My first tornado warning - any tips?

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Wires_Guy_wires

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Other than keeping windows closed and everything strapped to the ground, any advice?
I've never been in a tornado, my country never really had one. But they're expecting at least one to form tomorrow in my area.

Anything that I should think of?
 
Wires_Guy_wires said:
Other than keeping windows closed and everything strapped to the ground, any advice?
I've never been in a tornado, my country never really had one. But they're expecting at least one to form tomorrow in my area.

Anything that I should think of?
Click to expand...
First off, don't worry about it too much. Chances are you're going to be OK. I've been through a couple. A big one can be terrifying (but again chances are you're not going to get one of the big ones-F3 or F4).

Keep an eye on the forecast--particularly the radar, get an alert app if they're available. Watch the sky. Tornadic supercell storms can looks pretty menacing with black clouds that churn. Sometimes they're greenish tinted from the volume of rain in them.

Identify the most secure areas of your house--interior rooms on the lowest floor of the house are the best--even if it's a closest or bathroom, a basement interior room is excellent.

www.cdc.gov

Tornadoes

To stay safe during a tornado, prepare a plan and an emergency kit, stay aware of weather conditions during thunderstorms, know the best places to shelter both indoors and outdoors, and always protect yourself from injury, especially your head. [short URL].
www.cdc.gov www.cdc.gov
 
Also, just to be safe, place all your trees on the ground, preferably under some kind of sturdy shelter--deck garage, inside even for the day. Big hail can accompany supercell storms. Hail any larger in diameter than an inch (about 20 mm) can break twigs off your trees. Larger than that over 4 inches --100 mm (we just had hail that size in my area this week), can break trunks. Strong straight line, non-tornadic winds that come with big thunderstorms can pick up even medium sized bonsai and smash them. Smaller ones can be blown away entirely. The supercell storm we had that brought the hail had 70 mph straight line gusts in front of it. I got lucky as, my trees are behind a tall fence that broke the wind a bit.
 
Tornadoes have been my "biggest fear" (except Mstr.Sgt.Zornow ((my dad))) for some time.

I was In our basement (alone, 8 years-old) with Grandpa Leos radio, my skateboard, and my daschund Marvin while the cyclone passed. Ripping out and "chucking" trees.. destroying a good half of our farm structures.

I remember looking out the window BEFORE getting to the Cellar.... the air/sky turned GREEN.... and then.. visibility was ZERO...

The SOUND of a tornado is one of the loudest, haunting sounds I've experienced... and THAT.. was an F2/F3.. a "lil guy"..

Be careful, friend.
 
rockm said:
Also, just to be safe, place all your trees on the ground, preferably under some kind of sturdy shelter--deck garage, inside even for the day. Big hail can accompany supercell storms. Hail any larger in diameter than an inch (about 20 mm) can break twigs off your trees. Larger than that over 4 inches --100 mm (we just had hail that size in my area this week), can break trunks.
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Yes! IT will hail like MAD on either end of the front.. good call, RockM
 
Also FWIW, here in the states there is a big difference between a "tornado warning" and a "tornado watch." A tornado warning is when an active tornado has actually been detected (usually by Doppler radar) sighted on the ground, or about to touch down. A tornado watch, which sounds like what you've got, means weather conditions are conducive to tornado-spawning storms to form. It doesn't mean a tornado is actually coming.

Understand Tornado Alerts

www.weather.gov
 
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rockm said:
. A tornado watch, which sounds like what you've got, means weather conditions are conducive to tornado-spawning storms to form.
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Hehe!! Wisconsin's entire July-august is under 'Tornado Watch' (Not REALLY.. but enough to make this joke)

And I've only been involved in 1.. and WITNESSED two others (all small) from a distance.
 
HorseloverFat said:
Hehe!! Wisconsin's entire July-august is under 'Tornado Watch' (Not REALLY.. but enough to make this joke)

And I've only been involved in 1.. and WITNESSED two others (all small) from a distance.
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Spent a lot of time in Texas. Followed an F4 once on the drive out to see relatives in East Texas once. We were only a few minutes behind it. Killed three people...Path of destruction was a mile wide...Had one tear the roof off a next door neighbor's house in Orange, Texas when I was a small kid. Sky was an unearthly purple and green.
 
rockm said:
. Sky was an unearthly purple and green.
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You never forget that color... I've never encountered it ANYWHERE else.

The SOUND TOO..

I describe it as the biggest, meanest freight train you could imagine, filled with spooling turbochargers and sentient, swarming hammers and razorblades.

🤓
 
HorseloverFat said:
The SOUND TOO..
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That was the scariest part for me. A tornado went through here when I was little. Mom got us all in the basement, but the sound was terrifying. Our house was fine, but our barn got flattened.
 
Carol 83 said:
. Our house was fine, but our barn got flattened.
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It was similar for me, as well.

You could SEE the path of ripped up trees and flattened barns and sheds... headed STRAIGHT for the house... then... no destruction at the house... then the "path" started in the neighbor's field on the OTHER side and kept going.

Farmers in the county called it "a miracle" that it missed our house.
 
HorseloverFat said:
You never forget that color... I've never encountered it ANYWHERE else.

The SOUND TOO..

I describe it as the biggest, meanest freight train you could imagine, filled with spooling turbochargers and sentient, swarming hammers and razorblades.

🤓
Click to expand...
FWIW, I know people who will spit on storm chasers and storm tourists for being ghouls. They've lost people to storms and the excitement about them tends to go away after a funeral or two and rebuilding your house. I get the fascination though--they're a huge force like the ocean, that doesn't give a crap about you or your world.
 
I'm going to be 5 stories off the floor while the house is 20 miles away in the expected area that'll be hit.
I'll empty the benches and hope for the best.

We had a little sample at work today, green skies and pouring rain. There's a crane next to the building that swayed at least 5ft left and right.

Our government is a bit precautious and they love giving off warnings that are a tad too harsh, but this time it might actually be a real one.
 
HorseloverFat said:
Good Lord!

This is KIND OF my reaction to Tornadoes... NOW... as an "Injured Healer" Archetype.

I WANT to find/chase them... like facing your greatest physical fear.
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Also as a clarification, I wasn't '"chasing" the storm out of curiosity. I had flown into Dallas because my dad was lying in an ICU in an East Texas hospital. He was dying, had only a few hours left. I had to get there. Wouldn't have been out for any other reason.
 
Wires_Guy_wires said:
Other than keeping windows closed and everything strapped to the ground, any advice?
I've never been in a tornado, my country never really had one. But they're expecting at least one to form tomorrow in my area.

Anything that I should think of?
Click to expand...
Wow that’s pretty terrifying! We have some mad storms here this evening which was no real surprise after the temperature highs but thankfully never a tornado warning.

Hopefully if one forms it’s just a little one. Seeing pictures of the devastation after one’s that flatten parts of the US I can quite honestly say it’s a weather form I‘d NEVER want to meet up close and personal.

good luck with the house and the trees/plant family 🤞🤞🤞
 
rockm said:
Also as a clarification, I wasn't '"chasing" the storm out of curiosity. I had flown into Dallas because my dad was lying in an ICU in an East Texas hospital. He was dying, had only a few hours left. I had to get there. Wouldn't have been out for any other reason.
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I should probably clarify as well..

I mean as such..

The last occasion we were under a tornado WARNING... Once the Sirens went.. I got the boys and their mother to the basement.. then laid flat on the ground, outside, as the front passed.

I won't "chase" I guess... but I will "Situationally Confront" 😂

Wires_Guy_wires said:
I'm going to be 5 stories off the floor while the house is 20 miles away in the expected area that'll be hit.
I'll empty the benches and hope for the best.

We had a little sample at work today, green skies and pouring rain. There's a crane next to the building that swayed at least 5ft left and right.

Our government is a bit precautious and they love giving off warnings that are a tad too harsh, but this time it might actually be a real one.
Click to expand...

I wish you luck, friend.

I'll bet everything ends up JUUUST
fine.
 
HorseloverFat said:
I should probably clarify as well..

I mean as such..

The last occasion we were under a tornado WARNING... Once the Sirens went.. I got the boys and their mother to the basement.. then laid flat on the ground, outside, as the front passed.

I won't "chase" I guess... but I will "Situationally Confront" 😂



I wish you luck, friend.

I'll bet everything ends up JUUUST
fine.
Click to expand...
The last time everything ended up juuuust fine was when the Maas river went a mile and a half beyond its riverbanks, on both sides.
It did expose some Roman structures and it helped people excavate a 4000 year old corpse..
But hey, lost crops and millions of damage aside, at least we kept dry feet and found some booty!

The bench is empty and everything is on the ground. Now I'll have to hope that the cherry tree doesn't come down, because it'll lay waste to the backyard no matter which direction it goes.
On the plus side: I'll be at work. So the car will be safe.
 
Wires_Guy_wires said:
The last time everything ended up juuuust fine was when the Maas river went a mile and a half beyond its riverbanks, on both sides.
It did expose some Roman structures and it helped people excavate a 4000 year old corpse..
But hey, lost crops and millions of damage aside, at least we kept dry feet and found some booty!

The bench is empty and everything is on the ground. Now I'll have to hope that the cherry tree doesn't come down, because it'll lay waste to the backyard no matter which direction it goes.
On the plus side: I'll be at work. So the car will be safe.
Click to expand...
Floods are infinitely more predictable than a tornado. For a flood all you need is a lot of rain. For a tornado, well, it's complicated. The U.S. gets them so often because of our specific geography--high mountains to the west provide cold air, while warm humid air from the Gulf of Mexico comes up from the south. Cold air sinks, warm air rises, creating lift and conflicting air currents...The battle over air masses with extreme differences is fought over the huge, flat plains east of the Rockies.
 
It’s been thundering all night and yesterday evening here and still going this morning with some insane rain and a lot of noise! Loving it but all this rain probably means it will be flooding elsewhere. Some really beautiful lighthing.

Good luck with the tornado warning, hope it amounts to nothing, and that’s pretty cool about the Roman ruins but not so much about the millions in damage.
 
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