spared from the tornadoes that came through the area, but we still had some damage. A huge tree across the street from my apartment was completely uprooted, and branches littered our complex.
This branch had been threatening to fall for the last few months, and the storm finally brought it down, along with part of the fence.
It was the scariest storm of the summer, but I'm glad I was able to hang out in the library with a good friend instead of hanging out by myself in our apartment building's creepy basement.
Here's another view of the damage from our balcony.
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