Dorothy & ToTo Say Hello...
...I've seen them a couple of times in the past 5 days. I last blogged when I had a load to Lenexa (Kansas City) Kansas. I made that drop and was loaded up with a new load headed towards Ohio. I picked up the load in Excelsior Springs, Missouri and headed east and north towards Lima, Ohio.
On my way, I was listening to the FM radio, tuned into one of the local Kansas stations when the dreaded alert sounded and "important information" followed over the airwaves. A storm capable of producing heavy rains, winds, hail and even a possible tornado was on my tail. Literally... I was just a mere 30-45 minutes ahead of the storm. I passed through towns which I would later hear about on the radio as sites for funnel clouds and damaging storm winds and hail. Talk about dodging a bullet.... shew!
The rains didn't stay behind me for long and by the time I stopped for the night I had been pounded with rain for at least 3 hours.... which was only the beginning. The storm that produced tornado's and other severe weather in Kansas and Missouri trailed me all the way up to Lima, Ohio. I was in that rain and wind mess from about 3pm on the 7th through 3-4am on the 9th. Two days of rain will really get to you. *twitch, twitch*
But I survived. And after I made my drop in Lima I headed north to the Beaverdamn, OH Pilot station for a much needed break. The following morning I was dipatched to head over to our Columbus OC to pick up a relay load headed for Olive Branch, Mississippi. A nice long run with good miles and guess what else?
More tornado's and severe weather.
Yep. I got my load and made really good time southbound. I ended up staying the night at another Pilot station just west of Nashville, TN in a little town called Dickson. It was nice and quiet and I slept very well.
I slept like the dead and woke refreshed and ready to roll this morning. I filled up on coffee and granola bars and then hit the road, Mississippi bound. I made it about 40 miles before the rain started. It was slow at first, a mere mist with the sprinkle here and there, just enough to be a nussiance. Then the lightening crashed and the thunder rolled and the sky let go of itself in a torrential downpour that forced drivers to slow to a crawl, put on their four way flashers and at one point even pull off the road until visibility increased.
I went through several batches of severe thunderstorms over about 60 miles worth of interstate. One particular storm produced quarter sized hail, which was the one that forced drivers to pull off to wait for better visibility. No one was moving in that crap....
Eventually the wind and hail and rain just got to be annoying. It would slack off and the sun would peek through a crack and just when you thought it was finally clearing up, mother nature would whip out another storm. I saw a sign for a Pilot truck stop just a few miles down the road. I figured I'd stop there and wait for the rest of the insanity to pass by. And then I'd continue on my merry way.
I ended up sitting there for nearly 4 hours waiting it out. I listened intently to the local weather radio station as flood, severe storm and tornado warnings were issued for every county in north eastern Mississippi and south western Tennessee. I plotted the storms' path on my atlas, keeping tabs on the locations of it minute by minute.
Finally... most of the warnings issued had expired. The radio announcers seemed confident that the worst of it was over and that there was no further immediate threat. So I fired up the rig and took off.
The rest of the day, thankfully, was filled with warm breezes and sunshine galore. My drop was made with [probably too much ease. I was dispatched to the West Memphis OC to pick up a relay giving me hella miles to New Jersey.
Here I sit, soaking up the free wi-fi and enjoying a night of luxury. For tomorrow, I roll east.... I'm planning to stop for the night around Knoxville, TN then on to probably Washington DC or thereabouts for the following night.
I know the weather is turning colder, and that's peachy with me. I just hope that I don't have to deal with any more severe storms and most certainly not any more tornado warnings.
....nothing makes a driver more squeemish than to hear that a tornado has been spotted or is expected to make it's way through the town they're headed to or just out of. And that's what has happened to me twice in the past few days!
Dorothy & ToTo can keep their tornado's. Give me a rainbow anyday!
On my way, I was listening to the FM radio, tuned into one of the local Kansas stations when the dreaded alert sounded and "important information" followed over the airwaves. A storm capable of producing heavy rains, winds, hail and even a possible tornado was on my tail. Literally... I was just a mere 30-45 minutes ahead of the storm. I passed through towns which I would later hear about on the radio as sites for funnel clouds and damaging storm winds and hail. Talk about dodging a bullet.... shew!
The rains didn't stay behind me for long and by the time I stopped for the night I had been pounded with rain for at least 3 hours.... which was only the beginning. The storm that produced tornado's and other severe weather in Kansas and Missouri trailed me all the way up to Lima, Ohio. I was in that rain and wind mess from about 3pm on the 7th through 3-4am on the 9th. Two days of rain will really get to you. *twitch, twitch*
But I survived. And after I made my drop in Lima I headed north to the Beaverdamn, OH Pilot station for a much needed break. The following morning I was dipatched to head over to our Columbus OC to pick up a relay load headed for Olive Branch, Mississippi. A nice long run with good miles and guess what else?
More tornado's and severe weather.
Yep. I got my load and made really good time southbound. I ended up staying the night at another Pilot station just west of Nashville, TN in a little town called Dickson. It was nice and quiet and I slept very well.
I slept like the dead and woke refreshed and ready to roll this morning. I filled up on coffee and granola bars and then hit the road, Mississippi bound. I made it about 40 miles before the rain started. It was slow at first, a mere mist with the sprinkle here and there, just enough to be a nussiance. Then the lightening crashed and the thunder rolled and the sky let go of itself in a torrential downpour that forced drivers to slow to a crawl, put on their four way flashers and at one point even pull off the road until visibility increased.
I went through several batches of severe thunderstorms over about 60 miles worth of interstate. One particular storm produced quarter sized hail, which was the one that forced drivers to pull off to wait for better visibility. No one was moving in that crap....
Eventually the wind and hail and rain just got to be annoying. It would slack off and the sun would peek through a crack and just when you thought it was finally clearing up, mother nature would whip out another storm. I saw a sign for a Pilot truck stop just a few miles down the road. I figured I'd stop there and wait for the rest of the insanity to pass by. And then I'd continue on my merry way.
I ended up sitting there for nearly 4 hours waiting it out. I listened intently to the local weather radio station as flood, severe storm and tornado warnings were issued for every county in north eastern Mississippi and south western Tennessee. I plotted the storms' path on my atlas, keeping tabs on the locations of it minute by minute.
Finally... most of the warnings issued had expired. The radio announcers seemed confident that the worst of it was over and that there was no further immediate threat. So I fired up the rig and took off.
The rest of the day, thankfully, was filled with warm breezes and sunshine galore. My drop was made with [probably too much ease. I was dispatched to the West Memphis OC to pick up a relay giving me hella miles to New Jersey.
Here I sit, soaking up the free wi-fi and enjoying a night of luxury. For tomorrow, I roll east.... I'm planning to stop for the night around Knoxville, TN then on to probably Washington DC or thereabouts for the following night.
I know the weather is turning colder, and that's peachy with me. I just hope that I don't have to deal with any more severe storms and most certainly not any more tornado warnings.
....nothing makes a driver more squeemish than to hear that a tornado has been spotted or is expected to make it's way through the town they're headed to or just out of. And that's what has happened to me twice in the past few days!
Dorothy & ToTo can keep their tornado's. Give me a rainbow anyday!
Comments
Can't wait till your next entry
Scott