Derecho Pandora/ "Inland Hurricane Pandora"

     May 8, 2009 began as a normal, overcast day: thunderstorms were forecasted for the whole day through the National Weather Service in Paducah, Kentucky.  So, it wasn't much of a surprise to see that Jackson County, Il had a severe thunderstorm watch (which ultimately turned into a warning).  By 11:30 a.m., the weather outside looked menacing enough to convince my boyfriend and I to stay inside.  As the forecasted storms began hitting our area,  I began feeling a little bit uneasy---something that I've always experienced in severe weather, ever since I was a small child.  Yet, today's storm would be one for not only the local record books, but, for mine as well.

     The first set of thunderstorms began to hit our area around 10:30 a.m., yet, all it did was pour rain from the heavens above--nothing too scary, I thought, just an average every day thunderstorm.  As the morning progressed into early afternoon,  some of the down pour of rain had quieted down, but, the skies still looked very menacing, very ominous. At about 12:30 p.m., a weather bulletin from the National Weather Service appeared on the bottom of our television screen--warning us that a severe thunderstorm was in progress.  Then, just as the warning was scrolling across the bottom of our screen, a nearby tornado siren went off; regular programming was interrupted by the station's weatherman, stating that a tornado had been sited just north of Murphysboro---roughly about 8-10 miles from Carbondale.  My youngest daughter, Erin, didn't want to let it scare her, but, I could see that she was pretty scared---the color was pretty drained out of her face. I was attempting to stay calm, trying to be the mature adult due to the shear horror that was showing through on Erin's face, yet, within the next fifteen minutes,  my calm would be tested as much as my daughter's.

    Roughly around one o'clock in the afternoon, I heard a weird, slow rumbling.  But, it wasn't the normal rumbling that one might hear during a springtime thunderstorm (i.e., it did not sound like the rumble of thunder); it sounded as if it was a cavalry of horses (similar to the horses in the movie "Braveheart") galloping our way.  Inside, I was thinking, "OH NO!", and my immediate thought after the "OH NO!" was that we were getting struck by a tornado, maybe even the one that had been spotted north of Murphysboro.  Within a minute of hearing the rumbling---the mobile home that I reside in shook along the length of it.  Both Erin and I were petrified---yet, we sat totally still as the rain poured and the storm pounded everything outside.  After about 4-5 more minutes of extremely heavy rain and wind, the storm was spent in our area, and had moved onto the next county.  By the time that the storm left our immediate area, my home was without power.  It was definitely a bad thing that the mobile home was all-electric---by six o'clock on the evening of May 8th, we learned that we could be without power for at least a week due to all of the storm damage.

      According to the local radio station that covered the storm, what had hit us took on the term of "inland hurricane";  at the height of the storm,  up to 90 mph winds had been recorded at the airport by wind instruments; a private weather watcher's instruments in Carbondale recorded a gust of wind up to 106 mph.  That first night, there were at least 70,000 or more people without electric, and about half of that without phone service.  By six thirty p.m., though we had hoped to stay in, my boyfriend, Erin, and I headed to the town of Anna--just south of Carbondale---to get water, ice, immediate needs, and something to eat.  Driving south on 51 out of Carbondale, there were trees uprooted, all of the traffic lights were out, and a lot of the businesses on south 51 had sustained severe damage.

     Coming back home from Anna, about an hour and a half later, we decided to take a closer route back to home, so we went pleasant hill road.  Just the damage on Pleasant Hill Road screamed of the immense winds the storm had packed: trees had fallen on at least 3 homes; trees had been uprooted almost everywhere one could see; cars had been crushed; a few mobile homes had been caved in as well. 

     Two nights and three days later, power to my home was restored. I was ecstatic!  Finally, a return to some normalcy.  Even though my home returned to normal--the cities of Carbondale, Herrin, Carterville, Crainville, Energy,  and Murphysboro all had eight p.m. to six a.m. curfews; both Jackson and Williamson counties had sustained major wind damage, as well as flash flooding; by 11:30 a.m. on May 9th, 2009 Governor Pat Quinn had signed a disaster declaration for Jackson and Williamson counties, as well as Franklin & Saline Counties.

    It's now been roughly about 2 1/2 weeks since the storm, and, recovery efforts continue to this day:  everywhere one looks, there are electrical & telephone workers replacing  lines and poles; there are chain-saw brigades helping people get rid of all of the downed trees; there are blue tarps covering homes and businesses.  And more facts about the storm and it's aftermath are coming to light.  Although the media (including the local radio station and television stations) picked up and used the term "inland hurricane", the correct term for the storms that hit this area with so much force is actually "derecho".   Yet, no matter what term one may use, the storm's toll on the citizens of southern Illinois shouldn't be underestimated or ignored.  According to everything I've read since the storm left it's imprint, it's just as devastating as what happens in a hurricane or a tornado.  and it definitely makes the every day person worry when skies become menacing.

     The accompanying photos to this article are radar images of the storm provided by the National Weather Service in Paducah, Kentucky;  as a citizen of the affected area, I would like to take this time to thank ALL of the electrical workers that have helped get the power restored to all whom were affected; WCIL radio for their tireless coverage of the storm/the storms aftermath; Verizon/telephone workers who continue to work to get service retored.  The citizens of Southern Illinois are in a much better frame of mind due to all who have worked tirelessly in the recovery efforts.