This is going to take some getting used to!

Ok. We're in a semi-rural location. There are a sprinkling of small town centers around us in a 10-ish mile radius or so. They apparently all have volunteer fire departments.  And they still use air-raid sirens to notify the volunteers of an emergency.

Yesterday we had an impressive microburst during a squall front, and it did considerable damage to the power lines, trees, and property all across this part of the state, and over into CT.  There is, or was, a huge old oak tree nearby us that we could see as we were watching the weather out of my bedroom window. That wind hit and the tree kind of exploded, and then fell on top of a car in the parking lot, blowing out the back windshield (and doing serious damage to the front of the car - having seen the car today I would imagine it's totaled). That tree had to have been at least 100 years old, from the size of the trunk, but it was all hollow inside. Workmen showed up quickly after the storm subsided and roped the area off, and were taking turns standing inside the tree getting their photos taken. Probably more than 100 years old, really, that tree. HUGE old thing. Sadly, it is no more. As is the car it landed on. Thank goodness nobody was hurt. It honestly looked like that tree's trunk exploded - sounded like that when it happened, too!

Just after the power came back on and things seemed calm, what do we hear but the wail of a tornado siren! I almost had a heart-attack. But in doing some quick online searching, I learned it was the VFD calling in people to help. Today we've heard four different sirens going off.  The weather all day has been clear, bright, and breezy, so I assume it's power lines...but it could also be that we are hearing the neighboring villages' sirens due to the atmospherics. We hear trains in the night quite clearly, although we are several miles from the train tracks, so perhaps it's the same thing. I know one of the villages sounds their siren at 4:30pm every day (having found that info online) to test it. Maybe the others do the same? Oh my.

For someone who spent 45+ years basically in tornado alley, it's not a nice sound. Every time one of those goes off I freeze. The Daughter jumps because in Calif the siren was the same for accidents at the nuclear power station (if you heard it you were to gulp your iodine tablets and run for the hills as fast as you could) and also for tsunamis. My hearing is shot, so she's been the one who hears it first. I wonder how long it's going to be before we automatically filter it out?   

Other than that, it's been a lovely day.

Speaking of nuclear accidents, Nan, have you watched Chernobyl?  I think you would really like it.  You can watch it on Amazon and you don't have to buy Prime or anything, just pay 10 quid and it's yours. 
The last show is basically an hour long incredibly detailed explanation of how Chernobyl blew up.  The whole family was glued to the screen. 

The town I grew up in (Massachusetts) has one for the same exact thing.  You'd think they would have an app or something for that now, but they still use it for the VFD.
They also have an air raid siren, in which you're supposed to go the nearest fallout shelter. I remember it malfunctioned when I was about 11 or 12 and there was total panic!!!

The siren I can hear here in Wokingham is for Broadmoor.  They are phasing them out as they break though.  Woohoo!  This is the first time I’ve lived somewhere with sirens.

Speaking of nuclear accidents, Nan, have you watched Chernobyl?  I think you would really like it.  You can watch it on Amazon and you don't have to buy Prime or anything, just pay 10 quid and it's yours. 
The last show is basically an hour long incredibly detailed explanation of how Chernobyl blew up.  The whole family was glued to the screen. 

It's also on Sky to for free. I rewatched it recently. I have self-diagnosed OCD and one thing I was fixated on before the series was Chernobyl. From my prior research and learning it is incredibly accurate. One of the most accurate documentary series ever. So accurate, even the colouring and the style of military license plates vs civilian was nailed to a tee. The words said by the general to the roof liquidators, again, word for word what was said to them. There is also a video you can easily find YouTube of actual footage of the roof cleanup.

There was also a podcast that ran simultaneous with the episodes for people who wanted more behind the scenes etc. You can probably still find them. Very interesting.

It's also on Sky to for free. I rewatched it recently. I have self-diagnosed OCD and one thing I was fixated on before the series was Chernobyl. From my prior research and learning it is incredibly accurate. One of the most accurate documentary series ever. So accurate, even the colouring and the style of military license plates vs civilian was nailed to a tee. The words said by the general to the roof liquidators, again, word for word what was said to them. There is also a video you can easily find YouTube of actual footage of the roof cleanup.

There was also a podcast that ran simultaneous with the episodes for people who wanted more behind the scenes etc. You can probably still find them. Very interesting.

I loved that podcast.