Are you a Sky Watcher? Do you find inspiration or joy each day by the watching the bright blue skies? Ever find yourself looking up for the storm clouds that are forming around the edges of the skyline? The Sky is a magnificent canvas that “paints” our daily world. The Sky “canvas” changes from day to day, as well as our weather.

It was another ordinary teaching workday. By October in the “teacher world” we are fully engaged into our curriculum and integrating every single factual nugget into any conversation. I’ll admit that Seventh grade science and Social Studies provided an excellent opportunity to learn more about our weather. We routinely followed storms in the Atlantic, all the while, honing our Social Studies skills of mapping, and plotting latitude and longitude coordinates. This wasn’t a unit that we completed and left behind in the Fall, we continued to discuss it as the year progressed as the seasons changed. But let me get back to the subject here…

It truly was a typical day, a Monday. Normally, I would stay and work and prep for the next school day, until around 5pm. There was always plenty to do, papers to grade, grades to put into computer after grading, run copies, set up graphics for the next day, the list was long. But at 4:00 pm on Monday October 23, 2017, I decided to go home. Actually, something told me internally to go home, so I did. I’m very thankful that I chose to go home.

My drive home from work averaged about 20 minutes, by the time I arrived there, the weather was changing rapidly. I’m not really sure that I was noticing the dramatic weather changes from the skyward view.

My son was already home from school, snacking, doing homework. We both quickly realized that a significant thunderstorm storm was approaching. The sky was painting up a stormy forecast. Gathering up the pups and ourselves, we sheltered in place in the bathroom, this was a first for us.

I had gotten a text message from my brother in law who said a tornado warning had been issued for our area. This was significant news for me because he works for the National Weather Service in another nearby state. Shelter in place was necessary. Meanwhile…. Richard was trying to get closed up at the hardware store, but the storm came up way too quickly and he had to wait it out. The storm rolled through our area and caused significant damage in our local communities.

In the aftermath of the storm, Richard had a difficult time finding a way around the storm chaos, broken tree limbs, downed trees were scattered across most major avenues.

If you are local, you probably remember this storm, because it did cause significant damage to our community and the National Weather Service surveyed our area and found that an EF-1 tornado touchdown had occurred.

Sadly, another tornado touchdown was confirmed in April 2024 in Wilkes. Hurricane Helene hit our surrounding communities in September 2024. Severe Weather can leave a defined impact upon our communities.

That’s thing about Severe Weather… it can occur anywhere and seemingly anytime under the right conditions. What is classified as Severe Weather??? Thunderstorms, flash flooding, damaging winds, tornadoes, large hail, extreme temperatures (hot or cold), and winter storms (ice/snow).

A heavy downpour can quickly wreak havoc. A large, powerful thunderstorm cell can unload a large amount of rainfall in an area in a short period of time. We have personally experienced the power of water. A very short, severe thunderstorm brought flash flooding into our hardware store in August of 2020.

Water is a powerful force, you can’t physically stop the flow of that water. Think about the power of water flowing in a river and going against that flow to stop it. Yes, not happening.

Severe weather happens. Is it happening more frequently??? Last September, our mountain neighbors, witnessed devastation with Hurricane Helene. For our mountain neighbors, it will be a long recovery timeline.

I know my storm experiences aren’t unique by any stretch. Living life today, we all probably have personal stories of how storms have impacted our daily lives. Trees land in precarious places, power outages occur, bursting water pipes from extreme temperatures, technology failures happen, shortages of needed supplies, the list is long!!

But, how can we be always ready for impactful weather, whenever it happens? Now, is a perfect time to gather together any needed essentials as 2025 Hurricane season is churning up OR even before the cooler “BER” days begin.

Keeping a few essential items on hand for such emergencies will help eliminate the stress of locating needed supplies after a impactful storm. Severe weather can occur in any season: winter snow/ice storms, thunderstorms, flash flooding, damaging winds, tornadoes, hail, or temperature extremes.

Begin by building OR refreshing your Emergency Kit:

When the lights go out… you will need batteries, flashlight, oil lanterns, lamp oil, matches, battery powered lightbulbs, and think about how will you power up your devices during an extended outage… like a power bank.

Brrr… it’s cold!!!

Power is out, and it’s freezing outside, do you have an alternate heating source? Make sure that your smoke detector and carbon monoxide detectors are working properly as well!

Helpful tools- quick repairs might be needed during a severe weather event like having to turn off the water, taking care of fallen branches, securing items down, etc. Here’s a quick list of some basic tools that might be helpful: multi-tool, tarp, rope/ paracord, gloves, folding pruning saw, chain saw, duct tape, hammer, wrench, pliers, shovel, whistle, dust masks… just to name a few!

Food: Planning for this can be tricky during a power outage : Refrigerator and freezers need to stay closed in a short temporary power outage. Food will spoil quickly in a matter of a few days without adequate cooling. It is Always good to keep bottled water, a manual can opener, and non perishable food on hand. It is also good to have extra paper products on hand (plates, cups, paper towels, trash bags)

Thinking about food preparation– do you have a way to warm food safely without power? Camping size grill??? Gas grill??? Camping stoves???

Pets: don’t forget to include your pets into the food equation!

First Aid kit and Personal Care: in addition to the basic first aid kit, make sure needed prescriptions are included, alongside the daily essentials like toothpaste, shampoo, etc

Documents: In case of an emergency evacuation, have your important documents AND an extra set of keys ready to go!

WCH can order a fire safe box for all of your documents… ask us about that soon if that’s something you need!

Stay Connected: Emergency information is available for many types of situations at Ready.Gov or stay tuned to the ever changing weather conditions locally OR use the National Weather Service as a resource. Free apps to download: American Red Cross, FEMA just to name a few. A weather radio is always a great way to learn more about fast approaching storm fronts when the traditional outlets (internet, radio, tv, etc) are not available.