We took shelter in a Piggly Wiggly!

The Hubs starts the next portion of flight school on February 25th so we decided to try to do something fun together as a family this weekend. We decided to take the kids to the World's Largest Aquarium in Atlanta. Yes, that would be Georgia. I know, what were we thinking driving 3.5 hours to go to an aquarium? But, but, but, we have exhausted most of our entertainment options here in Sweet Home Alabama and it was supposed to be rainy out. That last part may prove to be the understatement of the year! The Aquarium itself was a disaster but I'll save that story for tomorrow! Stay tuned!

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So, after reviewing the storm report below, does anyone see a possible problem with driving from Atlanta Ga, to Southeast AL on February 17, 2008?

Thanks, I was just checking!

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So we are driving along, listening to my XM radio, laughing about our adventure at the Aquarium and how we seem to make really bad choices when it comes to family entertainment when we notice the clouds getting darker, the rain getting harder and the winds picking up. The Hubba Bubba looks up and says, "those clouds don't look good." Gulp! This makes me a wee bit nervous since he learned all about cloud formations in the weather portion of flight school. Then I said, "we better turn on a local radio station." I did this just in time to hear this:

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM HAS ISSUED A * TORNADO WARNING FOR... SOUTHERN BARBOUR COUNTY IN SOUTHEAST ALABAMA... THIS INCLUDES THE CITY OF EUFAULA... Gulp! I grab the atlas to find out where Barbour County is and how far we are from Eufala. I look up as Hubby swerves around a tree just in time to see a little green sign that says "Entering Barbour County." Double Gulp!

Then the winds start howling and the rain starts coming down in sheets across the road and we could barely see a thing, then we hear the sirens and the weather warning continues on the radio: HEAVY RAINFALL MAY OBSCURE THIS TORNADO. TAKE COVER NOW! IF YOU WAIT TO SEE OR HEAR IT COMING...IT MAY BE TOO LATE TO GET TO A SAFE PLACE. THE SAFEST PLACE TO BE DURING A TORNADO IS IN A BASEMENT. GET UNDER A WORKBENCH OR OTHER PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE. IF NO BASEMENT IS AVAILABLE...SEEK SHELTER ON THE LOWEST FLOOR OF THE BUILDING IN AN INTERIOR HALLWAY OR ROOM SUCH AS A CLOSET. USE BLANKETS OR PILLOWS TO COVER YOUR BODY AND ALWAYS STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS. IF IN MOBILE HOMES OR VEHICLES...EVACUATE THEM AND GET INSIDE A SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER. IF NO SHELTER IS AVAILABLE...LIE FLAT IN THE NEAREST DITCH OR OTHER LOW SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS. A TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 800 PM CST SUNDAY EVENING FOR SOUTHEASTERN ALABAMA.

"SH*T"

I am totally panicking at this point and yelling at my hubby to find a place for us to take cover. He pulls into a parking lot, blinded by rain. We wrap the kids up and run like h*ll for the nearest building. We thought this was better than the alternative of lying in a ditch (they were all flooded anyway) with our hands over our heads. Turns out we ran into a Piggly Wiggly! Only in the south can you take cover from a tornado in a Piggly Wiggly!

We waited it out in the Piggly Wiggly, picked up a few things on our way out and got back on the road. There were tornado warnings in just about every county we went through, severe thunderstorm warnings and crazy lightning the rest of the way home but we managed to escape harm and make it home safely.

Do you think maybe, just maybe, we should have checked the weather forecast before heading out for a little family entertainment? I thought maybe you would!