Wild west weather and crazy storms have made this year interesting for this photographer, but the one we had Sunday night was down right scary weird!
Living in Eastern Oregon, our weather is pretty low-key, we do not have tornadoes, earthquakes, volcanoes, hurricanes, or really bad thunder and lightning storms. However the last few years, we have had weird and crazy weather. I have never been in a tornado or an earthquake…I have endured horrendous thunder and lightning storms in Wyoming along with ferocious blizzards and one hurricane in Portland, Oregon called The Columbus Day Storm.
In Wyoming, I went through a violent thunder storm at 9500′ elevation the end of July, as we moved cattle to a higher grazing allotment…the higher we went the more intense the storm was and we ended up in a cloud blizzard at the same time it was thundering and lightening. I just pulled my hat down over my eyes and let my solid and steady mare Lottie, lead us out of the storm…it was something else!
This summer, the sunsets and sunrises have been full of vivid colors…which is great to capture! Such as this sunset with the intense contrast of sky, clouds and colors…magic time colors with dark gray clouds drifting into the golden red mix, bringing in the needed contrast for a beautiful enchanted sunset, like God was painting it for me in the sky above my head.
Sunday was a day of doing this and that in getting ready for fall weather…the morning dawned with clear skies and brilliant sunshine, the forecast was for a warm humid 100 degree day. We usually do not have much humidity here as we are a dry climate compared to Portland, Oregon on the Western side of the state.
However, our humidity has been terrible here this summer and Sunday was no exception…it was horribly muggy all day with a breeze blowing that felt like a hotter than heck wet blow torch…it definitely did not cool you down! Minnie has the right idea, stay in the nice air-conditioned house!
We had accomplished a lot of chores that day around the ranch and it was time to enjoy that nice air-conditioned house with Minnie. I noticed some funky clouds out the West window and grabbed my camera…telling WB I would be right back.
Once outside I looked up expecting to see a few interesting clouds…and instead I saw dark ominous clouds coming from both the West and the East, joining in the middle. The towering clouds were lazily drifting over the top of the canyon wall behind us…eerily silent and dead calm…can you see the funny bands in front of them, what does that mean…hello Toto…help!
The clouds towered above me and were morphing into something that looked evil and scary.
Another odd band? I was in awe with what I was seeing as I had never seen anything like this…but my gut was telling me all heck was about to break loose!
I should have been a photo journalist as I love taking pictures and writing about what I saw! Our house is directly in the middle of the two trees, right below where the cloud is changing into a giant pot of boiling terror.
Hey Wild Bill…where are you? Things are getting bad…and very weird.
The air was still dead calm…not a wiggle of a breeze. The birds were quiet…no wind yet…just eerie silence.
And then I saw what appeared to be a well-formed funnel cloud very close to us…the air began moving and the wind began to blow…we ran to the house as fast as we could. We couldn’t make it to the basement so we went to the center of the house which is a hallway with no windows and we stood together with puppy Ellie and kitty angel Minnie. The winds began to roar sounding like a freight train overhead…we could hear stuff hitting the house on both sides…it went from a funny colored daylight, the color you see in the funnel cloud, to the blackest of black nights outside…it was pitch black.
We noticed night lights coming on outside, but all you could see was a faint glow in the blackness, eventually it was so black out, it was total darkness and then it stopped…it was quietly calm again…as I peeked around the corner to look out the window, it was still black and very quiet. Then we had a cloud burst of rain and the dust/dirt began to settle going from black to yellow brown…soon the winds began again along with thunder and lightning that lasted most of the night.
When we got up the next morning…this is what we found.
On both sides of our house we had a downed tree and lots of branches from other trees blown all over…we found holes in the screens on the windows from things puncturing them.
It was amazing to see the havoc that one storm caused…most of the damage was at the back of the house, which is against the canyon wall, where you would expect more protection…however if it was a tornado I suppose it could go where it wanted right?
And the horse poop from the pasture was swept up and thrown into the yard, the patio and the road…crazy weird…but a good way to fertilize the yard and clean the pasture:)
Despite the huge mess we have to clean up, we and all our animals are okay and the house is intact…we have a heart of gratitude and feel blessed that we survived it. I hope we never have to go through that again. That is as close as I want to get to crazy weird weather!
I have to ask my readers that have experienced tornado’s…was this funnel cloud we saw a small tornado or? Having never been in a tornado we have no idea? The only thing we know for sure is that we have never seen clouds like this or experienced a storm like this before….and hopefully never again!
God’s incredible world is never boring, His beauty is all around us if we look up and out! I love seeing every part of God’s kingdom here on earth…even the scary ones I think…ah well maybe not! Have a safe, blessed night wherever you are! HRCG over and out!
Hot Rod Cowgirl 
Nov 09, 2013 @ 14:46:47
Thank God you are all ok!! Been through Hurricane Charlie with tornadoes…scary stuff…but God cared for us, too!!
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Nov 09, 2013 @ 20:53:16
Hi there, it is always good to hear from you:) Yes, we usually do not have this type of weather here so it was a jaw dropping experience…and scary, yet incredible but not incredible enough to go through another storm like that. God was with us and truly he covered us and our outside animals too:)
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Nov 10, 2013 @ 15:05:41
Amen!! My family in NJ experienced Hurricane Sandy last year…and never experienced anything like that before either!! God is good! Life is so precious!! Stuff is just stuff!!!
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Nov 10, 2013 @ 17:49:24
Amen….truly it is the lives that are important…stuff is not:)
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Nov 11, 2013 @ 09:08:08
God’s priorities always win out!! Trials and storms in life help us to “get it!” Amen!!
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Sep 29, 2013 @ 07:16:10
Maybe a huge dust devil? Oh well, a fertilized yard ain’t so bad! Spooky!
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Sep 30, 2013 @ 15:23:42
It was incredible to see but hoping to not have it happen here again…yes that is what I thought too as it cleaned the pasture and fertilized the yard:)
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Sep 22, 2013 @ 18:06:35
EEEK!! So glad you’re all ok! We get tornado sightings and warnings a LOT in the spring and sometimes at odd times of the year…two fronts meeting like that was sure to cause trouble….Now be in the basement next time with a bike helmet on your head so we don’t have to worry!
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Sep 22, 2013 @ 19:09:20
I was mesmerized by the clouds as they were not Eastern Oregon clouds…they were incredible…never seen anything like them…I’m a hick that is wet behind the ears:) I had no idea what I was seeing other than it was incredible and wow! I promise if it ever happens again, I will run for the basement and put on my snowmobile helmet:) and pray! In hindsight we laugh but in all seriousness it was not funny…it was darn scary and now I know what people go through. When we first moved to the ranch in Pinedale, WY. We had no clue of Wyoming counties or where various towns were…we lived in our nice camp trailer for almost six months while they remodeled our house…well anyway, in the spring they had lots of tornado warning and run for your life things that came on the weak signaled TV…and since we lived in a tin box…not knowing where the heck we were and if we should take cover or not…we did not sleep lots! Thankfully we were told no the west side of WY. does not have tornadoes! Yeah!!!! We are ok then as the one and only TV station we got was out of Cheyenne, WY. on the east side of Wyoming and they had tornadoes.
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Sep 22, 2013 @ 20:56:43
What an experience!
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Sep 22, 2013 @ 21:29:31
Heres hoping no more:)
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Sep 19, 2013 @ 21:23:59
Wow! That is unusual for eastern Oregon. I used to live in Portland, then Cottage Grove. We had plenty of rain, but nothing like that. This year in central California, though, we had a similar wind and rain storm one evening. No great pictures, though. We estimated that the winds were going about 75, and we were right on. We had to quickly put up window shades, and umbrellas. I enjoy your beautiful blog. Thanks for visiting mine. I’ll be following so that I keep in touch! 🙂
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Sep 21, 2013 @ 19:06:22
Hi there, yes it was unusual and a WOW for me too. I have never heard of our area having any tornados…I guess in the 1940’s we had a minor earthquake but I was not born yet. Our weather here is very different than Portland thank goodness! I love Portland as I often shop until I drop with a glorious smile on my face:) We have a Walmart in town but that is it…LOL. I know Cottage Grove a little…is it close to Eugene? I think it is…but not sure. I think everywhere this year the US has had very strange weather and I think it will be interesting this next year. We used to run a cattle ranch outside of Pinedale, WY. and saw on their news this morning that they had a minor earthquake…and the day after our funnel sighting or whatever it was…they too had a tornado sighting. They have had torrential rain this summer there and bad thunderstorms too…one of the historic sites on the Oregon Trail called Names Hill was threatened with mud slides. Our weather tonight is odd too…its like the earth is tilted a bit or something. I enjoy your blog very much and its great to meet a fellow Oregonian…I am guessing but are you close to Sacramento? We had family there that we used to visit when I was little. Thank you for following:)
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Sep 22, 2013 @ 22:00:41
I love it. You are a great conversationalist. Yes, Cottage Grove is about 17 miles south of Eugene, and about as different as McKinleyville is from Arcata, where Humboldt State is located. Now we live in the Central Valley about four hours south of Sacramento by way of travel trailer. When we got home a crazy dirt devil had hacked down part of one of our huge trees. We have had several storms like that recently. We lost our third umbrella, too! 🙂 I hope you’ll enjoy my recent posts about our trip down the Oregon coast down through the Northern California coast. 🙂
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Sep 23, 2013 @ 22:26:21
Oh yes, ask my hubby, he says I have at least 10,000 words a day to say:) I did not know that about Cottage Grove…I think I was only there two times but I do know a bit about Eugene. Both my parents went to collage in Eugene at the U of O in the 1930’s. Did you go there? Anyway, they took me to several football games there which I loved and we visited the student union a few times. Being from the country…no make that a hick from the sticks…I was mortified…now this was in the late 1960’s…all I could think of was help! I do love Eugene and I love the U of O…I have my folks U of O year books and boy…things have changed huge since they were there…I would have loved going to school then…Dad graduated in 1937 I think…and Mom graduated in 1939.
I stayed up late last night to read your blog entries of the trip, and I was laughing so hard…you and the hubby sounds like me and Wild Bill…and since we just got our first ever house dog…I laughed about PG too. I love it!!! We are so much alike! I love History too and American History is tops…I went back to college several years ago now…thinking of doing that again too…anyway I took US History and LOVED it…it gave ma such an understanding of how the US got to where it is now with the way society relates…loved it. And will take more of it if I go back! I will be checking tonight to see if you have another post…I love the way you write:) And the name Marsha…mine is Marcia as my Grandpa wanted a different spelling:)
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Sep 23, 2013 @ 23:11:02
No WAY! Marcia! how funny! I have another blogger friend, Marcia, too. We call each other TOM, the other Marsha (Marcia). I’m afraid I haven’t written Chapter 7 yeat, and it’s after 11:00. I am taking some magazine/radio folks on a tour of our little town tomorrow morning at starting at 7:15, and that may be an all day event. So I probably won’t even have time to write until Thursday or Friday. Obviously I’m home now, and other activities keep crowding in on me. Thanks for all of your kinds words. I do love to write. I would eventually like to write books, but I just can’t stop moving long enough to get it together! Too bad we don’t live closer, we could go back to school together! I’d love to keep going, but hubby thinks I’ve had enough of that. Time to pay attention to Vince! 🙂 So no doctorate, I guess. I can’t spell anyway, I’d struggle with a doctorate! 🙂 So nice to chat a bit. I’m going to have to get to bed, or I’d stay up longer and chat, and I’m dying to read your next comment before I go off to bed. But we’ll talk more later, I promise! 🙂 I can’t wait! 🙂
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Sep 23, 2013 @ 23:43:45
I know…totally cool:) Marsha’s and Marcia’s rule!!! Yee-Haw! I’m called Marcy…or MJ as my middle name is Jean…and HRCG came about due to my hubby’s interest in cool cars and my interest forever in real horse power. I like the TOM name too! Hilarious and geez I wish we lived closer…we could hang out and our men could support each other:) I used to go to bed much earlier a few years ago but for some odd reason now if I go to bed too early I will sleep about 4-6 hours and then Hello…I am wide awake…so I just stay up longer now. I remember Mom telling me that you do not need much sleep as you age…and I used to need sleep as in 8 hours or more or I was a mess. Now I seem to be the energizer bunny and keep on a going…even Wild Bill looks at me cross eyed like why are you up and oh be quiet when we have to get up early…I feel fine and make willy jokes and he is a bit grumpy…and well cranky! I think you need to write a book TOM…you have a great way with words and your ability to share the story is more than words, as you pull the reader in. I not only was laughing but I could feel the emotions in your words…so write and do not quit!!! If you are still up…now go to bed and sleep well so you can do that tour tomorrow:) And after that go write that chapter 7…love it! I hope you are still up:) If not we will chat for sure again:)
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Sep 26, 2013 @ 13:18:51
I wiped out my answer! I love your chattiness! We are long lost twins! You and I are also energizer bunnies, although I’ve been a bit tired recently. I have a new personal trainer who is WEARING me out! So, it’s a brand new day. I’ve had my walk, 1 hour of training, lunch, talked on the phone solving problems for an hour, actually 2 if you consider redoing our phone service, and now I’m ready to blog! Maybe I’ll get Chapter 7 written today. That’s the goal, anyway. It’s hard being back home because all the other activities of life crowd in! What’s up with that, anyway?
So one joke to leave you with that my husband found yesterday. “Women spend more time thinking about what men think than men actually spend thinking!” hehehe so true! 🙂 Wonder what he was thinking when he sent that one to me??? JK Have a great day. Talk to you soon! my other TOM 🙂
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Sep 30, 2013 @ 15:06:35
Hi there:) You sound like me in wiping out your answer….I do stuff like that all the time:) I know coming home, back to reality is hard as like you there is so much to do and take care of! It ends up wearing me out and then I need a vacation from my vacation…LOL! I need to head over to read Chapter 7 as I know it will be good….I love your style of story telling as it pulls you in and you can feel and see what you are describing….and you make me laugh and I love to laugh! Like your hubby’s joke too as it is so very true! Ok TOM, I am going to hop over to your blog:) I would love to have a personal trainer….that is one of the draw backs of living out of town…when I do sign up for a class or whatever it is a 40 to 50 mile trip to go work out or shop or whatever my errands are. I did do the work out thing a few winters ago so I may try it again this winter as I need exercise in winter…it is too cold here to be out much and then too we often have snow or ice to contend with too. Ok I will be right back:)
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Oct 01, 2013 @ 05:14:45
It is a 50 mile trip for me, too, round trip. I am doing it 3 times a week, and so everything else is grinding to a stop. It’s amazing how much impact that a single hour makes on your total schedule. My writing schedule has ground to a halt. It totally changes what I do. Yesterday, for example, I walked a mile to get to my workout, after dropping my car off to get serviced, then when I got home, I just had to check out the garden, and work there a bit (instead of sitting in the house writing my blog.) Then when my sister-in-law came for lunch, I withdrew from my computer for a while longer. Then my friend called and wanted to go for a walk. And by that time it was dark, and I sat down at my computer to write, and by the time I answered a few emails, I decided to play Spidersol and go to bed. Yikes! A little change in my schedule, and I’m a mess! 🙂 I haven’t even written Chapter 8 yet! 🙂 But I have a new goal – to be a 95 year old strength builder/author! 🙂 I have quite a few years to work on that goal! 🙂 So TOM2, I need to get to your site and read what’s going on over there before I sit down to write Chapter 8. 🙂
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Oct 01, 2013 @ 07:41:40
Good for you TOM!!! It seemed to help me keep my commitment to my exercise knowing I had just driven to town and I better make the most of it! It is harder for me now as I run the office for our business…but I still walk here 6 days a month as it gives me a good break from the office or I go mess with the horses. I hear ya on taking up your time, I found that out to be very true as by the time I returned from town the day was over. But it was good that I was working the old-young body and building muscle like you are doing! You are so much like me with doing all the things you do:) I will see something that needs done and even if I am pressed for time I will stop and hurry to get whatever it is done. That is life as I seem to always see more to do that I had planned!
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Sep 23, 2013 @ 22:26:48
I forgot to ask…did you grow up in Cottage Grove?
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Sep 23, 2013 @ 23:13:25
No, I grew up in Indiana, then moved with Mom and brother to Portland when I was 15 and my brother was 13. After I married my first husband and I moved to Cottage Grove, then to Colorado Springs, then to Visalia, CA. After he passed, I never left the central CA area, and remarried, and am still here 28 years later. My brother and I are taking a train trip back to Indiana next month, though for his 60th birthday. That should be a kick! I can’t wait! 🙂
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Sep 23, 2013 @ 23:51:46
Wow you moved alot…I have hardly been out of the NW…we are planning to travel more though. I am sorry you had to go through loosing your husband…that would have been very hard. You are blessed to have found another man who is a perfect match, best friend and soul mate…by reading your account of the trip, he sounds like a great guy:) Your brother’s birthday train trip sounds like a blast! I was an only child and always wanted to have a an older brother and a sister…I lost my parents a year a part…and then I was just me…I knew it was coming as Mom was an only child too. Have fun fun fun on that birthday train trip…and I know it will be a kick:):):)
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Sep 26, 2013 @ 13:22:17
We do have a lot in common. My PARENTS, and maternal grandmother, and step-son have all been only children! My first husband had a sister, but she died when she was 35. We are a VERY small family! I adopt sisters, so you might as well adopt me now! Then you have a sister at least! I have several adopted blogging sisters now. You will read about them as we go along in the blog relationship. But, should you choose to accept the role, you are welcomed as my official Oregon blogging sister. 🙂 xox TOTOM
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Sep 30, 2013 @ 15:08:37
I do accept:) That is a great idea! Yes our family gatherings now are sometimes just Bill and I but we make it special and enjoy it with each other and talk about the old times. Hugs to my Sister TOM:)
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Oct 01, 2013 @ 05:15:50
Yeah! 🙂 I’ll wave to you when I come up on Thursday. I’m taking a train to Portland on Thursday, then my brother and I are going across country by train. 🙂 Should be fun. xox
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Oct 01, 2013 @ 07:33:51
Sounds like fun:) I would love to see the country by rail! We are about 220 miles from Portland.
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Oct 03, 2013 @ 10:21:59
Not far! Next time I come up, I’ll let you know!
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Oct 03, 2013 @ 14:47:33
Sounds like a plan:)
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Oct 03, 2013 @ 16:04:02
Yeah! 🙂
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Oct 03, 2013 @ 16:04:16
I mean Yee Haw! 🙂
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Oct 04, 2013 @ 00:26:22
🙂 Yeppers:)
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Sep 19, 2013 @ 17:54:23
Reblogged this on By the Mighty Mumford and commented:
IMPRESSIVE…BUT THE CAT, MINNIE, HAD THE RIGHT ATTITUDE!!!!
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Sep 19, 2013 @ 20:22:48
Hey thank you so much for the reblog:):):)
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Sep 19, 2013 @ 17:52:21
I think…as much as these pictures are awesome…that Minnie had the best idea—trust in the Lord and in her Missie!!!! 🙂
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Sep 19, 2013 @ 20:21:42
Amen…it was impressive to us as we have never seen weather like that or clouds like that…crazy weather this year! Thanks as always for dropping in:) Minnie says Meow Meowy Hi!
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Sep 18, 2013 @ 13:33:11
Wow you have the most amazing views
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Sep 18, 2013 @ 20:51:08
Thank you:) I never take them for granted or grow tired of them…love grabbing good shots of them to share!
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Sep 18, 2013 @ 10:17:20
Impressive clouds. We didn’t get any of that weather in Central Oregon but we sure some some angry clouds to the north and east of us. Must have been the clouds heading in your direction.
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Sep 18, 2013 @ 20:49:58
They were sort of shocking…when I noticed there was a weird cloud off to the west I grabbed my camera to go grab a quick photo and when I went outside and looked up I was stunned by what I was seeing…did not realize the danger or what it was exactly…just clicked away…and then when we ran for the house and felt the storm hit…then I realized. Very thankful we are all ok and no serious damage..the Thursday before Sept. 5th I think we were under our first tornado watch here ever…we had a heck of a storm then but not like this…it ended up being thunder and lightening, hail, wind and some flooding…but this storm was very different and this time they did not forecast it.
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Sep 18, 2013 @ 05:21:37
I’ve never been in a tornado so I’m not sure. Glad to hear all is well. You were brave to get the photos.
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Sep 18, 2013 @ 20:43:38
Thank you:) me too…it was so weird as I always take lots of interesting cloud or sky shots so I figured going outside to grab a cool cloud shot would be fun…and then when I went outside I was stunned with what I saw…very surreal as it was not moving like everything was suspended…and I was wanting to grab shots of this unusual weird storm with scary odd clouds…they were so massive and tall.
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Sep 18, 2013 @ 05:13:58
Wow that must have been terrifying glad you are all ok, great photos looks like something from a Sci-Fi film,
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Sep 18, 2013 @ 20:39:52
Yeah it was scary and we feel lucky all the horses, dogs etc. were all ok…us too with Ellie and Minnie…we have some damage outside but minor compared to what it could have been:) I agree as I looked at the photos they were very Sci-Fi looking….scary menacing!
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Sep 19, 2013 @ 23:59:08
Glad everyone is ok, world weather is going through some changes hope everything settles down soon
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Sep 21, 2013 @ 19:13:54
Thank you:) Yes I agree…the weather is acting up everywhere! I hope it settles down too!
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Sep 18, 2013 @ 04:15:48
We have been in a tornado but didn’t have that kind of perspective on it as we didn’t have “wide open spaces” to observe things from but the loud noises and wind and things flying around that you saw and heard certainly are familiar. That was quite a storm you had and those clouds are truly frightening in appearance! So glad you were all OK. Mother Nature is amazing – she can be serene and violent in the space of a few minutes……
Hugs, Pam (and Sam who says hi to Minnie!)
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Sep 18, 2013 @ 20:34:13
I hope you all were ok in going through a tornado…I hope it is not where you live now…that would be so scary to worry about them…we actually were under a severe tornado warning/watch a week earlier here…we that live here had never in our lives heard that before on the radio! I had never seen clouds like that on Sunday and was so into taking the pictures…did not realize the danger etc. until later…we seem to have gotten it the worst out here and that funnel cloud was very close, super close…I am glad that our horses were ok as it came about so fast that I did not have time to get them into the barn…I was going to try and Bill said No…good thing he is my common sense at times:) Minnie says Meowy Hi and she was glad that the storm went away too…
Hugs Back, Marcy and Minnie:)
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Sep 17, 2013 @ 21:08:23
Ghost riders in the sky? Seriously, those were some very eerie formations. Impressive too. GREAT pictures.
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Sep 17, 2013 @ 22:43:54
Yes, they had me mesmerized at first…I could not believe what I was seeing…it was eerie and weird…it is funny how as a obsessive photographer you are pulled into the moment whatever it is and you strive hard to capture it! Thank you as always:) Hugs:)
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