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Post by Dixie Lou on Apr 27, 2016 2:10:43 GMT
When the girls were small we kept water bottles and snacks, flashlights and blankets in our middle bathroom. There were no outside walls/windows and is the safest place for tornadoes in our home. We've spent many evenings in that bathroom. The last time there was a tornado we weren't at home and had to take cover at Kohl's (women's lingerie, ha!) The tornado went over our house but no damage until it got about ten miles away. My dad's neighborhood was (parts of it) were demolished. A few years ago my DD3, DH (now STBXH), and I plus two cats and maybe five dogs and two guinea pigs were in our bathroom.
At school we've taken cover for tornadoes and that is horrible being responsible for 20 six year olds. They're crying and bored. We prepare there by bringing out lots of books. If the tornado is near, the kids take cover. The last time we did that a tornado was across the street from my home but we were fortunate.
My DD2 and her boyfriend and two more friends spent the evening in my closet.
Tornados are nothing to mess around with. Have a plan and get to your safe place. I am in North Texas and are more worried about hail tonight than tornados.
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Post by Eddie-n-Harley on Apr 27, 2016 2:14:48 GMT
A couple of people said secure stuff outside if you can. By the time you get to a tornado WARNING, that should not be your priority. You should be on your way to shelter... This is a really long report from the national weather service about the EF5 Joplin tornado from 2011. It was one of the deadliest tornadoes and they were trying to figure out why, because they had a lot of warning time for it. A summary of what they found was: --A majority of residents did not immediately seek shelter when tornado warnings were issued. --People needed between two and nine risk signals to take action and seek shelter. For example, if they heard the sirens going off they would look in the sky, then go to a TV to get information and then call a friend, etc. --The time it took between the warning and the search for confirmation of risk cost lives. But I will admit to being a little blase about warnings myself, because I think the best thing they ever did was to go to warning zones that are SMALLER than the county. So when a watch is up, or there are warnings to the west of me that are potentially going to come my way, I am staying alert to changing conditions, mostly on the NWS website (weather.gov). If a WARNING goes up for any part of my county, I turn on the local news station in the bedroom while I am double checking on the computer. (I actually can't hear the sirens in my home.) What I'm looking for is where they say the tornado was spotted or doppler radar indicated, and what the path is. Mine is one of the larger counties, and so it's often very far south or east. But if it's nearby, I'm booking it to the basement garage. Where I have camp chairs and my wi-fi still reaches. I also have a portable weather radio. The Joplin report suggests that might not be wise of me. Also, I've never actually been in a warning during the DAY while I'm at work. I work in a 10-story building, 15 if you count the parking levels. I'm not sure which is the safe level to go to.... although I suppose whether 10 stories collapse on me or 15, it's all the same, eh?
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Jili
Pearl Clutcher
SLPea
Posts: 4,366
Jun 26, 2014 1:26:48 GMT
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Post by Jili on Apr 27, 2016 2:34:18 GMT
This is a great thread. I am one of the most weather-paranoid people I know and thought I knew how to prepare in the event of a tornado, but reading through these posts has made me realize that there are some things I've not considered previously.
Coincidentally (or perhaps not), the episode of the Stuff You Should Know podcast that was released today is all about tornados. I've listened to about half of it so far and it's been interesting.
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Post by coaliesquirrel on Apr 27, 2016 12:27:56 GMT
The WORST are when there's tornadic weather after dark (pretty rare) because then you can't use the sky as an indicator! We have them here after dark, more often than not. Really? How awful! I can only remember 2 or 3 times we've been watching for those. My (not at all detailed) understanding was that often tornadoes can form due to a mix of warm/cold air masses and that after dark, usually everything's a more even temperature. I'm glad we don't have too many nighttime tornado warnings!
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Post by mcscrapper on Apr 27, 2016 12:56:53 GMT
I haven't had a chance to read all of the threads but want to chime in really quickly. I've lived in Alabama my whole life. I've seen a LOT of tornadoes and close-to-tornado weather.
In 2011, we had a very close call that rendered most of north Alabama w/out power for a week or more in some areas. That meant no charging cell phones or other electronics, no gas, etc. It was pretty bad.
My advice to add would be to make sure you have a powering station for electronics that is fully charged. Gas up all of your vehicles and grab a gas can and fill 'er up, too. If you have a gas grill, get fuel. If you have a charcoal grill, make sure you have a bag or two so you can at least cook. A box of games or other things to keep younger ones entertained in the event you lose power. I also fill some empty milk jugs full of water and freeze it so you can either put that in a cooler or keep that in the fridge and freezer to at least maintain some cooler temps.
If you have a basement, go ahead and get it "storm ready." Weather and regular radio, blankets, candles, TP, non-perishables, bottles of water, etc. Another consideration - keep your medications in one area in a baggie or something that you can grab quickly if needed.
The biggest thing that helped me was having cash during that week. Most places only accepted cash because the CC machines didn't work. My dd and I ended up evacuating ourselves to my brother's home about 2 hours away but we had an almost empty tank of gas. Luckily, I had a gas can for the lawnmower I could use. Otherwise, we could have been stuck.
Cash and gas are my must-haves when I start tornado prepping. The actual tornado moves through pretty quickly but it is the aftermath that can be difficult if you lose power.
Hope we all get through tornado season unscathed!
meredith
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Country Ham
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,314
Jun 25, 2014 19:32:08 GMT
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Post by Country Ham on Apr 27, 2016 12:59:39 GMT
I've been thinking about this thread -- maybe due to my unease last night. But -- remember ... better safe than sorry. I think that I can see a lot of us with some experience with tornado weather are a bit blase about the threat. And I don't mean to belittle anyone who is more cautious than me -- because of the potential for harm, I should probably be more cautious. Mother Nature has a mean streak and we shouldn't forget it.Get shoes. Get some gloves (rather like shoes for yours hands -- and for the same reason. If you need to dig yourself and your family out of rubble, you'll be glad for both the shoes for your feet and gloves for your hands!) Get a good idea of distances, streets, where you are in relation to the rest of the town and county, and what else is around you and your neighborhood. I use the weather channel app on my phone and back it up with the app that came with my phone. Be smart. Be safe! No need to be crazy scared! I was kind of scrolling through this thread and I realized how blase I am as well. 70% chance of tornado wouldn't even make me bring the kids in from outside. Tornado sirens generally bring the neighborhood families out to our front porches. I can remember once gathering the kids into the center of the house (no basement) and only once being truly nervous about the weather. I think it was probably more the severity of the thunderstorms then my fear of the tornado warnings.
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grammanisi
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,741
Jun 26, 2014 1:37:37 GMT
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Post by grammanisi on Apr 27, 2016 14:30:14 GMT
In 2001 my oldest granddaughter and I were in a tornado. They lived in a mobile home park and we went in the interior bathroom. Their house only lost some siding and skirting, but many of the houses were destroyed. It was the scariest thing I have ever been through. It came on really quick and we didn't have much time to get anything together.
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Post by whopea on Apr 27, 2016 14:46:23 GMT
The peas have so much knowledge! Thanks for the tips on things like shoes, gloves, whistles and cat carrier. Those are things I wouldn't have thought of.
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