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Nose for News by Sarah Stultz

When I saw we were under a tornado watch Monday, the nerves kicked in.

I was still at work, and I heard the notification read over the scanner. I quickly stopped what I was doing, pulled up the National Weather Service on my computer and put a brief advisory on our website.

I didn’t grow up in the Midwest, and the only exposure I previously have had to tornadoes before moving here was from the original “Twisters” movie with Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton.

Aside from that, I remember my mom telling me of a time she lived through a tornado when she was in her youth in the Midwest.

When I moved to Albert Lea, my first major exposure to tornadoes was in 2010 during the major outbreak that struck Freeborn County and even killed one person — a Tribune employee — near where she and her husband lived at that time in a mobile home west of Albert Lea.

Though I personally have never had property destroyed from a tornado, covering those tornadoes that year really left a mark on my mind of the power that these types of storms can have — literally uprooting families.

I finished up my work and then headed home, and before long I heard the first tornado siren sound. I pulled up one of our local TV stations on Facebook and started watching live coverage of the storm as it moved through the area. At that time, it appeared to be in Faribault County and western Freeborn County, so I didn’t immediately move to the basement. Before long, however, I sensed more urgency from the meteorologist I was watching and tried coaxing my husband and son to the basement.

Like other Midwesterners, my husband was going in and out from our back deck, trying to get a peek of what was happening from the backyard. (For the record, it’s very difficult to see far from our backyard deck because of the neighboring houses and other trees, so I’m not quite sure what good that does.)

Needless to say, we were lucky in Albert Lea that nothing touched down. The sirens sounded four times, and there were reported touchdowns in the Twin Lakes and Emmons area. As soon as Albert Lea seemed to be in the clear, I hopped in my car hoping I would be able to figure out a little more where the touchdowns occurred and praying there was minimal damage.

Nightfall quickly came, and before long it was dark and too late to continue without light.

This morning as I ventured back out, I was grateful to not find nearly as much damage as that horrible day in 2010, though I did see some of the damage that occurred last night.

It was also heartwarming to see friends and neighbors taking care of each other in the immediate aftermath last night and even today, whether through physical assistance moving debris, bringing food or hearing about a State Patrol trooper who simply held a flashlight so one family could see to get their barn cleaned for their animals.

It’s nice to live in a place where you can find neighbors helping neighbors.

Sarah Stultz is the managing editor of the Tribune. Her column appears every Wednesday.