Boom. Roar.

[stoutfellow]

We had some excitement overnight. Around 11:30, I woke up from a troubled dream to a fuzzy, then less-fuzzy, wondering: is that the tornado siren? Rain was pounding down outside and the wind was howling; there was the rattle of hail on the windows and the sustained grumbling of thunder. I groggily stumbled into the living room to turn on the TV, but the storm was blocking satellite reception. A glance outside confirmed that there was one banger of a storm in progress, but I could no longer hear the siren - whether because it had shut down, or because the ambient noise level had gone so high, I couldn't tell. When I went back to the TV, the signal had gotten through, and I switched to a local station. Apparently funnel clouds had been spotted repeatedly - one in Glen Carbon, whose northern edge is about a mile south of me. It was a fast-moving front, packing 70-mph winds; by the time I came fully awake, it had already swept past. I stayed up until about 12:15 and returned to bed in a jittery state.

Now I have a headache.

I haven't gone outside to check for damage; it's still dark out. But some people last night were reporting flying shingles, broken trees, siding peeled off the walls....

Addendum: Again with the coincidentally-apropos songs....