What Bugs Me: Losing the TV Signal During a Storm

Have you noticed how during severe storms the TV loses its signal just as the forecaster announces a tornado for your county?

The picture goes out and there you sit, deprived of the information. That annoys me because what good is it to have live-time radar if you can’t get reception?

I know you can stream it live on your smart phone, but what if you don’t know how? Okay, assuming you’re with someone who knows how to do it. Who can see the person’s face? A moment ago he was practically life-sized on the wide screen TV and now he’s about as tall as a green olive.

Does he really mean business? You twist your neck and strain your eyes, trying to make out what he’s marking on the blob of green behind him. How are you supposed to know when it’s time to go to your safe-spot when the estimated times of arrival are microscopic?

You could turn on the weather band radio, if you had remembered to put fresh batteries in it at the start of the season or had some spare ones. Are you kidding? Who keeps a variety of fresh batteries stored in her hall closet? Okay I do, but my problem is that I never bought the radio.

There’s always the siren that indicates a possible tornado has been sighted in your area. You go to your safe place, the crawl space under your house that’s filled with spider webs and creepy-crawlies. But, you don’t know how long to stay. Should you take a snack? A book to read?

When we had a tornado alert recently, the last thing we heard before the TV froze was that the storm was on the other side of the county. Great! Who knows the path it will take. My husband and I, reduced to detecting danger the old fashioned way, got up, opened the door and looked out at the dark sky. We listened for the roaring train that people talk about. The wind howled. The rain was coming down in sheets.

We sat back down. By then James was getting sleepy, but someone had to keep watch so I stayed awake. Hail pummeled the roof and windows, a sure sign of a tornado. I called out and James jerked awake. He sluggishly went to the door and asked if I wanted to go down there. He said it as though speaking of a torture chamber.

I nibbled on my lower lip, mulling over which was worse, the storm or the crawl space. About that time the hail stopped, the TV came back on, and the forecaster said Goodlettsville was all clear now, we could come out of our safe-spot.

James rose and went to bed. He was asleep within two minutes. I crawled in bed beside him thinking maybe by next tornado season technology will be improved, the TV won’t freeze and I won’t have to be weather-watcher. Nah. Not a chance.

Tell me what bugs you?

Note- Even though I've poked fun at the seriousness of storms, I do understand they can be deadly. Please, always be weather ready.