Tornadoes

[Tom Earp]

Originally Posted by BigRedBeta

I find this thread funny...

As someone who grew up in Kansas, tornado drills were probably more common than fire drills at school. For sure the tornado sirens get tested every month from March to October. In my KC suburb hometown (probably most of KC) it was the first wednesday of the month at 10:30am. Same time in Lincoln while I was in college. Omaha for some idiotic reason does it the first saturday of the month at either 10 or 11am...I think it's retarded to do it on a weekend in the first place and then at a time when people are out doing stuff.

As far as "unique" places I've been in when a tornado has been around, I think the Lied Rainforest at the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha probably qualifies. They literally had to take 100's of us into back hallways and basements for our protection.

And hurricanes are way more scary than tornadoes...I'll take one or two hours in the basement (and then you're about your business) over days of preparing/waiting out the storm...

The best time the test sirens went off was on a perfect April day in Lincoln my junior year. It was about 65 degrees without a cloud in the sky, and my then girlfriend at the time (who was from florida and had just transferred from South Carolina) was walking with me when the sirens went off. Needless to say she had no idea what they were and freaked out when I told her they were the tornado sirens. She didn't know they tested them and figured that if they went off, we needed to get inside right away. I found her hysteria hilarious.

You are correct as They Tested the sirens on Tue. not the normal Wed. and never heard a one!

For those that have never been in one or seen one, it is horrific and devastating.

Yepper, Kansas used to be the Tornado Alley and still is, but it seems to be doing more damage in the SW States as has been seen.

[PM_Mama00]

Originally Posted by KSig RC

This has to be the largest city ever hit by a tornado, right?

For years, we thought that something about how cities affected the environment made them "tornado-proof" - that wind had trouble gathering in the city. I think Oklahoma City had a tornado in the suburbs, but there's never been one downtown in a major city, as far as i know. Watching the highlights from last night was pretty sick - that's insane, really.

Not only is it scary, but it's groundbreaking, in a bad way.

A tornado hit not too long ago in a neighborhood of Brooklyn, NY. It wasn't too far from my family, I believe in Bay Ridge? (my family is in Bensonhurst for those familiar)

I thought it was a known fact that tornados are attracted to low flat land?

Originally Posted by BigRedBeta

I find this thread funny...

As someone who grew up in Kansas, tornado drills were probably more common than fire drills at school. For sure the tornado sirens get tested every month from March to October. In my KC suburb hometown (probably most of KC) it was the first wednesday of the month at 10:30am. Same time in Lincoln while I was in college. Omaha for some idiotic reason does it the first saturday of the month at either 10 or 11am...I think it's retarded to do it on a weekend in the first place and then at a time when people are out doing stuff.

We don't get many tornados in my area, but our sirens are tested every first Saturday of the month.

[Army Wife'79]

Carnation I was thinking about you b/c today on the weather channel they mentioned your city. We had omnious sky today but it just rained hard and windy. Living in Kansas for 8 years I learned to respect the tornados and took the sirens seriously. I'm amazed that where I am now (in the South) ppl don't heed sirens and go stand on porchs. duh. I only wish they had basements down here. I miss mine.
Re: big cities, I think it was Austin that one hit a grocery store and the only part left standing was the meat freezer and the people inside.

[UGAalum94]

My dad and brother were at the game in the Dome last night and I was talking to them on the phone during the delay in play. My dad, and according to the AJC, the athletic director from UGA too, thought that the sound was all the Kentucky fans stomping their feet above them.

Apparently, the Dome was 75% filled with Kentucky fans even during the Mississippi State vs. Alabama game.

My impression about the storm was that no one really knew that Atlanta was even under a watch or warning until after the storm hit. There were no local emergency broadcast scrolls like we usually see, and it was pretty funny to see the Raycom broadcasters cover the storm.

[carnation]

The storms kept coming back. We were at the mall after the storms and Ballerina called from metro Atlanta, saying that she and her fellow employees were headed for the basement. Then we got back here and found that the tornadoes that had gone through south of here had smashed houses left and right on this road where our friends live. We can not get in touch with them.

ETA: CRAP. I just found out that tornadoes touched down in a third county, the one where I teach. A school is damaged and it's either ours or the elementary across the street. I am not believing the last 24 hours.

[ZTAngel]

Originally Posted by BigRedBeta

I find this thread funny...

I'm confused. I guess I'm not seeing why this thread is so funny. We're discussing some pretty substantial tornadoes that have ripped through the Atlanta area in the last 24 hours and destroyed numerous homes and buildings and killed 2 people while injuring many others. I guess I'm not seeing the same humor as you.

I get that tornadoes are pretty commonplace in the Midwest where you're from so you're probably use to this unlike us but I still don't think a tornado going through a well-populated area is anything to snicker about.

[UGAalum94]

Originally Posted by carnation

The storms kept coming back. We were at the mall after the storms and Ballerina called from metro Atlanta, saying that she and her fellow employees were headed for the basement. Then we got back here and found that the tornadoes that had gone through south of here had smashed houses left and right on this road where our friends live. We can not get in touch with them.

ETA: CRAP. I just found out that tornadoes touched down in a third county, the one where I teach. A school is damaged and it's either ours or the elementary across the street. I am not believing the last 24 hours.

That sounds pretty bad. I hope that no one was injured.

At least we can be pretty sure the schools would be closer to empty than on a school day.

[LucyKKG]

Yeah...has there ever been a tornado in California? I'd be so scared! At least I appreciate how spoiled I am with this good weather.

Hang in there, everybody!

[BabyPiNK_FL]

As a Floridian, I'll take a hurricane any day. You know what you're up against and thankfully it's usually much ado about nothing for most areas. The biggest inconvenience is usually no hot water or A/C. Tornadoes terrify me. That looks like some seriously horrific mess. We occasionally get them here since we get some big storms and you sit and watch the tv in horror the entire time. I am used to hurricanes. You sleep through them most times.

[alum]

We have lived through various meteorological phenomenons throughout our military moves, but I do find tornadoes more horrific as compared to blizzards or hurricanes. Blizzards and hurricanes are forecasted and one can prepare ahead of time as witnessed by the lines in the supermarkets and home centers. Even though tornadoes are concentrated in the Alley, we have been very close to touchdowns in West Point, NY in 98, greater DC several times, KY (several times) and of course KS.

I don't think BRM means funny as in humorous but more as a fact of overreacting. I know that I have witnessed the same media and public panic when dealing with winter storm warnings anywhere below the Mason-Dixon line. I must confess Hurricane Isabelle threw me for a loop. GEN Alum was at NATO so the kids and I had to prep the house and property on our own. As a good military family, we managed.

[carnation]

So the friends in this county are okay but their road is devastated, with several houses destroyed and one man dead. One family who bred show dogs has lost their kennel and several of the dogs are missing. A bunch of members of a church on that road were leaving tomorrow to help in the Katrina area but will now stay home to help their own recover.

I still don't know if my school is damaged and will find out tomorrow.

ETA: so it was the elementary school that was damaged, not us; they had 2 buildings damaged.

[AGDLynn]

Around 1993 or so, (can't remember), the power went out on a Thursday night. Woke up Friday, no power, no big deal. Showered in the dark, got dressed and drove to work.

(I did notice that one of the roads I normally take had a lot of tree debris on it but I didn't think any thing of it.

Turned on the radio, all I heard was the Atl. radio station say that Walton Co. schools were closed, turned off radio shortly after that.

Decided about noon to take off work b/c my neck was very sore.

Got to the place where I saw the debris this morning.....well the "chicken poultry plant" (yea, I know it's redundant but that's what we called it, lol.) was totally gone!

That's when I found out a tornado (actually the weather service said it was a "downburst" had hit Monroe. I had to take the long way around to get home. What normally would have taken me about 5 minutes took me an hour.

My mom didn't know until Friday morning when she called my sis in law (who lived on the same street) to see why she had power (actually it was sunlight, lol). My sil said "Didn't you know that a tornado hit Monroe last night?!!"

There were lots and lots of trees down but thankfully, no one was hurt. It was amazing all those trees and very few houses!

Cute story...Media types that do a lot of research..were reporting that the top of the courthouse had blown off and landed on the top of the next building...Wrong!! As you can see in the pic, the courthose never had a spiral top!


(This picture was taken after the "tornado". There used to be two rows of large trees along the path to the steps.
http://www.cviog.uga.edu/Projects/ga...s/waltonCH.htm

[texas*princess]

Originally Posted by LucyKKG

Yeah...has there ever been a tornado in California? I'd be so scared! At least I appreciate how spoiled I am with this good weather.

Hang in there, everybody!

Hurricanes, I can handle - like I said you at least get a couple day's notice so you can board up and buy supplies, or pack up and head for higher ground...

Tornadoes? Umm while they can be sporadic, the weather guys usually will say if we should be on the lookout.. and we have sirens to tell people to take cover immediately as soon as a funnel cloud is spotted.

California does have beautiful weather - I travel to San Fran & San Diego pretty frequently - but - they have random earthquakes, and there is usually no warning (not even a 5-minute-before siren!) for those. Eeeeep!

[LucyKKG]

Originally Posted by texas*princess

California does have beautiful weather - I travel to San Fran & San Diego pretty frequently - but - they have random earthquakes, and there is usually no warning (not even a 5-minute-before siren!) for those. Eeeeep!

Yeah, earthquakes always get brought up when people talk about CA weather, but they happen so rarely. There was a decently sized one (i.e. one you could actually feel) a few months ago. There hasn't been a huge one that caused any damage for quite some time, though. There was that big one in 1989, but besides that...I'm not sure.

On the other hand, I see what you're saying about the lack of warning. I guess seismologists can kind of see them coming, but not really.

[Benzgirl]

Depending on where you live in Ca., you also might have wild fires, landslides and Santa Anas.

I'll live in Tornado alley anyday. Even though you don't get the warning of a hurricane to leave town three days in advance, if you are smart, you have escape plans and safeplaces in your basement.

BTW... glad you are ok, Carnation.