Big storm rolled into the nasty ‘nati on Wednesday afternoon. Knocked out power in thousands of homes, including ours.

The sudden, unexpected power outage caused a whole host of first world problems. “Oh no, I can’t make a triple berry smoothie and then drink it while watching Real Housewives and mindlessly scrolling through Facebook (if you’re over 50)/Twitter (if you own an electric car company)/Instagram (if you’re a graphic designer)/TikTok (everyone else).”

On a hot day that was muggier than New York City in the 70s, the biggest challenge was the lack of air conditioning. It brought back memories of growing up in rural Arkansas in a house without central air. It’s tough to sleep when you feel that heat pressing down on you. No amount of tossing and turning can shake it off, no shedding of clothing can bring relief.

In my fever non-dreams, I remembered that a tornado touched down about 20 miles away from our house, in Goshen, Ohio, leaving hundreds without electricity. Or running water. Or the only home they’ve ever known.

The earth is nearly 25,000 miles around. 20 miles is a rounding error. It’s also the difference between throwing out some fridge food and starting from scratch.

The power came back on at our house yesterday morning. What was a minor inconvenience to me is a game-changer in Goshen, Ohio.

We’re not in Kansas anymore. We don’t have to be. Severe storms are becoming more widespread, and more commonplace. How long until one takes place at my place?