Storm Chasers - Clemson Chapter

So today was interesting. Started out by pouring all day yet again. There was a wreck on the way to school so I was late, couldn't find any parking and ended up being 15 or so minutes late to my 8 o'clock Nutrition class. It continued to rain all day long. I sat through two more classes... one of which was almost unbearably boring. I ate lunch with my sister and her friend and as our lunch visit ended the monsoon began to pour.

I decided I wasn't going outside till it let up a little bit and decided to go ahead and change for the kickboxing class I was going to after my last afternoon class. As I walk outside I noticed the sky was really dark. I walked to the window and a boy struggled to get the door open through the gusts outside, glanced at me, pointed out the window and said "LOOK!" Right there before my eyes, there was a very large funnel cloud that had formed and was touching down VERY CLOSE!!

Both of us stood there watching it, too much in awe to say anything when someone behind us yelled at us to "Get in!" We turned around and ran into the window-less room behind us! The severe weather sirens were going off and a loud speaker from somewhere was shouting "SEEK SHELTER!"

There we waited for about forty minutes. I called everyone I could in that time. Most everyone had left campus by this time (around 3:00pm) and my sister had just made it back to her dorm basement (although her umbrella did not).

We all emerged and there appeared to be no damage but lots of small twigs and leaves laying around outside. I went to class and people started to share their stories... a missing porch, telephone poles on fire, trees on cars, flooded roads. I left class and a friend gave me a ride to my car that was parked on the outskirts of campus behind the football stadium.

My friend tells me a tree fell on several cars that were parked in front of him and his was the first that was not hit. I get really nervous, trying to remember "Did I park under a tree this morning?" Thankfully, my car is all in one piece and the way I left it. I leave the parking lot, the football team is still evacuated in the volleyball gym and looking out on the mess. And then see where the tornado had touched down. There were a whole bunch of trees laying on the ground and in the road. Trucks were already working on clearing the branches from the road and cleaning up the mess. All of the power downtown Clemson and around the area was out.

I picked up my sister from her dorm basement where she had been made to stay for the last two hours and headed to a friend's apartment. Thankfully, no one I know was affected but it's still shocking that things like that can just happen without any warning. We are still right now at 9 o'clock under a tornado watch and flash flood warning. Keep all of the residents around the area in your prayers tonight and tomorrow while this weather clears out!

Here is a picture of the tornado today though it's not very clear. It's the same one at the beginning of my post. This picture looks to me like it was taken from the floor above the room I was in during the evacuation but definitely in the same building. If you Google "clemson tornado" it brings up a lot of news stories and pictures if you're really that interested.