My husband and I are no stranger’s to chaos. For some reason it’s always around us, and yesterday was no exception.

My in-laws had taken 3 of our 4 children to see Pirates of the Carribbean, which left us alone with our, almost,9 month old little guy for almost 4 hours. Since these quite rare occasions hardly ever occur, we decided to do something that is nearly impossible to do with 4 kids…. we headed off to the Louis Joliet Mall.

We walked around the mall for about an hour and a half, and then made our way down to JCPenny. I wanted to get new curtains for our office so we took the elevator upstairs.

We were up there for about 15 minutes when a woman’s voice came over P.A. system. “A tornado warning has been issued for this area… Please find your way to the Juniors department located on the lower level. I repeat, a tornado warning has been issued for this area… Please find your way to the Juniors department located on the lower level. Thank you.”

We jumped on the next elevator and met the rest of the patrons next to the halter tops and capri pants. I had to resist my urge to continue shopping even though I knew there were more serious issues at hand. ( I am a reformed shop-a-holic… Well, maybe not so reformed! )

It was amazing how fast this huge section of the department store became hot and over-crowded in such a short amount of time. We stood there for about 10 minutes until we were told it was safe to leave the area.

In order to understand these drastic measures, if you live in Illinois, the word Plainfield is synonymous with tornado. On August 28th, 1990, a horrific tornado tore through an area near downtown Plainfield and took the lives of 10 people. It also destroyed the high school, and damaged countless other area structures. The community was devestated, and since then, has taken every possible precaution to warn residents of any impending weather threats.

I was shopping at the new Target in Shorewood IL last year when a similar situation occurred, only that time we were ushered back the the fitting room area. There wasn’t much to take our minds off the situation in that department, as we sat out several moments of terror.

Here’s what to do if you get caught in bad weather:

• If the tornado sirens are sounding, STOP what you are doing and take cover. Don’t think just because you don’t see the bad weather that it isn’t on it’s way. The conditions for a tornado can be materializing well beyond your vision in the atmosphere above the clouds.
• Go to the lowest part of your home, preferably a basement or crawl space.
• If you don’t have a basement, seek shelter in the most interior part of your home that has the least amount of windows.
• Stay away from windows and glass.
• Don’t go upstairs to check on what’s going on outside… or even more crazy, don’t go outside to video tape the event!
• Keep a small AM radio with batteries on hand so you can stay informed of any changes in the weather conditions.

Living in the Midwest has it’s issues, but so does everywhere else. The East Coast and Gulf States have hurricanes, the West Coast has earthquakes, so I guess that we all have to endure the potential to face disaster no matter where you live.

The tornado of 1990 may have given Plainfield IL a bad reputation, but because of the precautions taken by all local area municipalities because of that disaster, Plainfield is now part of one of the best early warning weather detection systems in Illinois.

If you ever in doubt of the severity of the weather, it’s better to err on the side of caution. I know I’d rather always be safe than sorry!

Julie Ferenzi | Realtor®
Plainfied IL Homes
630-673-6233