So, I'm at work, working, when I get a call from my concerned mother saying that bad weather is heading my way. I check NWS only to find that a very wicked cell is right on top of my current location. I de-gown (I work in a cleanroom), and right as I'm getting out of the lab the tornado sirens start up. I head out back and take a peek through the door only to see half a funnel cloud having a good old time in the air.
I do what anybody who lives around here would do: watch it. The wall cloud passes over and I prepare to get back to work. Five minutes later, sirens again. I head out back again. Scope things out. Seems that, if I go out front, I may get a better view. Sirens are screaming, the sky looks like vomit and there isn't a car to be seen. I step outside, close the front door and look around. Doesn't seem too bad. Turn around. Grab the door. Try to open.
Try.
Sirens are blaring all around me. There's a tornado somewhere nearby. It's raining to give Noah nightmaes. The wind is picking up. And I just locked myself out of the building. Feel my pockets. No keys. They're on my desk. Try my car door. I, having wisely regarded the local populace, locked the doors previously. Try the back door, in case I left it unlocked. Locked. Well, I'm screwed, I think. Wait. Thankfully, we needed a stand-in for maintenance work, so I remembered the passcode for the maintenance room on the building. I'm able to get the key from the passcode box. I open the maintenance door and wait inside for a minute before I consider the possibility that the key may open the front or back doors.
I go to the back. No luck. I go around to the front of the building. As I do, I hear the wind picking up even more. I get to the front door. No luck. I am completely locked out of the main building. I look toward the highway. I can't see it anymore because of all the wind and rain. The flags are being blown so hard they look like they're gonna rip off. A garbage can flies across the road. Huh.
I head back toward the maintenance door when I notice that there is a loud whooshing noise coming from behind the building. As I get to the door, I also notice that a funnel of rain/dust has developed just 700 feet away from me or so. Tornado! I think. Needless to say, I bolted toward the maintenance door and locked it asap. It got pretty loud in there, but thankfully it's actually the safest place in the building.
Sirens started up again later, but it seemed to be for a tornado in Otsego versus Elk River (where I was at).
Anyway, so here I am. Good times. Anyone else been through a similar situation?
