Gale Temple, Tornadoes, and heavy winds in SRQ

The tail end of the storm which spawned all those ghastly tornadoes reached south west Florida this morning.

When I arose at 4:30 p.m. the outside temperature was 75f. Within the space of two hours it had dropped by 10 degrees as the winds came rushing in.   It’s not gotten back to 75f all day.

Mind you -  we have been fortunate.  We did not even get the heavy rain and thunderstorms which were visited on the panhandle and other parts of north Florida yesterday.  

For a while at about 7:00 as I was walking Penne the storm clouds were full and I anticipated a drenching.  But they blew over, and we received no more than a few sprinkles.

But it has been very windy all day, reminding us of the amazing power of wind, and of the awesome and awful damage wrought by tornadoes. 

As I have looked at the photo’s of flattened towns and villages especially in Kentucky and Indiana, I have wondered “how to people start all over again when they have lost everything?”

(By the way, that 14 month old toddler who was discovered all alone is in critical condition. However, contrary to earlier reports, she was not found ten miles from her home - in fact she was very near where her home had been).  (Be wary of the accuracy of news when it is initially reported).

I was heartened by the words of an evangelical Baptist minister on the radio this morning. His church building was intact though surrounded by flattened houses and stores.  The NPR reporter asked him whether he would have services this morning.  “No” he calmly replied.  “We are being Christ today by rendering all the assistance we can to those who have lost so much”.  That man had his priorities right!

The storms and the winds have reminded me of an incident in  my home city of Bristol U.K. some 55 – 60 years ago.  

During a stormy night, with gale force winds, a baby girl was abandoned in or near our man railway station – known at Bristol Temple Meads Station.    The Bristol Evening Post nicknamed her “Gale Temple”.

I wonder what happened to her.  I can only hope that she was adopted by a stable and decent family.
Location: Sarasota, FL, USA

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