Just call us Tornado Alley...

2011 has been the year of crazy weather for Rome. It started with a week long adventure with snow and ice in January. More snow in February. (Both of which I didn't mind one bit. I love snow!) In April, we were ravaged by storm after storm. Multiple run ins with straight line winds and tornadoes. My beloved Alma Mater was in the middle of the destruction. This summer brought weeks of rain and weeks of no rain. We had seven+ inches fall over a short period 2/3 day period at one point this year. As we headed in to December I was some what relieved and ready for 'winter' weather.

Well, I should have known better. The first day of winter was unseasonably warm...low 70s and rainshowers. That evening I was suppose to go by myself to Cartersville to coupon/shop at Publix and go to Target. Andy was going to stay home and I was going to get a night to myself. That changed around 4:30 when the weather picked up. A few minutes before five I checked the weather and it said that the conditions were favorable for a tornado. About that time the wind picked up and I thought that the roof was going to be pulled off the house. I couldn't see outside the windows. The lights flickered three times and then went out. I tried getting a hold of Andy and he said that he was trying to make his way home but that the weather was crazy on their side of town too.

By the time he got home the power was still off so we packed the kids up and headed to Cartersville. Thinking surely by the time we returned that the power would be back on. After dinner at Chick-fil-A, Target, and Publix we loaded the kids up and headed home. We had been checking our phones to find info on the Rome News-Tribune but found nothing. Well, we got home and no dice. Power was still out and AG was running around thinking it was the best thing ever. Ha. We finally got everyone in bed and then we crawled in to bed. Andy turned on an app he had on his phone...which happens to be the police/fire dispatch. Yep, we laid in bed trying to hear if we could catch any info on to what was going on. I was sure that we'd wake up in the middle of the night and the power would have been restored. I slept horribly. In the morning Andy called the office and told them he was going to be at home due to our lack of power. He picked up breakfast and then we took the kids out to do some errands. While out I decided to drive down our old street to see how it looked. I was near tears as I drove down our old street. Every house that surrounds the house we rented was hit...including the house Andy lived in when were dating. Late in the afternoon we got word that it was indeed a category F2 tornado that ripped across West Rome. Right at the 24 hour mark our power was restored and I was forever grateful. Thankfully, the night before the temps were moderate and it wasn't a big deal to not have power. However, the next day the temps began to plummet and we were seriously contemplating packing up and heading to my parents because we couldn't stay a second night without power.

My plan to finish making Christmas presents was foiled. Everything was kind of thrown off including my baking and cooking for the weekend. In the end what we could finish was finished and I didn't worry about the rest. I was just immensely grateful that we were once again spared. This year has been incredibly challenging for our little area. I'm praying that this next year is not as eventful...although I wouldn't mind a good snow storm. :)