Girard Revisited

On this day two years ago, I found myself unintentionally going toe to toe with a large tornado from just north of Girard Illinois. It was an experience unlike any other and one that still affects my way of thinking today. I caught some heat from the storm chasing community for having been in such close proximity but I handled the situation appropriately and will leave it at that. Contrary to what anyone including notables in the field will say, there is a significant degree of risk involved in severe weather observation regardless of how careful one conducts themselves. Personally, I believe in being as cautious as possible but if there is one truth about storm chasing, at some point everyone has an "oh s***" moment that they are forced to deal with. This particular tornado went from as they say "bird fart" to full blown EF3 faster than I imagined possible. As alluded to in the original post from this day, the tornado was of lesser concern than the galloping power lines that posed a far greater threat and was the focus in my decision making. Enough about the past though for we live, we learn, and as discovered on yet another unintended visit back on March 19, 2012 the story did not end that night.

Awaiting for storms to initiate on a slight risk that would end up being a bust, none of these images have been previously published.




Heading west and then eventually south, I decided to bail on precipitation 'blips' appearing on radar that would amount to very little. I had not been back to the tornado site so with a good friend following, I opted to revisit and share the experience. We parked up by the farm that had been for the most part restored. The house was surprisingly intact and a pole structure was erected in lieu of the massive old barn that collapsed. A fence had also been put up around the perimeter with numerous "NO TRESPASSING" signs which was a bit unsettling as I surveyed from the shoulder area.

Measuring the space between power poles, it is 200'. Using this as a frame of reference, it was 700' from where I was crouched down to the center of circulation. The first pole used as a starting pointing is just out of frame to the right and due E of the fence corner. Several of the poles were also new.




Looking south, it is another three power pole lengths equaling 600' to the elongated building. This brings the total to 1300' feet away from the center of circulation where numerous other chasers were 'safely' observing the tornado.


Moving back up to the house, a man pulled into the driveway for whom I recognized as being the property owner. Angrily asking what we were doing, I reintroduced myself at which point his demeanor immediately changed to one of welcome. Someone driving by alerted him to our presence for which apparently he has had issues with people trespassing since the event. He went on to tell me more about what happened in the time since which was nothing short of mind blowing.

Despite heavy damage, he attributed the survival of the house to the copper that was fastened to the roof with large nails and kept it from being ripped off. Both he and his girlfriend (who had also arrived by now) sought safety in the cellar. He noted that moments before closing the door, he saw a large drum style tank ascend vertically.




He also mentioned about a vintage pedal car ending up in his yard yet no one knows where it came from. I knew what he was talking about for I remembered seeing and even managing to document it in a picture that has not been seen till now. He also spoke of small debris that flew through the house including a piece of straw that embedded itself in the upper corner of a room near the ceiling. A distant shredded tree line to the west was littered with rubble from other properties upstream that were hit shortly after the tornado first touched down roughly three miles away.


Remember when I alluded to other chasers 'safely' observing the tornado? Turns out down at the building where they were parked, a large projectile fell from the sky, punched through the roof and embedded itself in the flooring. He didn't remember what it was exactly but the thought that were it to have shifted a short distance and land on an unsuspecting vehicle was chilling. People are welcome to their opinions but ultimately, no one was exactly 'safe'. I have maximum respect for those who were there and know how this tornado behaved for there were no "adrenaline junkies" or other dumb labels present, just people who stumbled upon an unexpectedly intense intercept.

The opportunity to talk to Glenn and his girlfriend helped me have some closure. I asked how they were doing psychologically and it affected them almost identically as did me. He had difficulty sleeping for weeks and it took awhile for that terrible hell sound to ebb from his consciousness. I shared my experience and they appreciated that someone else understood. I had the audio on my phone and asked if they wanted to hear it. They said yes and their reaction along with the noticeable goosebumps as though they were living it over again is something I will never forget. Since I was unable to get his information that night, before parting ways I asked if they wanted video and pictures to which they also said yes. Throughout our talk, an exceptionally friendly outdoor cat milled about our feet. He told me that it rode out the tornado from somewhere on the property and upon discovery, its fur was soaked and matted with mud. We can only imagine what it may have witnessed.