Hi all!

I am a trained spotter located in South Central Minnesota. The recent EF4 tornado that ripped through our area on Thurs. June 17 tracked around 2 miles to the WNW of my household. A very intense time to be sure!
You may wonder at my title a bit. I am a stay at home mom of 4 kids, the oldest being 8 years of age and the youngest 20 months. While I would rather not be out chasing huge tornadoes reeking havoc on farmsteads and homes, I have absolutely NO issues with watching the storms develop that create these wondrous monsters. I am not part of any Ham network, primarily because I have no license or radio to be able to participate. This is a huge change from my childhood, as I grew up about 60 miles North of downtown Houston in what I call "Hurricane Alley". Tornadoes were things to be feared, while hurricanes were to be marveled. Only recently have I learned that Minnesota has landlocked hurricanes...they are just labeled "severe thunderstorms".
I have enjoyed watching Reed, Joel, and others on Discovery year after year. I DO have to admit that I was kind of bummed not seeing any YouTube video from TVN covering our recent tornadoes. I am looking forward to watching the live coverage from the chaser on duty tonight, as they have us listed as a moderate risk, and Chanhassen (the NWS office nearest us) has called for "greatest risk" areas rather than "areas of possibilities". Part 3 will start soon!