Muscatine

Dave,

  I have several points to make!  Firstly, I see where that computer guru did you some good!  Congrats.  That was FANTASTIC video.  I didn't have a clue, that cruiser video was available to the general public (except maybe in a courtroom situation!).  That amazed me!  Secondly (from the untrained eye), it appears to me, that there were several times where the tornado WAS NOT on the ground!  (I'm think that, that's what saved our house on Newell!).  Thirdly, copy and paste, doesn't get it too much for me when dealing with this site!  I wanted to take my picture off, and, put up a "Smiley Face" rendition that I now have on my toolbar (again, thank you Nedl!).  Now I also might want to add, that Muscatine has NOT had a tornado (Muscatine PROPER), since the 1800's!    Therefore, I'm just REAL sure that EVERY law enforcement official that had to be out in that situation, had the sludge scared out of them!  I know that when I was at work (in the center of the store), and saw the roof heave up and down, it scared the bejesus out of me.  I figured that I was about to kiss my posterior goodbye!  People aren't crappin' when they say that it sounds like a freight train.  I heard it, and, they ain't lieing!  I don't even remember us losing power because of it!  Anyway, I know that you heard the officers' language on the video, I THINK that he was slightly concerned about the situation!  Again, GOOD video/audio transferring.  Now that you're an expert, I'll take a little of that training.  IF someone wants to tell me how to "save" that video to my hard drive, I'd REALLY appreciate it!  Thankx.....Again, GOOD JOB Dave!  By the way, for ANYBODY THAT GIVES A ..........., The sirens DID go off, TWO times, on EAST HILL, and, in ALL HONESTY, THAT WAS PART OF THE CONFUSION.  NO ONE KNEW FOR SURE, WHETHER THAT WAS THE "ALL CLEAR" SIREN, OR ANOTHER STORM WAS COMING RIGHT BEHIND IT.  Since I retired from the City, I had to instruct the management as to what EACH siren meant.  It was hard enough for crowd control as it was, let alone to give out mis-information as to where "personal safety" was fitting into the scheme of things.  I have to give our folks a "thumbs up" as to the management of the situation.  As to the customers, they passed with about a C+.  One must recognize that the "general public" is a bunch of common sense deprived folks!  (I had second thoughts about what I was GOING TO say). 

I do remember it around lunch time or so. I remember having to go get my son from the school and I had just finished lunch when I got the call that a tornado was heading our way. I was on this little diet kick ( it didn't work) and I was on a major schedule for all my meals and snacks. So I do remember that.

 I just asked my son and he said that they had just got done with lunch at school when they where rushed back into the building because the tornado was coming. I do remember the sirens going off. I think they had gone off several times, and I remember standing on my front porch looking towards my son's school and saying "wow look at the big birds in the sky" I thought that it was a bunch of big black birds off in the distance and then a few seconds after saying that I screamed "it's not a bird it is parts of someone's roof" and that is about when we all took cover.

Must be a slow night at the bar............... First of all I said "ABOUT" 11:30 am. According to the Police officers camra the tornado crossed Hersey & Lucas at 11:18am. Since I was going off memory, not bad.

And I believe it is the duty of the PD to set off the sirens. Atleast this is who I call when I want to find out why they're going off. As for the location of the sirens vs the police officer and if we could hear them on the tape. From the place he stops on the By-pass if you go in a direct line the ball fields it would be only 2 maybe 3 city blocks away. Sirens located there. Maybe closer, I'll have to check. Hearing? I could hear cars drive by I'm going to guess we could have heard a siren.

Tom - If you know how to make a folder, just copy the link into that folder.