Moominmama Crosses Tornado Alley

 

Wherein Moominmama has a bear of a time crossing the Midwest, facing a near disaster with her Moominhouse but ending happpily among friends...

When Moominmama left Gothenburg, Nebraska, it was raining. Omaha, to the east, was in the clear so she figured she'd drive out of the rain in due time. After about two hours of driving and getting passsed by fast-moving semis that sent torrents of water onto her windshield, she pulled into a rest stop and went back into the trailer to get a bite to eat. 

The floor and cushions were wet, and when she looked up, there was a 14-inch square hole in her roof. The ceiling fan was gone. Sticking her head out the hole to scope out the roof provided no enlightenment at all. No sign of the thing. And it was raining directly into the trailer. Oh, and it was a Sunday, and there were no dealers or repair services open on God's day of rest in Nebraska.

A large quantity of duct tape later, the water was at least directed to a spot where a dishwashing tub could collect it. A tarp went over the interior cushions, but all I could do was keep driving and get out from under the rain. My goal was to get to my next campsite as quickly as possible, where the tarp could be pulled over the roof and tied down. While the weather was going to be sunny and clear on Monday, another severe thunderstorm was forecast for Monday evening.

At my campsite, with the tarp safely secured over the hole, I was on the phone at 8 a.m. Monday and found someone who could install a new fan that day if I could make the 40-minute drive to his location. I took the tarp down and drove. By afternoon, the 14-inch hole was plugged with a new fan and my wallet was $400 lighter. 

But the RV tech, John, who installed the fan said he'd seen my situation before. The attachment points holding in the fan (or in some cases rooftop air conditioners) get brittle and no one notices when they weaken or break because gravity keeps the units in place. Then a squirrely updraft blows by, for example from a large passing 18-wheeler, and away she goes!

It was a good thing the new unit was in place, because come nightfall, the skies opened up in Omaha, and I felt like I was positioned under a waterfall. The wind tore at the trees and, at one point, hail pounded the roof like a dump truck delivering a load of rocks. I worried the new fan cover would crack! It was a mostly sleepless night, but the campground clearly fared better than the folks a little further east in Greenfield, Iowa where the same storm kicked up a tornado that killed five people and did major damage to the town. Flash flooding in downtown Omaha was so bad, emergency workers had to rescue several people from their cars.

This is tornado season in the Midwest, and it's been a particularly active one. Moominmama would have to time her travels carefully to get through. In between these major storms, however, there were several terrifically beautiful summer days. 

While I never got to see the city of Omaha or its famous zoo, I did enjoy a great day with friends in Iowa City. Julie and Margot invited me out to a cabin with a pond (where I swam) and we hiked and talked and enjoyed a crystal blue sky.

I met the two of them two years ago when I camped near their home, and they stopped to ask about my trailer. We hit it off and Margot then invited me kayaking the next day. We had a great time again this year, and I'm so glad my travels took me back to Iowa City!

But another serious storm was looming. I spent a lot of time looking at weather forecasts across Iowa and into Illinois, my next stop. I finally determined that if I left at 5 a.m., I could drive out ahead of the storm. I set my alarm and hooked the trailer to the car.

At 4:40 a.m., I was awakened by booms of thunder. I got up and started to make coffee, then a few cracks and booms later, abandoned that effort to get onto the road. In the end, I had a scary 40 minutes of travel in the dark and the rain. I wasn't sure that leaving was the right decision, but it did turn out for the best. 

At 7 a.m. I was already across the Mississippi on dry roads in Illinois. I still had the radio tuned to an Iowa station when the severe weather alerts started. Margot texted me from the safety of her bathroom where she was taking shelter. The trees outside her home were flailing in the wind, the rain was pounding, and hail and tornado risks were high. In the end, thankfully, she was fine! 

I arrived outside Chicago without further incident and was safely situated in a campground as the front moved into Illinois with minor thunderstorms. This was nothing like the night in Omaha or the first 40. minutes driving out of Iowa City. For now, I'm in a suburb west of the city reconnecting with a friend I made at Yellowstone last fall. And after the storms passed, my friend Janice and I went to the Brookfield zoo near her home.

Again, clear blue skies, a gentle breeze and comfortable temperatures that made the earlier storms seem like a bad dream! We particularly enjoyed this polar bear, who we could see through a window from the front -- and another view from the back!

It's been a relaxing Memorial Day weekend so far, sharing laughs around the dinner table. I'm here for one more day and then set out for Wisconsin. I'm sure I will see my friends again, but I will never make the mistake of crossing tornado alley during tornado season ever again!