Tornado Prep

AGDLynn · #1 03-20-2003, 07:05 PM

Okay, so last night, there were tornado warnings/watches around my area. When the heavy rain started, I didn't stick around to see if it was actually hail. I gathered up my heavy comforter, pillow, cell phone, pocketbook (okay, it's a girl thing but I'll need the i.d., cash and credit cards afterwards)) and flashlight.

I got in the guest bathtub in the middle of the house (since I heard that was what you were supposed to do??), and promptly fell asleep, lol since I was exhausted from work and had a migraine anyway. Woke up an hour later. The bad weather had subsided only to come back 2 hours later.

Hubby was in Houston (their flight out of Atlanta had been delayed 2.5 hours earlier in the day because of weather).

One thing I realized, when I build a house, I will make sure that there is at least 1 bathtub I can fully stretch out in! This one was way too short!

Also, perhaps I should clean out some of the closet floors in case I need to hide there quickly! At least they are carpeted.

DeltAlum · #2 03-20-2003, 07:44 PM

When you release the water in your tub, it should swirl down the drain in the same direction as the tornado winds blow.

In the Southern Hemisphere, they should also go the same direction, but it will be opposite from here.

It's better to go to the basement if you have one, though.

sarahgrace · #3 03-20-2003, 08:00 PM

This reminds me of when there was a tornado warning in Nebraska when I was in second grade...my mom had me and my sister down in the basement underneath a table...but my dad, the meteorologist was outside, checking out the clouds

Luckily, it was just a warning, nothing came of it.

Sarah

Honeykiss1974 · #4 03-20-2003, 11:59 PM

Fot those of you who do dnot have basments, move to the lowest level of your home and get into the smallest, central room (which is usually the closet). The object is to get as low as you can and to get as many walls in between you and the tornado.
I would probably keep some type of emergency kit (flashlights, water, etc.) in that closet just in case.

That urban legend of opening all the windows is a lie and does not work.

Also, I read that for those folks who live in areas where a basement cannot be built, you can have "safe rooms" built unto your home (These rooms usually also serve as a laundry or storage room). They are able to withstand an F4 tornado, I believe.

smiley21 · #5 03-21-2003, 12:06 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Honeykiss1974

That urban legend of opening all the windows is a lie and does not work.

.

yeah i always wondered what was up with that myth. does the tornado not like to get the ventilated houses?

Kevin · #6 03-21-2003, 01:18 AM

Nothing prevents the tornado. If it's coming your way, take cover. You want to go to a centrally located house or below ground if possible. Also, malls and public buildings like that are pretty safe places to go.

There are 2 levels of tornado warnings to be aware of:

Tornado watch -- conditions exist that could produce a tornado

Tornado warning -- tornados sighted in an area, take cover.

Purchase a weather radio. In my area there are tornado sirens, sound like air raid sirens. When they go off you go to your basement. It's always good to have a small battery powered TV or radio so you can be aware of the warning status.

Optimist Prime · #7 03-21-2003, 01:45 AM

The best place to hide from tornados is the middle of a cornfield. Not really.

AlphaSigOU · #8 03-21-2003, 02:17 AM

It also helps to know how the Fujita scale of tornado intensity works. More info at http://www.tornadoproject.com/fscale/fscale.htm .

Quote:

F0 Gale tornado (40-72 mph): Some damage to chimneys; breaks branches off trees; pushes over shallow-rooted trees; damages sign boards.

F1 Moderate tornado (73-112 mph): The lower limit is the beginning of hurricane wind speed; peels surface off roofs; mobile homes pushed off foundations or overturned; moving autos pushed off the roads; attached garages may be destroyed.

F2 Significant tornado (113-157 mph): Considerable damage. Roofs torn off frame houses; mobile homes demolished; boxcars pushed over; large trees snapped or uprooted; light object missiles generated.

F3 Severe tornado (158-206 mph): Roof and some walls torn off well constructed houses; trains overturned; most trees in fores uprooted.

F4 Devastating tornado (207-260 mph): Well-constructed houses leveled; structures with weak foundations blown off some distance; cars thrown and large missiles generated.

F5 Incredible tornado (261-318 mph): Strong frame houses lifted off foundations and carried considerable distances to disintegrate; automobile sized missiles fly through the air in excess of 100 meters; trees debarked; steel re-inforced concrete structures badly damaged.

F6 Inconceivable tornado (319-379 mph): These winds are very unlikely. The small area of damage they might produce would probably not be recognizable along with the mess produced by F4 and F5 wind that would surround the F6 winds. Missiles, such as cars and refrigerators would do serious secondary damage that could not be directly identified as F6 damage. If this level is ever achieved, evidence for it might only be found in some manner of ground swirl pattern, for it may never be identifiable through engineering studies.

The tornado that ripped through the Oklahoma City area in May 1999 was rated an F5. No tornado has ever been rated an F6. Unlike the Saffir-Simpson hurricane strength category scale, tornadoes are not assigned an F number until a damage assesment and survey can be made.

AngelPhiSig · #9 03-21-2003, 06:49 AM

I remember my junior year when we had the microbursts... I was up at the bar with my parents and the skies were not greenish, but a really weird color. We kept an eye on the weather and knew that the bar had a really good basement. Then... yea... they brought me home... alone... riiight...

That day a tree went through my grandmas house. The room I now sleep in. It popped the AC out of the window and also did really bad damages to the porch and the upstairs bath...

I think we had tornado touchdowns this summer.... but Pittsburgh is really kinda safe from a lot of natural disasters because of the hills and valleys surrounding us.

SapphireSphinx9 · #10 03-21-2003, 07:02 AM

Man, oh man! I'm thanking my lucky stars that I'm living in Cali! I would not be able to deal with some kinda tornado or hurricane!!! A lot of people are afraid of California, because of the earthquakes... Oh no, I'd rather have an earthquake than a tornado, anyday! Oh, I saw Wizard of Oz and Twister too many times!!!

My grandpa use to live in Oklahoma, and told me about a time that he was driving down the highway, and saw a twister coming after him in his mirror.

He told me that he got out of the truck and ran down to the ditch. (Does that sound right? He sad that there's ditches on the side of the road, that you can get in, and the tornado will go right over the ditch.

) I donno, that story scared me enough, that I don't want to have to live through that! I'd have a heart attack!

~Beth

AGDLynn · #11 03-21-2003, 10:40 AM

I used to live in Peachtree City, where the National Weather Service is...PTC didn't have sirens until a year or so ago!!!

Talk about do as I say, not as I do!

After some severe weather, PTC finally installed the sirens.

Honeykiss1974 · #12 03-21-2003, 11:08 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Hootie

I've personally never heard of a "safe room". No matter how heavy a room's walls are, an F4 Tornado will slice it up. An F4 is so powerful it'll unhinge houses and throw them miles away.

Safe rooms are made of concrete walls about a foot thick, which are reinforced with steel beems.

They are not made like the average room on a brick home, which can be torn to shreds.

Here is a link for more info: http://www.weather.com/newscenter/sp...saferooms.html

Safe rooms are also endorsed by FEMA.

http://www.fema.gov/mit/saferoom/sr_endorse.shtm

smiley21 · #13 03-21-2003, 11:22 AM

i used to be the biggest nerd when it came to weather. that was the topic of all my conversations...weather weather weather. i used to watch the weather channel for hours just to hear about weather. i knew all the meterologists on the channels. i felt a special connection with them

when i was 9, i had the local meterologist's autograph. i thought i was so great. then when i got older, i saw all the math and science involoved with studying weather, and i thought 'yeah right'!!!!!!!!!

sarahgrace · #14 03-21-2003, 03:08 PM

Yeah, the weather channel is on pretty much constantly in my parent's house...although recently it's been CNN (war news...it's sort of driving me crazy). Hootie, I lived in Bellevue, NE near Omaha...it was...let's see...from 1990-1993, when I was in first and second grade. My dad was in the Air Force, so we moved a lot, and got a big range of natural disasters...I remember getting a day off of school for Hurricane Andrew in Florida.

Sarah

smiley21 · #15 03-21-2003, 08:28 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by sarahgrace
I remember getting a day off of school for Hurricane Andrew in Florida.

Sarah

i am such an idiot. i am thinking 'she got a day off in washington for something that happened in florida?!' i skipped the part about the air force. sometimes i worry about myself