Two days before the big Joplin tornado, I was teaching my fourth graders about tornado safety. It was Friday, May 20, 2011, and we were watching real-time footage of the 1999 EF5 tornado that blasted Moore, Oklahoma. Often, I would pause the video and point out the features of the radar and map. Along the way, we also reviewed tornado safety. Wrapping up the day of study, students created posters to explain the science of tornadoes and tornado safety tips. Who knew that two days later, at 5:41 pm, those students would still be forced to use the skills they learned in an all-to-real EF5 experience of their own. People say you should write what you know, that you should write from experience. If that's the case, then I have fallen for the trap. The experience of the 2011 tornado is vividly displayed in my mind's eye. I've shared it with you in my latest bxook, Out of the Wind, which conveniently available for your Kindle and as a paperback from Amazon. On the way to church, this evening, we saw the cloud dip toward the ground, bounce back up, and then return to the ground, producing a debris cloud. With a tornado on the ground west of Joplin, people around here get nervous. It was a small twister, but media reports say it produced "significant damage" in neighboring Baxter Springs, Kansas. Our prayers go to those affected by this storm and others, tonight, including the family of a fatality in nearby Quapaw, Oklahoma.
Tornadoes are amazing and powerful reminders that we are not in control of our lives and that we should always be prepared.
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AuthorD. Ed. Hoggatt is an award-winning fourth grade teacher. Click Titles to Order Now
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