tornados? (Chicago, Peoria, Bloomington: apartments, insurance, neighborhood)

[NYrules]

You know from what I remember hearing years ago, which I found rather eye opening, I heard that more people die per year from things like cold spells (ie freezing to death), snow storms (ie, shoveling then dropping dead from a heart attack, or car accident) and heat waves (ie. the 1995 heat wave killing over 600 1995 Chicago heat wave - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia), than being killed by tornadoes. Sorry for this morbid topic, but it is rather conducive for the Chicago area. People are so worried about being injured or killed by tornadoes yet they overlook the obvious killers here in this area that are yet so subtle and seemingly harmless in everyday life.

[Steve-o]

Very true. However, tornadoes kill people of all ages. The deaths from heat waves, etc, normally involve poor elderly folks who live w/o A/C or heat. If everyone in the city had A/C or good heat, Im willing to bet there would be no deaths attributed to that aspect of weather. Just a guess...

[2KidsforMe]

You folks in the Il forum are awesome! Thanks for all of the replies and info. Not to get off topic, but one of my best friends is seriously considering a move to the Chicago area. We lived for a while in North East Texas, and tornados were a major concern. I have family in Wichita as well. I don't know why, but they just scare the pants off me (tornados, not my family.

[ToriaT]

I have lived here over fifty years and I have never ever even seen a tornado. They are very rare. There have been a few to hit, but nothing to really worry about.

[Chicago60614]

YouTube - Tornado coming...


I find this to be the most scary experience. Waking up at 3am and hearing the sirens and having no clue where the tornado is or what direction it's moving. Usually we'd all run to the TV quick to make sure we aren't in any immediate danger.

I grew up in Iowa though, where there seemed to be a lot more tornadoes than in northern illinois.

The one thing is - while they can and do happen every year, the chances of it actually hitting YOU are VERY VERY small.

[Juice13610]

I can't believe you guys are really trying to scare this woman, acting like Illinoisans live in fear every day of tornados.

Give me a break. I live in southern Illinois and we get some nasty weather. Rarely get actual tornados that do damage. There was a tornado last year that killed 1 person, and ths in the St Louis metro.

[acdevane]

Tornadoes do occur - However - There is usually a warning. We
DO have Tornado Sirens and if a tornado is sighted, you will hear warnings sound so you know to take cover - usually in the basement or somewhere where there are no windows. Children in schools go through Tornado safety drills, so they know what to do in case of a tornado.

They are a rare occurenece, but micro bursts are something we see more frequently.

[triton1]

Originally Posted by via chicago

I was in the middle of a softball game when that thing hit. the sky was BLACK

I was on my way home on my bicycle from a bike shop when it hit and I ended up riding it out at a hot dog stand. I was totally ashamed, and still am now that i did not stay home so I could do my usual thing when a big storm comes; tape record the howling winds and the lashing rain while riding the storm out under my dining canopy.

[MrGerardo]

Originally Posted by sonicreducer

Yes, tornadoes are a big concern for Illinois, for pretty much the whole state. It's part of Tornado Alley, as someone else remarked (although as that link would tell you, deciding on what exactly constitutes "tornado alley" is up for debate, and may constantly be in flux). Illinois is flat, and largely devoid of trees in many locations, which tornadoes love. If you're interested in where tornadoes have historically hit across the state, check Tornado Maps of Illinois. That page does a great job or showing you where tornadoes have occurred throughout the state from 1950 to today, by indicating their "path" on a state map on a year to year basis.

I'm from central IL, and have had several very close encounters with tornadoes. A tornado hit Homer when I was about 7, and took off some roofs, uprooted a huge tree, and just really blew a bunch of debris around. It apparently "hopped" right over my grandparents' house and took a roof off of another house less than a block away!

Another twister his right outside of Allerton when I was about 10, during the town's Centennial celebration. It didn't do much to the town (and it's so darned small that it could've wiped it out easily!), but it did blow out one of the windows in my dad's house. One of my cats escaped during the storm through the window, and when I found her, she was caked in mud and was TERRIFIED of storms for the rest of her life.

A really terrible tornado hit Ogden, IL in 1996 and killed a few people. Ogden is 6 miles from Homer, and 15 from Allerton. It was an F-4, I think, and seriously wiped about half that town out. We're not talking a little damage or anything, but total devastation of homes, trees, and even the huge grain silos. They were crumpled like beer cans! My history teacher lost her house that day, and was on CNN crying. Very sad. The same night, a less strong tornado hit the edge of Urbana, and did some damage. I was "out on the town" with some friends when the sirens went off, but we managed to get back to my dorm basement (only a few miles away) in time to take cover.

I remember also having to get into my school's locker rooms/showers a couple times over my life when there were nearby tornadoes. None ever hit our school though. The good thing about living in a wide open space is that statistically the tornadoes hit open ground a lot!

I have lost track of how many times there were funnel clouds or nasty weather encounters that sent me down to my basement while I was living in IL. It was a lot! I was always very scared of storms, and was always very cognizant of the weather as a child--which my classmates always thought was weird. I'm still really a weather nerd, but have found that where I am now--southern Wisconsin--seems to have much fewer tornadoes.

So....to conclude...YES, Illinois has a big tornado risk, but most residents do not perpetually live in fear of twisters. It's one of those fact of life things that people just grow up with. In my experiences, most people ignore the warnings unless the storms truly are on top of them. I have family members who are super-cavalier about storms, and I'd say that's probably typical. I never was typical, but maybe my "close encounters" bred my paranoia. :-)

The Chicago area recently got hit a couple weeks ago actually, and a lot of people lost power. I don't think the storms that hit Chicago had a tornado in them (although one landed near Bolingbrook), but they were hit by straight-line wind or downbursts that caused some bad damage inside the city limits. A bad tornado could most definitely hurt the city. Hell, did you see all the damage caused in Brooklyn earlier this summer from a twister? It's always weird to see, but they can definitely hit cities.

During the last few years, Wisconsin has been getting hit hard by twister. I wouldn't totally discount southern Wisconsin either. If you want to avoid them altogether, move to the Pacific Northwest, which I plan on doing in the next few years.

[Steve-o]

Originally Posted by MrGerardo

During the last few years, Wisconsin has been getting hit hard by twister. I wouldn't totally discount southern Wisconsin either. If you want to avoid them altogether, move to the Pacific Northwest, which I plan on doing in the next few years.

Ill stay here and take my chances and not live in 9 months of drizzle/rain a year. Ive been here 30 years and have never even seen one.