A Story of a Severe Thunderstorm

A Story of a Severe Thunderstorm That Hit Virginia Beach

 

 

A little before 8:35 pm on Sunday, the craziest thing happened. Imagine being on the seventh floor in the parking garage at Town Center in Virginia Beach, Va to capture pictures of the thunderstorm rolling in. The wind started to pick up, which is typical  for a thunderstorm.  But this wind rapidly picked up and got so strong that it almost knocked me onto my back. Racing to the elevator to get to the car on the fourth floor, when all the sudden the sky turned pink, not your normal grayish/whitest sky associated with thunderstorms, but a pink hue that spread across the sky. When the wind picked up speed rapidly and strongly,  you could heard screaming from the people on the streets of Town Center.  All the lights suddenly went out in the parking garage causing it to become pitch black for a split second, and then the blue emergency lights came on.  Everything feels calm and quiet for just a moment and then you hear one of the scariest noises you may have ever heard.

The sound of blaring sirens going off all around you. The kind you hear if a tornado was spotted or winds reaching up to 70 mph or higher. All those adrenaline junkies who have, see a tornado, on their bucket list may want to rethink that idea.  Hearing those sirens go off makes your blood pump faster, the heartbeat quickens and you begin to shake a little. Due to the high winds and the loud sirens echoing in your ears, you barely hear the words of the recording over the PA system saying, “ take cover now,  get inside”. Morale of this story is to always be safe when thunderstorms are in view and check the website for updates and warnings to help keep you safe. Weather can change in the blink of an eye. We are here to help.

-JMH