Blog note. Jesus indicated that ‘fearful sights’ (various natural disasters) would occur leading up to the time known as the Tribulation and Great Tribulation (a combined seven year period of great destruction on earth). Although these types of things have occurred in the past for centuries and thousands of years, they could be identified as the ‘season of the times’ due to the ferociousness of these events. They would be occurring in greater intensity, severity, frequency, size, duration, scope … just like the pains that a woman experiences in labor the farther along she is in the labor process. We are in the ‘season of the times’ that comes just before the seven (7) year Tribulation/Great Tribulation period
… And great earthquakes shall be in diverse places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven. (Luke 21:11).
… And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; (Luke 21:25)
… Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken; (Luke 21:26)
… This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. (2 Timothy 3:1)
Jesus is giving a series of prophecies about what to look for as the age of grace comes to a close. These verses are several of many such prophecies from throughout the Bible. 2017 was the worst year in recorded history for the intensity, frequency, severity, duration and occurrence of a large number of severe natural disasters worldwide. Earthquakes, volcanoes, hurricanes, typhoons, cyclones, torrential flooding, unprecedented wildfires in unusual places, devastating droughts, excessive/scorching heat setting records everywhere, record snowfalls in Europe and Russia. Snow in the Arabia. This list can go on. Most studied Eschatologists believe these ‘fearful sights’ and massive natural disasters are all part of the ‘CONVERGENCE’ of signs that this Biblical and prophetic age is closing. Most people who study prophecy are familiar with the routine reference(s) made that these things will be like a woman having labor.

Rescues underway after tornadoes smash across Ohio, Indiana; 1 dead

USA TODAY•May 28, 2019

CELINA, Ohio – A string of tornadoes unleashing their fury across Ohio and Indiana ripped apart communities and left a wide swath of debris as a two-week wave of severe weather continued its unrelenting assault on the nation’s midsection.

Celina firefighter Brian Davis confirmed Tuesday that an 81-year-old man died and seven people were injured when an EF-3 tornado roared through just before midnight Monday. As many as 90 homes were damaged, authorities said.

Celina resident Kylie Post, who said her home was spared, has no basement, so she and her son huddled under a mattress in a bathtub.

“We heard the tornado sirens and then it got really quiet,” Post said. “Next, it sounded almost like a train was near us that lasted for only a few minutes.”

More severe storms were forecast for Wednesday, as severe weather threatened more than 100 million Americans from Texas to New Jersey, the weather service said.  

“Large hail and damaging wind will be the main threats, but a few tornadoes will be possible,” the Storm Prediction Center warned.

Late Monday, an area around Dayton, in Ohio’s Montgomery County, saw some of the worst damage.

“A large, dangerous tornado touched down last night in northwest Montgomery County,” the county said in a statement. “We are focused on supporting life-saving measures, such as shutting down gas lines or locating people who are trapped by debris.”

Dayton Fire Chief Jeffrey Payne said no fatalities and just a few minor injuries had been reported locally. Considering the amount of property damage, that was “pretty miraculous,” he said.

Urban Search and Rescue teams from Columbus and Cincinnati were helping local first responders picking through rubble in search of survivors, Payne said.

Five miles north of Dayton, Harrison Township Fire Chief Mark Lynch and his crews worked to rescue people trapped in houses and cars after the storms.

“Devastation, World War III. It’s tough,” Lynch said in describing the damage. “It’s going to be several years of rebuilding, I’m sure.”

More than 50 tornadoes may have touched down in eight states over the Memorial Day weekend, the National Weather Service said. The Midwest has been hammered by scores of tornadoes and heavy storms since mid-May, leaving at least 10 dead and a trail of damage from high winds and flooding.

And in the past 30 days, about 500 eyewitness tornado reports have been recorded, the Storm Prediction Center said, among the most active periods since records began in 1950.

Late Monday and early Tuesday, the weather service had issued a string of tornado watches and warnings from Indiana into Ohio, many along the Interstate 70 corridor that cuts through the heart of the two states. The outbreak was so severe the National Weather Service said a tornado near Vandalia cut across the path of the earlier twister.

More than 60,000 homes and businesses remained without power Monday in Ohio alone, the website PowerOutage.US reported. A boil-water advisory was issued and residents of Dayton and Montgomery County were asked to conserve water after authorities said power was out at water plants and pump stations.

Some lanes of Interstate 75 north of Dayton were blocked by debris, and trucks with plows were scraping tree branches and rubble to the side of the highway.

In Indiana, scores of homes were damaged or destroyed by storms, including reports of two tornadoes. The weather service confirmed that a tornado ripped through Pendleton, 35 miles northeast of Indianapolis, damaging more than 70 homes. 

Todd Harmeson, a spokesman for the Madison County Emergency Management Agency,  said emergency officials were going door to door to check on residents. Trees and powerlines were down “on every street” in the city, he warned. And power is out across the area.

“Stay inside. Shelter in place if you can,” Harmeson said.

Multiple tornadoes ripped through eastern Iowa on Monday, damaging several homes, barns and trees. 

Local authorities reported a half-dozen tornadoes in the eastern part of the state as a severe weather system moved eastward Monday afternoon. No injuries have been reported. The National Weather Service is working on surveying the sites. 

“It was about the quickest thing I’ve ever seen.” said Shawn Zweibohmer, who was working on a house he owns outside Charles City on Monday afternoon when the tornado came through. “There was no alert, there was nothing.”

The Oklahoma City suburb of El Reno was still digging out from an EF3 tornado late Saturday that killed at least two people, destroyed a motel and devastated a mobile home park. And some communities in Oklahoma and Arkansas were bracing for their worst-ever flooding as the Arkansas River reached record crests in some areas.

Bacon and Rice reported from McLean, Va. Contributing: Ian Richardson, Des Moines Register; Jennie Key and Cheryl Vari, The Cincinnati Enquirer; Kellie Hwang, The Indianapolis Star; The Associated Press