4:00am

I went to bed about 11:00pm and woke up at 4:00am to a Notify NYC text message saying a Tornado Warning would be in effect until 4:15am for Brooklyn and Queens. I turned on the TV and had to wait a few minutes to find more specific information. Since there are so many weather issues over multiple states, even a tornado warning seems to be put in queue for reporting on some stations. The storm cell they issued the warning about seemed to be north of us and moving towards the area of LaGuardia Airport in Queens.

I walked over to Sterling's room and asked her to go sleep on the couch just to be on the safe side since her bed is right next to a large window. She and I are both native Kansans, so we know to take tornado warnings seriously, and she went to the living room without questioning it. We've both agreed that the freakiest thing about this Hurricane for us is the potential for small tornadoes to pop up. The Weather Channel reporter said that the conditions surrounding these tornadoes aren't normal (obviously) and you can't see or hear them as you normally would. So even though that specific danger zone seems to have bypassed us, we're both trying to play it safe.

One of the specific neighborhoods mentioned in the warning was Astoria, Queens. I decided to text two of my friends who live in Astoria, just in case they were sleeping and not aware of the tornado warning in their area. I debated about sending them a note at such a crazy time in the morning, since they are adults and very capable people, but I decided I'd risk annoying them to make sure they knew. I think they are both home alone this weekend and I'm feeling a little protective. Teach, my Kansan friend in Astoria, texted me back in short time to say thanks. That made me feel a little better about sending them a note.