I’m having some Saturday Night Genealogy Fun (#SNGF), with help from Randy Seaver and his prompts! Feel free to join in.

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun: August 8, 2026

Prompt: “Did extreme weather or a natural disaster ever affect you or your ancestor(s)? In what way(s)? How did you find this out? Describe one or more of the extreme weather experiences in your own life or in your ancestors lives.”

Introduction

In New York City, it’s a rare hurricane that makes it into town, and usually downgraded to a tropical storm by then. So, when they hit, they are memorable, if not usually severe. Dad taught us about preparing for a storm when I was in elementary school.

A Family Prepares Together

During Dad’s custodial time, likely an every-other-weekend visit, a hurricane was scheduled to hit us. This would have been about the mid-1970s. Fortunately, Dad worked to make precautions fun, while teaching us how to handle emergency situations.

We set up “camp” in the basement – this is long before the camping fad I’ve spoken about in earlier blog posts, and long before Superstorm Sandy showed just how dangerous New York basements could become during flooding.

We had blankets, pillows, food and water in the basement far from windows, and waited out the storm. It was an adventure, yet Dad specified precautions, so that we’d be able to take them ourselves when needed.

The storm itself was not memorable to young me, only the preparations – which is as it should be.

A Lesson Brought Back

Many years later, I was a consultant traveling to various clients. I was once at a client in Texas near the Mexico border. Severe weather, with the possibility of a tornado, was expected during work hours. We were in warehouses, nothing particularly safe. So, during that specific time, I went into the ladies’ room. Some colleagues chuckled, but I brought forth the “better safe than sorry” lesson from my childhood and emerged unscathed not long after. Many fixtures in the town showed tornado damage, but fortunately no one was injured.

If parents wonder if their lessons stick – yes, they often do.

AI Disclosure

This post was created by me with the help of AI tools. While AI helps organize research, the storytelling and discoveries are my own.