Yesterday I got caught up in the worst weather conditions I have ever experienced. My friends and I went to grab some dinner at Dave and Buster, not knowing that we would be driving right into a possible tornado. It was a little too late by the time we were alerted. We barely made it in before they made all the guests go to the game room. The electricity went out shortly after and no one had any idea what exactly was happening outside or how close the tornado might have been. We couldn't hear anything, there were no windows, and we couldn't get a good signal on our cell phones. We left as soon as they announced that the sirens had stopped in order to beat the rush. When we stepped outside, everything looked normal aside from a few branches on the sidewalk. It wasn't until we tried to get out of the lot when we saw all the damage. The roads and other lots were covered by fallen trees, light poles, and large debris. We had to back out and turn around at almost every corner, driving over large branches and barely avoiding large tree limbs next to the car. When we made it out onto the main road, we were met with traffic and closures everywhere. We made a bad turn and ended up on a small residential road and got stuck between cars because the road ahead was blocked. Some people who lived there started sawing trees away from the path so cars could get through. Then, one lady came to each car and advised that we tried our best to turn around. She had a gas leak and feared it was bad. Cars started backing and turning around at the point and help also made it to the home. We eventually got on the highway but could only go one way. We just hoped that we wouldn't exit onto a road with more blockages. Luckily, it was smooth sailing the rest of the way.
The tornado didn't do as much damage in Missouri as it did in Oklahoma, but even the small aftermath I experienced was scary enough for me. I can't even imagine how scary it was for those who experienced worse and my heart goes out to the people who were hurt or got damage to their property. I was glad to see that people worked together and were considerate of each other in such times though.
Take care all...
