Instead of writing a post today, I’ll be catching up on the work I had planned for the weekend. As you may have seen on the news, this part of Tennessee experienced near-biblical levels of rainfall — up to 15 inches in downtown Nashville.
The thunderstorms began early Saturday morning and didn’t stop until Sunday evening. I haven’t seen so much rain since the 1998 El Nino storms in Los Angeles. I shut down all the computers as lightning struck the area over and over, and even when the computers were on, I was a bit too distracted to get any work done.
As if the rain weren’t enough, a few twisters touched down in the area. The tornado alarms sounded twice here in Franklin on Saturday. We cleared out a closet in the center of the house as our go-to place, just in case. By Sunday, people were forced to flee the rising waters in some parts of town.
These are photos of the flood in Franklin. Fortunately, our subdivision is on a hill so the waters didn’t reach us, although the playground at a nearby grade school was overrun by the Harpeth river.
Pinkerton Park, where my girls like to play.
As bad as it was in Franklin, some areas had it far worse. This last photo is from an area north of Nashville.
If you enjoy my posts, please consider a small donation to the Fat Head Kids GoFundMe campaign.
Tom, we are glad you are safe.
So am I, thanks.
Wow!! I’m glad you are ok too. Reading your story reminds me of what should be an obvious safety tip. If there are storms in the area and you might have to take shelter from a tornado, either put your shoes on or put some in your place of shelter. My husband and I were in our bathroom once due to a tornado nearby and realized that neither of us had on shoes. Heaven forbid something happen but if it does, hopefully your shoes will stay on in case you have to walk through debris.
I was in a t-shirt and shorts when the tornado warnings started. I got fully dressed in a hurry.
Hope the waters have receded and everyone is safe.
The waters are receding in some areas, but rising in others because of the runoff from the higher ground. Still a mess.
Forces of nature are awesome and frightening. And hard to escape. Earthquakes in LA, Hurricanes in FL and up the East Coast. Floods and tornados in the South. Blizzards and ice storms in the North. Your house is on a hill instead of a flood plain. I always knew you were smarter than the average American, Tom. This too shall pass, but it sure is inconvenient. For downward comparison, be glad you don’t own a fishing boat in the Gulf of Mexico.
Severe weather can get you somehow, no matter where you live. But the most helpless I ever felt was when the ground starting shaking in California. No warning, no smart move to make.
Tom, we are glad you are safe.
So am I, thanks.
Wow!! I’m glad you are ok too. Reading your story reminds me of what should be an obvious safety tip. If there are storms in the area and you might have to take shelter from a tornado, either put your shoes on or put some in your place of shelter. My husband and I were in our bathroom once due to a tornado nearby and realized that neither of us had on shoes. Heaven forbid something happen but if it does, hopefully your shoes will stay on in case you have to walk through debris.
I was in a t-shirt and shorts when the tornado warnings started. I got fully dressed in a hurry.
I’m glad you’re OK. Was thinking about you, even though I don’t know you in real life! Stay safe.
Thank you.
Hope the waters have receded and everyone is safe.
The waters are receding in some areas, but rising in others because of the runoff from the higher ground. Still a mess.
Forces of nature are awesome and frightening. And hard to escape. Earthquakes in LA, Hurricanes in FL and up the East Coast. Floods and tornados in the South. Blizzards and ice storms in the North. Your house is on a hill instead of a flood plain. I always knew you were smarter than the average American, Tom. This too shall pass, but it sure is inconvenient. For downward comparison, be glad you don’t own a fishing boat in the Gulf of Mexico.
Severe weather can get you somehow, no matter where you live. But the most helpless I ever felt was when the ground starting shaking in California. No warning, no smart move to make.
I’m glad you’re OK. Was thinking about you, even though I don’t know you in real life! Stay safe.
Thank you.
Thanks for letting us know you are okay. Good luck with the clean up.
Thank you.
I’m so glad to know you and your family are safe Tom. Nature can be brutal at times. I’ve learned to be prepared at all times (flashlights, fresh batteries, canned goods, etc.) because you never know when you’ll need them.
My (soon to be) five-year-old put together an emergency kit several months ago. She actually remembered to retrieve it before heading to the closet. I guess we should expand on her idea.
Hi Tom, I wanted to send you a note earlier after hearing how hard Franklin was hit, but I’m Facebook-phobic. We’re waiting for the Cumberland yet to crest up here in Clarksville. We’ve got a friend landing in Nashville today, driving up here and then going to New Orleans to eat oily seafood. You just couldn’t plan a better vacation than that. Anybody up for a plague of locusts?
I was in downtown Nashville today for business, looking out at the river from an office window. The water seems to be subsiding.
Thanks for letting us know you are okay. Good luck with the clean up.
Thank you.
I’m so glad to know you and your family are safe Tom. Nature can be brutal at times. I’ve learned to be prepared at all times (flashlights, fresh batteries, canned goods, etc.) because you never know when you’ll need them.
My (soon to be) five-year-old put together an emergency kit several months ago. She actually remembered to retrieve it before heading to the closet. I guess we should expand on her idea.
Hi Tom, I wanted to send you a note earlier after hearing how hard Franklin was hit, but I’m Facebook-phobic. We’re waiting for the Cumberland yet to crest up here in Clarksville. We’ve got a friend landing in Nashville today, driving up here and then going to New Orleans to eat oily seafood. You just couldn’t plan a better vacation than that. Anybody up for a plague of locusts?
I was in downtown Nashville today for business, looking out at the river from an office window. The water seems to be subsiding.
Glad to read you’re okay. Hoping everyone else in the area will be soon. Yikes!
We got away unscatched. Lots of folks weren’t so lucky.
Glad you and the family are safe.. do you know if those people in that last picture made it out of that situation safely?
Yes, they were swept downstream from where the photo was taken, then rescued. I bet they’ll tell that one to the grandkids.
One of the most riveting non-fiction books I’ve ever read, by the way, is The Johnstown Flood.
Glad to read you’re okay. Hoping everyone else in the area will be soon. Yikes!
We got away unscatched. Lots of folks weren’t so lucky.
Glad you and the family are safe.. do you know if those people in that last picture made it out of that situation safely?
Yes, they were swept downstream from where the photo was taken, then rescued. I bet they’ll tell that one to the grandkids.
One of the most riveting non-fiction books I’ve ever read, by the way, is The Johnstown Flood.
Yikes!! I’m glad to hear that you and yours are ok, and that the people in the last pic were rescued! It is going to be quite a mess for a long time. Good luck to you (meaning you, the city and state citizens) with the clean up. I hope that when FEMA shows up, they do not get in the way.
Parts of the Kansas town I lived in was hit by a bad tornado, and showing the FEMA people around diverted people and resources that could have been better used to clean up the damage.
I don’t know if it was FEMA or not, but someone tested the air quality in the building my ex-husband worked in (5 days after everyone returned to work), and declared it unsafe. Good thing everyone was only breathing five days of whatever it was, but why did it take them five days to check out all of the buildings on campus for safe breathing air? Instead of having three or four talking heads being shown around campus assessing the damage, three or four extra people should have been assigned to making sure campus was safe enough to work in, rather than telling everyone it was safe to come back when the power was back on.
I’ve never had to deal with FEMA, but they sound like a perfect example of why “I’m from the government I’m here to help” has become a punchline.
Yikes!! I’m glad to hear that you and yours are ok, and that the people in the last pic were rescued! It is going to be quite a mess for a long time. Good luck to you (meaning you, the city and state citizens) with the clean up. I hope that when FEMA shows up, they do not get in the way.
Parts of the Kansas town I lived in was hit by a bad tornado, and showing the FEMA people around diverted people and resources that could have been better used to clean up the damage.
I don’t know if it was FEMA or not, but someone tested the air quality in the building my ex-husband worked in (5 days after everyone returned to work), and declared it unsafe. Good thing everyone was only breathing five days of whatever it was, but why did it take them five days to check out all of the buildings on campus for safe breathing air? Instead of having three or four talking heads being shown around campus assessing the damage, three or four extra people should have been assigned to making sure campus was safe enough to work in, rather than telling everyone it was safe to come back when the power was back on.
I’ve never had to deal with FEMA, but they sound like a perfect example of why “I’m from the government I’m here to help” has become a punchline.
Whoa! I’m glad you and your family are safe!!
Severe weather can get you somehow, no matter where you live. But the most helpless I ever felt was when the ground starting shaking in California. No warning, no smart move to make.
Yup, know exactly what you mean. I experienced my first earthquake while living in California. Nowhere to go. No move to make. My second one in Washington was even worse. What lasted only seconds seemed like an eternity as I was living in a home which was partially built over the water. Was ready to jump from my deck into the water but the shaking was so bad I never made more than a few steps out of my home office before diving under a table.
Stuff like this can be terrifying to say the least.
Indeed. My first earthquake, I just grabbed the sides of my desk and froze. No intelligent thoughts the whole time.
Whoa! I’m glad you and your family are safe!!
Severe weather can get you somehow, no matter where you live. But the most helpless I ever felt was when the ground starting shaking in California. No warning, no smart move to make.
Yup, know exactly what you mean. I experienced my first earthquake while living in California. Nowhere to go. No move to make. My second one in Washington was even worse. What lasted only seconds seemed like an eternity as I was living in a home which was partially built over the water. Was ready to jump from my deck into the water but the shaking was so bad I never made more than a few steps out of my home office before diving under a table.
Stuff like this can be terrifying to say the least.
Indeed. My first earthquake, I just grabbed the sides of my desk and froze. No intelligent thoughts the whole time.