Your Rolex and....a tornado?

[lavaman]

So I just got bolted out of bed with Emergency Alerts going off on phone and air raid sirens (with voice alert), meaning a tornado has been sighted in area. It's 4:00, I was up all eve with sick kiddo.

So what's first thing I do?

Check kiddo? No.
Lock doors? No.
Get under bed? No.

Toss pjs, throw on Levi's, and grab my GMT and a pair of my old air assault boots.

Then I had a snack, looked at radar, and checked on kiddo, who is.sleeping through all of this.

I may be am idiot.

[joe100]

I remember I'd just graduated college with a minor in aviation meteorology and I was home visiting my parents in the Midwest. It was a beautiful day, with some storms rolling in when the tornado sirens started. We were outside and I hadn't been paying much attention to the sky west of us. I looked up and after a single glance I said "run!!!!". Luckily the funnel didn't touch down, but it was darn close. Spooky how those things can creep up on you.

[greggsiam]

I guess it depends on where you live. Places like Indiana and Illinois, the tornadoes aren't usually that big. Go to Texas or Kansas and the odds of getting a huge tornado goes up quite a bit.

When I lived in the states, I remember street by street touch down reporting, so it was possible to just do nothing even with one a mile away, but moving in another direction.

I kind of liked tornadoes from time to time. Broke up the monotony and made everyone stop what they were doing the same way a blizzard clears the streets. A little chaos is good every once in a while as long as no one is hurt or properties destroyed.

[Racerdj]

Back in the 60's, one hit the next street from our house. It produced a sound unlike anything I have ever heard.

[zama]

I was hoping to see a front drive Olds.......

[THC]

In all my years living with hurricanes, which one can see coming, I have often wondered how people in Kansas, Oklahoma, and Missouri, etc., dealt with tornadoes. I cannot imagine having but 45 seconds to act..

[greggsiam]

Originally Posted by THC

In all my years living with hurricanes, which one can see coming, I have often wondered how people in Kansas, Oklahoma, and Missouri, etc., dealt with tornadoes. I cannot imagine having but 45 seconds to act..

Unless one forms right about your house, you can see them coming for miles. The news does a great job reporting where they are and touchdowns.

[joe100]

Biggest one I ever saw was just outside of Amarillo. Amazing to see in person, but scary as hell

[lavaman]

Live in Dallas. Been waaay too close to them in Wichita Falls, Jerrel, and Temple / Salado.

And that is absolutely not true that you can see them coming for miles. While you do normally get warnings 10 to 30 minutes in advance of a storm that MAY produce a funnel cloud, you may get very little warning that you are actually in a tornado's path if you are in an urban area, especially at night.

During the day, well the sky turns a very distinct green color and then it gets very, very quiet. No birds. It reminds me of what surfers call "the creeps".