Destructive Deadly Weather Slams Northern Front Range

The intense Spring of 2008 continues as tornados and powerful thunderstorms roared through the Northern Front Range urban corridor from north of Denver through Weld County all the way into SE Wyoming on Thursday. The small suburb of Windsor about ten miles SE of Fort Collins was particularly hit hard. Widespread property damage occurred and the town took a serious hit from at least one tornado. I was just in this town four days ago getting gasoline and at one time considered residing there. The destruction continued north into Laramie as a tornado touched down there causing property damage. For a time, another storm with tornado potential was bearing down strong towards Cheyenne, prompting the tornado sirens to cry for about one-half hour, but the storm weakened to just strong winds, rain, and hail. It was quite fortunate that the number of deaths was kept to a minimum as were the reports of injuries. But the destruction to homes, businesses, and infrastructure are extensive throughout the region. It will be months and years before the cleanup and restoration is complete. One thing that was quite extraordinary about these storms was the fact they took a northwest direction as a track which is almost unheard, particularly in this region. Most storms flow south or southeast usually.
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http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/may/22/weather-may-get-dicey-today/
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http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_9349705
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And if this was not enough, another serious storm roared north out of CO giving us in Cheyenne another full fledged tornado warning around 7:45 pm. I took a look outside and it was rather disconcerting. Cloud movement was definitively in a largely circular motion and the clouds were quite dark. Lightening could be seen off to the east and north. Rain was lightly falling with a cold wind blowing. It looks as if the worst has past, but the conditions are ripe for further activity, and a cyclone could drop out of these clouds at any time. Thank goodness its still light out as the thought of dealing with this during dark is quite unsettling. The radar on TWC is showing a blizzard over the mountains to the south and west, something not all that unusual in mid-May, but nevertheless interesting...
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New Employment Looming ?

Wednesday I had an interview with Jeld-Wen, a windows manufacturing enterprise that has locations throughout the US and internationally. The session went good and I am optimistic that I will soon be on board, perhaps starting next week. The hourly pay would be at least 50 % more than what I have been making, but the most positive developments would be fulltime hours and even some overtime, perhaps even regularly. I understand benefits are part of the deal which would allow me to see a dentist and an eye doctor in the coming months, as well as look into what needs to be done with the herniated abdominal muscle located above my navel which is increasingly becoming more hardened and worrisome to me. The employment also offers paid holidays and vacation which are always nice. Given the large increase to personal revenues, I could soon address the essential number of projects and obligations that I have been unable to attend to due to the limits of my current employment. Among these projects and responsibilities include repaying my two sisters; maintenance on the White Knight (regular items as well as the kingpins, the exhaust system, and the flywheel/clutch; getting my 36" TV repaired; getting the two desktop computers repaired; purchasing a 24" computer monitor; and getting a new mattress ( an 84" California Queen). Perhaps I can even consider purchasing another motor vehicle which is newer and considerably more fuel efficient. And of course, the longterm project of saving $ to finance a relocation, even if to just the Denver or the Colorado Springs region. The timetable is embark on this relatively small move is either by September 2009 or 2010, but I could still opt to move to OR, WA, MT, or NV which will require a larger bankroll to finance. It is a long ways off, but it is never too early to start working towards those goals. Hopefully this new employment will emerge to enable this and other dreams and plans (travel to visit relatives, attend games, etc.). Perhaps a new day is dawning which will enable me to have greater optimism and hope...
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