Impending fun

I might be celebrating the ninth annniversary of my first weblog with the spiders in the basement this evening.

Update:

Here’s how things looked around here at about 9 p.m. Note the violet triangle near the Kansas/Oklahoma border. It signifies a tornado vortex; this is the first time I’ve ever seen one so indicated on the radar. It’s southwest of Wichita and heading northeast. It’s about an hour away, and with luck it should dissipate before it gets close. Here’s an excerpt from the official warning:

Statement as of 9:14 PM CDT on April 14, 2012
… A Tornado Warning remains in effect for southeastern Harper and
southwestern Sumner counties until 930 PM CDT…
At 910 PM CDT… a confirmed large and extremely dangerous tornado was
located 6 miles south of Argonia… and moving northeast at 35 mph.

There are at least two other tornadic storms on the radar image.

Update 2: And now (9:33 p.m.) the sirens sound.

Update 3: On the radio, I’m hearing phrases such as “stovepipe” and “half-mile wide.” I really may be communing with the spiders in my basement shortly.

Update 4:

Update 5: More sirens, lots of rain, lightning and wind. According the the guys on the radio, the the tornado might have lifted. However, the warning has just been extended.

Last update, I hope: The path of this tornado has been eerily similar to that of the 1991 Andover tornado. There will probably be lots of damage to see in the morning, but it did miss downtown Wichita. So far, there has been no mention of fatalities.

Here’s a bit of Kansas nostalgia: