We Survived!!!!

While in St. Louis, we had just settled into our seats at Busch Stadium, awaiting the first pitch. Trish pulled up the radar on her phone, knowing there was rain in the area. The radar showed rain close and we knew the game would be delayed. We saw exactly 5 pitches when the skies opened up and the rain drove players to the dugouts and fans to the tunnels. Fortunately our seats were just under the edge of the upper deck and the wind was at our backs, so we were untouched by the rain. We watched the grounds crew throw the tarp on the infield and waited out the storm. This video shows the intensity of the rain and a little close lightning too. There were a few hailstones in this downpour, but nothing that caused any damage where we were.



We continued to wait for the storm to pass and watched as the storm grew more intense. Then the following flashed across the big screen.



The other jumbo tron showed the St. Louis metro radar and where the action was unfolding.



After watching the radar we determined it would be safe enough to remain in our seats and wait out the rain delay. Little did we know that an EF4 tornado was ripping it's way through the suburbs of north St. Louis. Right in the path of the twister was the St. Louis airport. Our hotel was directly across the interstate from the airport!!! Luckily our hotel was untouched and we had warm beds that night. Here's the tornado's path. This shows where our hotel and the stadium were in relation to the twister's track. We were only about 10 miles away when it went through, but would have been MUCH closer had we stayed at the hotel!



The next morning as we left town, the damage and destruction was unreal. Houses were flattened, giant trees were uprooted, and debris was scattered everywhere. There was a warehouse on the south side of I-70 that had the whole north wall blown out and you could see the inventory and supplies stacked on shelves inside. A section of someone's brick chimney layed on the shoulder of the road too. The sound barrier fences along each side of the interstate were flattened where the tornado crossed I-70. It was a miracle that no one was killed or seriously injured. We pray for the people who were affected and hope they are able to bounce back and rebuild quickly.