Why are some people afraid of storms? When you really sit back and think about it, storms can be kind of scary. Lots of noise, the flashes of lightning, and the wind can really create quite a frenzy. When I was younger I used to love storms, but as I got older I could understand why some people might be afraid of storms. While most storms are just your garden variety types, you always remember the big storms, and that can stay with you for a long time.
I remember Labor Day of 1999, and the huge storm that hit my hometown. It started off like any other storm, and I was watching TV, while also enjoying the show that nature was putting on outside. I flipped to the Weather Channel to see if the storm was going to let up anytime soon, and to my surprise the storm was only beginning. As the weather man was talking about the storm, the power went out, and there was complete darkness.
The last thing I heard before the power went out was “possible tornado.” Wouldn’t you be a little scared if that was the last thing that you heard before the power went out? Tornado? Where? When? Its like having the doctor tell you that he has bad news, and that he won’t lie to you about it. After a slight pause the doctor just walks out of the room, leaving you to wonder just what is going on. I remember being more than a little nervous that night.
The next morning it look like a bomb had gone off outside my house, and surrounding houses. Trees were down, and power was out for almost a week after the storm. Everything for a couple miles was just gone, and it took crews an entire day just to get some of the roads passable again. It was suspected that a small tornado may have in fact touched down nearby, or at least something similar to a tornado had occurred.
I live in Upstate New York, so the occurence of a tornado is a rare thing indeed. That one storm changed my perspective on storms forever. While I do not fear storms, I don’t view them the same way anymore. I used to just kick back and watch the lightning, and wait for the loudest thunder to roar across the skies. Today I don’t know that I really enjoy storms anymore, and it might just be because of that one storm in particular.
My point is that people might be afraid fo storms because of a bad experience with a storm. I would never want to live in the tornado belt, or where any big storm could hit on a regular basis. It is always possible that some people are just scared of loud noises, and the thunder is just scary. However, I think it is more based on experience that some people just might not like to be around when a storm hits.
