Post #4145456

Midwest observations: In June 2021, we had an EF3 tornado pass just to the south of our house in the Chicago suburbs, by about a mile or so. It was at night, and the National Weather Service (NWS) warnings were non-stop. Sirens going off. Phone blowing up, TV blue screen of death, etc. I'd never seen anything like it in terms of alerts, so I knew we should actually go into the basement versus go on the porch with a beer, as one does. Fast forward to today, July 2026. One tornado warning alert came across our phones from NWS. Sirens going off. Something that's happened 100 times in my lifetime living here. My reaction to that is eh, let's see what happens. Perhaps go on the porch with that beer. Except today shit got real "tornadic." Hail, green tint to the sky. But here's the kicker - I could see rotation in the sky literally above my yard, the "radar indicated rotation" that kicked off the tornado warning was above my house. The storms came from the north/northwest but I couldn't open my east facing front door due to the winds. No real damage, though I haven't been outside to look around. I'm sure my tomato plants are fucked. One alert from NWS. I'm not sayin' but I'm just sayin' 2021 versus 2026 administration. I think this reflects the DOGE cuts to the weather service. And I can't rely on "how many times has my phone gone off" as my benchmark of severity any more.