Freak Storms

The weather here in Adana has always been pretty predictable.  At least it always seemed that way. Summers are blazing hot with nary a rain cloud in sight.  Winters are mild, with warm days and cool nights.  Then there is the in between phase around mid-October where it starts to rain again, particularly in the afternoons.  A strong thunderstorm crops up here and there, reminiscent of storms where I grew up in the Southern US.  They can be strong and quick, and will sometimes flood the streets temporarily.

But the storms started earlier this year.  We started getting (very welcomed) cooler temps in early September.  But those cooler temps brought on the rain too.  And yesterday's strorm was a real show stopper.

Around 3:30pm I noticed that it had gotten really dark outside.  D was in his exersaucer in the kitchen while S and I prepped for the dinner party we were hosting later that night.  E was watching cartoons in the living room.  Our kitchen window was open and a breeze was coming in. Then my ears popped.  I made an off-hand comment to S about my ears popping and said, "if I didn't know better, I would think there's a tornado coming."  Then the lights flickered.  I went in the den to check on E.  From the front window I could see that the sky was green.

I'm no expert, but I know a green sky is bad news.

The wind picked up.  I stepped out onto the balcony and this is what I saw in the distance.

Yes, folks.  That would be a tornado.  

I shouted for S to come look and he and E followed me out onto the balcony.  We were a safe enough distance away but all of a sudden, the rain started coming in sideways, the wind started hammering everything around us, and we bolted back inside.  E was giddy but also a little nervous as S and I stared out the window and watched this monster move quickly across the sky. 

I texted our friends in the building and told them to look out the window.  One friend responded and said she was taking photos as well.  The other, unfortunately, was at the air base and could not see it. I say unfortunately, because that tornado was quickly headed in her direction.  I texted her the photo and told her to get prepared.  I received a text from her ten minutes later with a picture attached.  It was her van, completely covered by a fallen tree with two windows smashed out.  The base had been hit (indirectly or directly, I still don't know) and trees were uprooted and tossed around like toys. Luckily, no one was hurt.  

As quickly as it started, it was over.  Less than five minutes later there were double rainbows.  

Pictures and videos have started to surface online.  Someone posted a video to this Facebook page this morning and I find it to be absolutely amazing yet terrifying at the same time.  Mother nature is truly a powerful thing to behold, no matter where you are in the world.  

It's raining again today.  The thunder and lightning woke us up.  Lets just hope no more tornadoes crop up!