Friday, May 19, 2006
All is Well in Paradise
During 45 years of my marrried life I lived in Childress County, Texas where my husband was born and raised. I had never thought about the possibility of living anywhere else until he mentioned moving to the mountains at retirement. Threats of tornadoes were the norm whenever clouds appeared on the horizon, especially during the spring. That area is known - for good reason - as "tornado alley".
A necessary part of any farmer's day is watching the weather reports, and when the Amarillo TV stations got modern radar equipment, we could see clouds forming over the Sandia Mountains of New Mexico. steadily growing as they moved eastward and entered the Texas Panhandle, often developing funnel clouds that usually contained large hail, also. Harry would anxiously pace the floor as our year's work and investment was pounded into the ground by hail, sometimes as big as softballs.
Although our daughter and son-in-law, Molly and Tony, had lived in Albuquerque for many years, I didn't realize the full extent of the weather situation until after we moved. Besides the all-around best climate I've seen anywhere, there are almost no tornadoes, and the only hail I've seen is about pea size, like Texas sleet.
The difference was made very clear last week when the city of Childress, Texas was hit by a tornado, followed by rain, hail and high winds clocked at 110 mph, uprooting hundred-year-old trees, leaving more than $5,000,000 worth of damage in its wake. Miraculously, one broken arm was the only injury reported.
Today I'm very happy to tell the world: All is well here in paradise, the Sandia Mountains of New Mexico, the High Desert where weather begins.
Cora Gail Trent
www.cgtrent.com
A necessary part of any farmer's day is watching the weather reports, and when the Amarillo TV stations got modern radar equipment, we could see clouds forming over the Sandia Mountains of New Mexico. steadily growing as they moved eastward and entered the Texas Panhandle, often developing funnel clouds that usually contained large hail, also. Harry would anxiously pace the floor as our year's work and investment was pounded into the ground by hail, sometimes as big as softballs.
Although our daughter and son-in-law, Molly and Tony, had lived in Albuquerque for many years, I didn't realize the full extent of the weather situation until after we moved. Besides the all-around best climate I've seen anywhere, there are almost no tornadoes, and the only hail I've seen is about pea size, like Texas sleet.
The difference was made very clear last week when the city of Childress, Texas was hit by a tornado, followed by rain, hail and high winds clocked at 110 mph, uprooting hundred-year-old trees, leaving more than $5,000,000 worth of damage in its wake. Miraculously, one broken arm was the only injury reported.
Today I'm very happy to tell the world: All is well here in paradise, the Sandia Mountains of New Mexico, the High Desert where weather begins.
Cora Gail Trent
www.cgtrent.com
