a year of storms

I was awakened at 6am this morning by a thunderstorm — or so I thought. Turns out it was a tornado! From the New York Times:

Powerful thunderstorms swept through the New York metropolitan area this morning, tearing up trees and damaging cars and homes, and creating havoc during the morning commute. . . . “It looked like tornado activity, a very dense black wall, almost like a heavy velvet fog,” said J. R. Thomason, a fundraiser for the New York Philharmonic, who watched the storm from an attic room in a three-story house in the Kensington district of Brooklyn between 6 and 7 a.m. . . .

In the Kensington area of Brooklyn, leaves and other debris littered the street, trash cans were knocked over, and awnings on stores were ripped. On the corner of Dahill Road and Church Avenue, trees blocked road lanes, and a 30 foot long pizzeria sign was down on the sidewalk.

Pete Chiaramonte, 41, who was on his way to work at a towing company, said he saw what he thought was the storm touching down at around 5.30 a.m. near the corner of 37th Street and 13th Avenue. “It was a funnel shape,” he said. “It looked kind of black and blue,” adding, “it was way up high and came right down on the roof of” a department store. “Pieces of the roof were all over the place. It was a big bang.”

At 370 East Second St. in Kensington, Carol Perri DeSimone, a sales representative, stood amid the remains of her porch. “I’m heartbroken, my roof landed three doors away,” she said. “I was scared to death.”

We live in the Kensington/Ditmas Park area of Brooklyn. Reports are now saying that the epicenter of the storm was two blocks from my house. Miraculously, there was no damage in our yard.

Some of you may remember my encounter with a twister in Nebraska, which brought my exhibition to a premature end. So continues my year of close calls with storms. Strangely enough, I have a fond respect for such chaos, though of course, I feel badly for those affected by it. It’s Mother Nature’s way of reminding us that she bats last.

• No Responses
• Leave a comment...
• Comment Feeds