It was evening time, and we had just finished having some dinner. The skys got very black, the wind moving quickly through the air. It was tornado season. We get many throughout the spring and the summer. Watching the skys, it got very eerie, as I watched with my neighbors. Rain started coming down, so we went inside, and turned on our televisions to watch the news.
One tornado had been spotted in our county. We were told to find shelter in our homes, or to go someplace safe. Some of the downstairs walls are made of brick, so we went there, and waited. The hail started coming down, banging and hitting everything! It seemed like a long time before the storm was over.
Afterward, we opened our front door to look outside. Trees were down, branches fallen everywhere! The most amazing sight was the hail that was the size of baseballs! Roofs had been pulled off of their foundation, some having gaping holes. Everyone in the neighborhood had to have something done to their homes.
The terror was not over yet! Just a few days later, after the kids returned home from school, the skys became dark again, and we were told to take shelter. We wondered if the storms would ever stop! I did my best to keep the kids from being afraid since I was all to afraid, myself. I had to stay calm.
There must have been several storms that went through our state of Indiana that year causing a lot of damage. It took days, and some weeks to get everything cleaned up after the tornado's of 1996.
by Teresa