Nothing we can do but wait. We are now under a tornado warning. 80% of all my larger orchids, bromeliads, staghorns and fiddle leaf ficus are outside. Hundreds of plants. If we get strong winds, or Heaven forbid a tornado, they will be toast. Of course so might all my greenhouses and home. Time will tell.

Tupelo got blasted! There are now five confirmed tornadoes in the state, all following generally the same track. More super-cells are forming in central Louisiana, all headed into Mississippi. We will remain under a tornado watch throughout the night, regardless of what all those tracking near us do. This will be a long 12 hours (or much more).

Keeping fingers crossed for you, Ken!

Please do okay.

That's a nasty weather situation, Ken. Hope it goes by you without damage!

Jim, just picture Winston Churchill . . my granddaughter looks just like him. I still didn't get the pictures to the tablet . . .

Simply sending it to your tablet by email doesn't work?

Ken, prayers headed your way! Stay safe!

Thank you all. We were spared the two tornadoes that had Starkville in their cross-hairs. They stayed 5 and 7 miles south. The one that hit Tupelo was 3 miles north of Starkville. We have dodged three with more promised to come. A few minutes ago the sky turned green - yes, green! Now we are getting torrential rains. The Weather Channel says the rate is 10"/hr. OOPS, now it is hailing. Sheets of rain with hail. What a beginning to my evening. But better than a tornado!

Keep your ears open for the sound of a train! Yes, they do truly sound like trains!!! Prayers to you!!!

Thanks, Tara. I have heard and witnessed many tornadoes associated with hurricanes. I lived on the MS Gulf Coast for 25 years and in New Orleans for the four years before, in dental school. I heard literally dozens of tornadoes going over the house as the hurricanes came ashore. It sometimes sounded like I live beneath a train depot!

Take care Ken

Ken, do you need help finding all your plants? I had this happen when I lived in Alabama and Hurricane Opal blew my plants over a two block area. You are not far from Smithville, Ms and they never recovered from that tornado only a few years ago.
I have decided to build a shelter in the driveway in Corinth, in the carport area. Take a deep breath and we were praying for your safety.

So far, so good. We continue to get a train of thunderstorms, but nothing severe for several hours. I won't go outside until the sun is up tomorrow and see whether my plants made it ok. Some of them may have drowned, but since I pot mine up in well-draining soil, or in the case of orchids, in well-draining bark medium, they may be OK.

I get some of my wood mount material from the Smithville and Houston, MS areas. The devastation was terrible, even two years after the storm hit. Smithville has slowly recovered and in fact, dedicated their new town hall yesterday.;

Hope you wake up to much less damage than you expect. Stay Safe !

So with tornados, do you have to put up with them coming and going in spring and summer all the time? Not just one or two a summer?

Glen, here in the midsouth, tornados occur whenever warm ground air is pushed by a wall of colder air front. Then the clash can occur anytime of the year, some of the worst are in the spring.
Ken, let us know how things held up in the morning.

Ken?

Epidendrum noid. I have purple, red and orange. I do them up in baskets of colour and move them around the yard. Some of these grow along the roads. I have seen white in someone's garden here, which I covet.

I'm still here. I woke up to clear, blue skies and the temperature is cool and dry. I haven't ventured out back yet but as of now, it appears I have a swamp for a yard. If that's my only problem, I did well. Our prayers were answered. Thank you all for your concerns and prayers.

Whew! Sounds good!! Now hopefully the plants are fine!

I like those Epidendrums! We also saw them in Ecuador road-side, so showy!

I agree, Ken, our prayers were answered.

89 degrees with humidity of 57 percent here right now. They say it feels like 95 and I believe it. Time to break out the shorts and stow the big boy pants. The fans are running in the OC. May is the month to try to keep enough water on plants to keep them alive until the rainy season begins in June. Everything comes to a stop in the summer including the church choir and my gardening presentations. That leaves room for lots of nap time

Jim