Severe Weather Campout... CANCELLED!!

So we're out with some family friends from church out camping. We had set up the tents, the kids were out canoeing in the resevoir, and we're talking about getting the fire set up for dinner when...

THE NATL WEATHER SVC IN WAKEFIELD HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR.
N. CURRITUCK COUNTY IN NE NO. CAROLINA.
ISLE OF WIGHT COUNTY IN SE VA.
NORTHEASTERN SOUTHAMPTON COUNTY IN SE VA.
CITY OF CHESAPEAKE IN SE VA.
SOUTHEASTERN CITY OF HAMPTON IN SE VA.
S. CITY OF NEWPORT NEWS IN SE VA.
CITY OF NORFOLK IN SE VA.
CITY OF PORTSMOUTH IN SE VA.
N. CITY OF SUFFOLK IN SE VA.
CITY OF VA BEACH IN SE VA.

* UNTIL 830 PM EDT

* AT 722 PM EDT.NATL WEATHER SVC DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
LINE OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAPABLE OF PRODUCING DAMAGING WINDS IN
EXCESS OF 60 MPH. THESE STORMS WERE LOCATED ALONG A LINE EXTENDING
FROM DENBIGH TO CARRSVILLE.& MOVING EAST AT 50 MPH.

Of course this information came to our computers, NOT to our campsite. One of the families received one message, but the warning they received sounded more like it applied more to Southside of Hampton Roads in Norfolk, surely not the Denbigh area of Newport News!

The day had been hot & beautiful with the exception of shortly after arriving a small squall of wind and rain that came through and was gone as soon as it arrived. Most of the day had been as hot & humid. Of course the weather report earlier in the day said 40% chance of ISOLATED thunderstorms, which usually means a small chance, but it's typically unlikely for this area - especially Denbigh!

Anyhow as we were enjoying setting up camp, the kids playing and canoeing and the families chattering, we noticed what looked to be an impending squall approaching. We're thinking... some heavy rain for a bit, but that's okay, let's just put everything that can get ruined in the rain up. Oh boy! We are glad we did at least that, because it poured, and the wind blew! We saw tents collapsing around us and children screaming from fear in a couple tents, as the tent walls collapsed around them. We ran over to one tent to help two get two girls out of one tent that looked like it was ready to fly away with the (littler) girls in it, held it down, and lifted it up just enough to get the girls out. Another family did the same thing for another of the girls trapped inside a different tent by herself. We held down the biggest tent and turned to watch ours get shredded. The rain fly was split in multiple places and many of the poles were either bent at the metal joint or broken - matter of fact, they looked like someone put a firecracker to them with the way they splintered.

All of the kids were real troopers, but Jewel and Jonathan, the two oldest kids there were especially helpful as they grabbed tarps, helped take care of kids and all while dodging high wind gusts; though one gust almost swept Jewel off her feet. Jonathan saw it happen and quickly sprung into action sheltering her from harm, then they quickly jumped into a civil war redoubt (at the campsite) to shelter themselves from the winds of the storm.

Anyhow, after a while as the rain continued to pour, and the wind still blew, but was not nearly as strong, we picked up all our stuff and loaded (more like tossed) the tents (with the sleeping bags & any air mattressed still in them) piled the rest of our stuff around and on top of them in the back of the trucks and left! Thankfully the Newport News Park saw our disshevelled appearance, and graciously issued us a credit to use for another night - with better weather!

Here's the Daily Press' article on the storm & the damage it left behind.
http://www.dailypress.com/news/dp-thunderstorm-watch-0805,0,6750234.story


Anyhow, We're just really thankful we were all okay and we had a really great opportunity to see ourselves in action and reevaluate how we responded in urgent times. We're also so thankful that in the midst of all the trees whipping around us, that the ones that fell, did not fall on us!

So - since the campout was planned to be a two day campout, we just couldn't NOT have dinner the next night together, so this time when we got together, we grilled on the back deck of one of the family friend's home, so we could seek shelter inside in case of inclement weather! By the way - the forecast was the same as the day before, isolated thunderstorms) and it turned out to be beautiful! Oh, the joys of weather forecasting!

Our tent tossed into our pick-up truck


Splintered tent poles


Our Campsite next to the civil war redoubt


Our Otherwise Beautiful Campsites on the Water!









The tree that fortunately didn't land where we were!


Our tested and tried group of friends that survived the severe weather campout. Here we are after our Friday night BBQ dinner!