Close Enough For Me
Backyard Tornado Siren Sounded Last Night
Early reports lead me to believe a sustained and wide-based tornado spent time on the ground in a path from northwest of Sanger, Texas, to the east and over Lake Ray Roberts last night, May 25th. Five are reported dead in Valley View, Texas, and the search continues there, and eastward from there.
In an incredible weather pattern that had the air in Denton actually visible with the level of humidity it contained, and heat that crept far into the 10pm hour, a weather “event” seemed all but inevitable last night. At this writing, it looks like the pack journalists are waiting for sunlight to expose the extent of the damage, but the path the talking weather heads were showing last night took the tornado directly across the midsection of Ray Roberts and to Pilot Point proper – dead center.
What is unknown as of now, is whether the NEW marina at Jordan Park suffered any damage, whether there is access to this point, or to the town of Pilot Point … and whether my boat storage is still standing. There is no visual from the Sanger Marina either. There seems to be a lot of silence just eleven miles north of me today, and that’s either good or bad. I can imagine there are a few folks filing out of Isle DuBois State park right now, with stories to tell. Imagine a worse set of circumstances than this:
- Memorial Day Weekend
- Direct straight-line exposure to a tornado
- Being in a RV, trailer or tent
- Having no sirens to warn you to take cover
- The constriction point of the single-lane road in/out of the park
While Isle DuBois may not have been hit at all last night, the scenario is one to ponder for future weather events that could beset that park. Then, there’s the new marina on the east side of the Lake. Under construction, and vulnerable as it obviously is? If you have seen the Lone Star Lodge and Marina, you know a direct blow from the west could be catastrophic. I am fighting the journalist instinct to load up the gear and go shoot this morning.
Category: Science and Environmental
According to scanner – “mass casualty event” canceled at 09:13 Sunday AM. Units from Denton leaving Valley View now. Probably now in recovery mode. Stay away unless you live there folks.