We arrived in Clive, Iowa (just outside of Des Moines) this evening at around 8:30 pm.  For the final two hours of today’s travel, we watched the storms building all around us.  The winds picked up and by the time we arrived in Clive, the National Weather Service was issuing severe thunderstorm alerts.  Winds have already reached 40-45 mph.    The internet for the hotel was knocked out, along with TV service, but thankfully we still have cell and my VHF Handheld Radio, so we can continue to get the Weather Service Alerts.   We pulled up a radar image of the area and found that we were right in the “red zone.”   Five tornadoes touched down in central Iowa on Wednesday.   Courtney is having a great time with mom and dad…”This is so cool…but I’m a bit scared too.”