Tornadoes

It's one thing to be a weather freak. In this area, I proudly let my freak flag fly. I loved the movie "Twister", even though it was a bit Hollywood-ish. But I've fantasized about being a tornado chaser. When I was in college, I did research on tornadoes. Like many, my first exposure of any kind was via Dorothy and Toto. I've been hooked on them ever since.

But it's another thing to be on the receiving end of one. Especially when it's an F4 tornado.

Tornadoes are as American as apple pie. Over 80% of the world's tornadoes occur in the USA.
I've never encountered a tornado up close and personal. I've come close. In July '89, a tornado in the New Haven CT area demolished part of a nearby neighborhood. 9 years later, April '98, tornadoes tore through my locale of Nashville, destroying part of downtown.

It's amazing how little we know about them. We don't know entirely why they form (although we do know how). We can't accurately predict its path, intensity, or even when they'll form, where they'll touch down, or how long they'll stay on the ground. 
All this is a roundabout way of saying that I'm equally saddened and astounded at the devastation in Moore, OK yesterday. This wasn't your average tornado. It was an F4 or even an F5, F5 being a tornado with maximum devastation. It was also a mile wide; enormous compared to the normal 1/4 mile girth. In fact, an F5 tore through Moore 14 years ago, clocking the highest wind in recorded history, 303 mph.
Yesterday's tornado killed at least 51 people. Almost certainly a higher count by week's end. 2 schools leveled. Lives literally uprooted.
In a way, it's part of life in tornado alley. There are sirens, shelters, and the highest tornado awareness anywhere in the world. But how can anyone prepare for such an event? Especially when it's a monster?
I go back and forth on global warming, or change, or whatever the scientifically correct term is. Having studied meteorology, I'm surprised that I'm this ambivalent. But we've just gone through a brutally cold winter, and a cold spring so far. Not much in the way of warming. I'm not sure how to define climate change. Isn't the climate always changing? I have a close friend in California who denies such a thing exists. He acknowledges the extremes of the last 10 years but believes it's part of a larger, natural, cycle. He may be right.
On the other hand, we've had superstorms, super-tornadoes, record droughts in the midwest, a record blizzard in February, and other extremes, never seen before. This seems like a lot more than coincidence.
At times like these, God gets mentioned in a variety of ways. How could God allow this? Why would God-fearing (whatever that means) people be struck twice? What is God's plan?
I have very little patience for questions like these. The God that I believe in tells me to just stay open, pay attention, and take care of those less fortunate. I want to stay open to real suffering like this. I want to feel a healthy sadness and to try to remember to be thankful for what I do have and to put my petty annoyances in perspective. I've been in a mini-hissy fit all afternoon because the power washer that I rented had 2 bad washers and a defective shut-off mechanism. Two articles in USA Today on the twister and I found the perspective. Oh, and the job got done.
I want to fully appreciate the incredible heroism that must have taken place yesterday. Children being rescued by complete strangers. Families separated and reunited. Pets being saved. I want to be present with every single person affected by this beast of a storm. I'd like us all to remember, as we're reminded for the umpteenth time, that we're all in this together.

Someday...