Every spring, the central part of the country (Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, Oklahoma, Iowa and Texas) known as Tornado Alley braces itself for the onslaught of bad weather. Between March and May, this part of the country faces the danger of tornadoes.

Texas typically receives the most tornadoes. I'm not exactly sure why that is, but I suspect a large part of that reason is that it's common for the warm and moist air from the Gulf of Mexico to collide with cooler dry air from the Rocky Mountains or further north.

I've never personally experienced a tornado. Until last night, I'd never experienced intensely severe weather. For about 3 hours last night, I was under a tornado warning. A perfectly clear, warm and humid day quickly turned into a dark and foreboding sky. All of a sudden, I saw the rain coming down with an intensity I'd never seen it before. First it was just torrential rain at what must have easily been 1 ½ to 2 inches an hour. Within minutes, hail started to come down. The hail was as big as golf balls. I heard reports that some hail was as big as softballs!

For the next however long it lasted - probably a couple of hours at the least, I continued to hear hail pelting my windows and hammering my front door. The rain was covering every bit of the ground and sidewalk to the point where I could no longer see the sidewalk. I was terrified. I shut down our computers because the power kept going on and off, and I could hear the sirens blaring. I had to arm myself with pillows and blankets. I would either take cover in the kitchen since that's our most interior room, or the bathroom.

When the worst of the storm finally let up I went out to see what had happened. I turned the pot where my Rose of Sharon is planted back upright. The water was well past my ankles, and the rain was still coming down by the bucket full. I went back inside.

When I finally surveyed the damage this morning, I could see that many things had been beaten badly. The leaves on many plants were ripped. Some of the limbs on my hardy hibiscus were bent over. I tried to make them stand upright again. I looked for some large sticks - and there were many that had fallen from the trees, so I was able to pick up some to use as plant supports. I'm not sure whether those limbs will survive. Overall, the plants seemed to survive pretty well. There are dents galore in my front door, but none of the windows broke.

I guess I get to brace myself for another outbreak tonight and tomorrow! This is life in Tornado Alley!