I dream of... tornadoes?

I'm a pretty heavy sleeper and rarely remember my dreams, but I do have one reoccurring dream element that's been popping up for several years - tornadoes.  The story line always involves me stuck somewhere, usually in a car or a house, surrounded by tornadoes.  Sometimes there's only one, but I often see multiple funnel clouds dangling from the sky.  I never die in these dreams, and rarely do I remember actually getting swept up in them, but usually I'm very, very close. In these dreams I'm terrified, hiding or dodging them, but I'm never physically running away.  

I realize this is a pretty obvious dream symbol: emotional turmoil. Dreams of air represent thought and the thought process, whereas water is more emotional.  I've had a water storm dream only once, but I think the tornado is specific to me and my life based on my historical fear of tornadoes...

  

This all started on a camping trip with my friend and her parents.  This was probably almost 18 years ago, but I remember driving down the road to the campground and getting a very bad feeling in my gut as I noticed dark, charcoal blue clouds way out in the distance.  I was assured it was nothing, but sure enough, five hours later, we're trapped in the camper.   It's rocking back and forth and hail is pounding on the window.  We lose power after we hear the tornado warnings come through the TV.  I am young and with strangers.  My friend's dad is outside, cooking corn on a wet fire, a bowl over his head for protection.  He gave us strict instructions that if he came inside and said GO, we were supposed to run out for the ditch.  Needless to say, I did survive this catastrophe and there was never actually any tornado, but I think I was scarred for life. 

I love the thrill and beauty of big storms, thunder, lightning... just as long as these natural forces come without the threat of a tornado.  As a child, the first thing I'd do after school ever day was come home and turn on the Weather Channel (just in case...) but I'm a little better as an adult.  If I am driving on a highway, out on the water or outside somewhere and dark heavy clouds roll in, I usually have some sort of mild panic attack - at least until I plan my safety strategy (e.g., ditch, running for a stranger's house to use their basement) or call someone to check the weather and assure me conditions are not primed for a tornado within 50 miles.  

So yes, it's probably no surprise I dream of tornados.  Although I do still find it fascinating, and usually try and look for meaning in these dreams.  There's nothing serious going on now that anyone reading this would need to be concerned about, I just thought I'd share a little piece of what goes on in my head when I'm fast asleep ;)