well, yeah give this Yankee girl a good old fashioned blizzard any day of the week….

This is my little photoshopped image of the track as the tornado touched down on Monday, April 28, 2008. (click on image for enlarged view) I was in the M marked location, toward the back of the store, and the best description I could give would be it sounded as if some huge creature was being dragged across the roof, it’s claws digging into the roof. Not at all like any of the many bad thunder or wind sounds I’ve heard in the building.

We had no warning; considering no one was on break watching TV.

The first X on the lower left —that building had its roof cave in and debris (possibly an AC unit??) was tossed onto 95, along with some vehicles on 95 being involved…..

We were incredibly lucky. The A/C unit was ripped off its base and left a 4×8 hole in the roof. Other than that and some sign damage, minor cosmetic exterior damage, we were good. Then it went across the parking lot toward the water tower, damaging but not flipping a good 2 dozen or more cars, skipped just by the tower and hit across the street… there was much more damage there, cars flipped, roofs torn up, etc, and some injuries…then it went to the last X which is now a car dealership; it folded a few light poles and damaged cars there…then disappeared…

And all day yesterday I heard of how incredibly lucky we were…. how last time (15 years ago) before touching down and destroying the Walmart (the W on the map) how it leveled part of Historic olde towne Petersburg, and then leveled where M’s is currently, before getting to Wallyworld and killing 4 people….

This time, it seems as if Suffolk got the worst of the tornados…. but you know what?

I’m good. Really. More things to cross off my list of Experience before you die…

Been through a hurricane (isabelle), an earthquake, and now a tornado since I moved to VA—and Everyone is always carrying on about how I must be glad I moved from New York!!!

ETA— So, I got to work yesterday and everyone kept telling me how good I sounded on TV!!! –apparently my 911 call was played on channel 12 and 8 over and over…..Yikes…