Mississippi - Day 11 - storm system

Benchmark Coach & RV Park
Saturday, 11 January 2020

We stayed in the campground all day and I, for one, was glad to do it.

The weather forecast said the worst of the bad weather would be coming to town in the early afternoon, but that didn't mean the rest of the day was fine.  The rain wasn't constant, but there were few intermissions of merely light rain when I could take the dogs out.

We got lucky and had no tornadoes nearby, though I heard other parts of the state weren't as lucky.  That was my greatest fear because tornadoes are so incredibly unpredictable about where they touch down and how much damage they cause.  Plus, I still haven't figured out what I'd do with the critters - especially Lily - if I had to evacuate the RV.  Plus plus, I didn't know where this park had designated as a storm shelter, if in fact it had done any such designating.

And then there are the version that are called straight-line winds, which can be equally as damaging.  Luckily we didn't get those either.  We did, though, get some very strong winds that blew down a lot of tree branches and shook the RV from time to time.  Tree branches falling heavily on our roof was my next greatest fear, and I was really glad to find we were in a somewhat protected area here.

Much of the day, though, what we got was really heavy steady rain, leaving such deep puddles that, even when we did go out, we had trouble finding somewhere to walk that we didn't have to wade through.

And then there was the thunder and lightning.  The critters have all become extra sensitive to thunder, living as we do in a metal box where the sound can reverberate.  And poor Gracie couldn't find anywhere to dig a hole where she could feel protected.

The dogs slept together a lot, which seemed to comfort them.  Usually they do this on the beds under the table, but not always, as you can see.

But one of the other things I've come to fear is the lightning, living, as I said, in a metal box. 

I never used to be afraid of strong winds or lightning or thunder - bad weather's never held much fear for me.  But I've learned many new things on this trip, and fears of bad weather seem to be among them.

So this storm had something for everyone, the best part being that it had passed over by late afternoon.  This campground left a lot to be desired, but I felt relatively safe here, and that's worth a whole lot to me.