About Illinois' Tornado Risk

[linicx]

Originally Posted by SJaye

There are definitely still things about tornadoes that even the scientists do not know- thus the reason for VORTEX 2. I am not the weatherman on any news channel, but I am a certified storm spotter, and have been storm chasing before.

I've watched storm chasers on TV. I can't resist asking if chasing a tornado is as hair raising as it looks, and if there isn't a bit of a thrill to see natural fury like a tornado?

[SJaye]

Originally Posted by linicx

I've watched storm chasers on TV. I can't resist asking if chasing a tornado is as hair raising as it looks, and if there isn't a bit of a thrill to see natural fury like a tornado?

It depends how you chase. If you stay far away from the storm, it doesn't really get hat hair raising, but if you go right near it, it can be kind of scary. Knowing where the storm is moving, etc. takes some of the fear away from it, but the excitement is still there. It should be noted though, for anyone thinking of chasing, that while on a storm chase, you will spend most of your time in the car driving, or sitting in some random town waiting for storms to form. Some find this less than exciting.

[linicx]

I owned property in an area of Tornado alley that was roughly between Springfield, MO and Tulsa, OK for 15 years. During that time there were 2 strikes each on Springfield, Pittsburg, KS and Tulsa, 1 each on Joplin, Neosho and Pierce City in MO. PC was almost 100% destroyed. The common thread is I-44 Something happened yesterday afternoon at Little America US 24 Fulton County One of the guys who was on his way to work in Mason County said "it was a godawful mess to drive through". He said tornado. I'm wondering if it was something else? LA is not near any open fields. It's isolated, on the top of a heavily forested bluff, and surrounded by forested area. The whole town isn't much more than three blocks that front the highway. It's freaky. IL 9 is not too far from the western entrance of the town, and IL 97 is not terribly far from the eastern entrance to the town. The nearest town - which is not near at all - is the county seat.