Tornadoes trigger interest in weather, annual symposium

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By CARA PESEK / Lincoln Journal Star

By now it probably seems as if they've told the stories a thousand times.

How they didn't worry much when they heard they were in a tornado watch, but went to the basement anyway. How their ears popped as the storm passed overhead. How they crawled out to find their homes destroyed, their cars gone, their neighbors as scared and confused as they were.

Maybe they've told the stories more than a thousand times.

But that didn't stop tornado survivors Howard Isaacs, Will Togstad and Terry Togstad from telling them again on Saturday.

The three took part in a panel discussion at the annual Central Plains Severe Weather Symposium, the theme of which was last year's tornado outbreak that nearly wiped Hallam off the map and destroyed dozens of other homes and buildings in Lancaster, Saline and Gage counties.

It was memories of that night that drew so many people to hear Isaacs and the Togstad brothers share their stories about surviving the storm, as well as presentations by meteorologists, storm chasers and other weather experts, said Ken Dewey, a regional climatologist with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and an organizer of the event.

More people attended the symposium this year than ever before, he said.

"When something like this happens in our backyard, it wakes everybody up," he said. "Everybody feels more vulnerable, and that's why they're interested."

Among those who attended this year's symposium were tornado survivors Laura and Tim Edmonds of Hallam. They've already moved back into their home, but their lives aren't back to normal.

They still find frequent reminders of May 22 in their yard — bent silverware, stray marbles, pieces of glass.

And while they've finished repairs to their home, they're still helping to repair their town. On Monday, Tim Edmonds, who is chairman of the town planning committee, will recommend to the village board that the Hallam Auditorium, which was badly damaged in the tornado, be torn down and rebuilt.

It could be a big meeting. The auditorium has long been a town landmark, Laura Edmonds said. 

"It had significance to the majority of people who lived there," she said.

Despite the destruction, Dewey found the storm clouds indeed had a silver lining.

In the days and weeks after the tornadoes, he interviewed victims about what it felt like to survive the storm. He also ran across hundreds of volunteers who helped clean up.

Some of those volunteers attended Saturday's symposium, too.

Among them was Melanie Trockman, half of a duo of storm chasers who call themselves the Twister Sisters.

Trockman and storm-chasing partner, Peggy Willenberg, drove down from Minnesota on May 22 after hearing about the storms brewing in Nebraska. They spent the afternoon storm-chasing and eventually ended up at a tornado-ravaged farmstead near Wilber, where they found Will Togstad, cold, thirsty and begging for a cigarette.

They ended up taking Togstad, who had been hit in the head during the storm, to the hospital, as well as helping with clean-up the next day.

Trockman said May 22 was memorable in part because of the weather conditions, which she described as "explosive."

It was also memorable because of the people she met.

Dewey agreed.

"(The tornadoes) brought out the spirit of Nebraska," he said. 

Reach Cara Pesek at 473-7361 or cpesek@journalstar.com.

To rebuild, or not

The Hallam Village Board will meet at 7 p.m. Monday in the Hallam Legion Hall. Among  items on the agenda is a motion by the community planning commission to tear down and replace the Hallam Auditorium.
The meeting is open to the public.