A question about tornadoes (Columbus, New Haven: fit in, apartments, city hall)

[Southside Shrek]

weather patterns are changing and even Europe now gets tornados.

[jer17]

Actually, when I was a kid I saw one of those mini-twister come up my grandmother's driveway, taking a tree down, blowing a swingset across the yard, and broke the screen door. It was extremely small, yet pretty amazing to see in NH.

Oh yeah, were getting 12-18" of snow this coming Wednesday. Yuck! I hate those Nor-easters

[bstump]

Originally Posted by Simfan453

California is 100% Tornado free.

http://ggweather.com/climate/tornado.htm

[highliner]

No, Virginia, California is not tornado free. Just ask the nice folks at Twenty-Nine Palms (2 twisters confirmed on base in the last two years), or else consider the fact that Lake Tahoe is a mecca for meteorologists, due to the unusually large number of waterspouts forming there each year. Personally, however, I've seen exactly twice as many tornadoes in Kentucky (4) over the last twenty years, as in Indiana, and neither of the hoosier twisters actually made landfall. Take ordinary precautions, and you should be just fine.

[timincal]

From my experience with twisters. They always come from the southwest in the evening. They follow the river valley's(historical) and they are attracted to aluminum (house trailers).

[miasheart]

I've lived in Indiana for most of my life. I've lived in central Indiana for most of that time, but parents live in Kokomo area. I've seen the horrific damage from tornados here many times through the years. We do get big ones here. I distinctly remember the devastation in '65 even though I was still a child. Whole towns were left in rubble like a bomb took them out. These were houses, not mobile homes. Debris only left and maybe a toilet or bathtub remained of so many homes. Later when I was married, a tornado hit about a mile from our home and a woman was killed down the road. Those two times, one of which occurred in Nov., were bad. They can be isolated to one small area, but also take several miles of devastation. I would not downplay the tornado risk in Indiana at all. I wish my home had a basement. In our newer neighborhood not a lot do have basements.

[HoosierRN]

Tornadoes can be a big concern here in Indiana, but I wouldn't let that be the one thing that prevents you from moving here. I have lived in Indiana my whole life (and I am almost 40) and have yet to see a tornado. I lived the first 20 years of my life in or near Evansville; the rest of it so far 30 miles south of Fort Wayne.

That's not to say that I haven't been in a couple of pretty violent storms and my husband went through the Palm Sunday tornado when he was a child. (Fortunately his childhood home wasn't damaged and the tornado that ripped through the Berne, IN area was only a mile from his home at one point).

If you have any choice in the matter, definitely get a basement. Three times in my life, I have gone to the basement during a storm. Also, get a weather radio that you can program to alert you in the event of severe weather. You can program them to activate when you want to be notified; such as if you live in Fort Wayne, and a tornado warning is issued for Angola, IN (an hour and a half north) you don't have to hear it if you don't want to hear the warning.

Every area of the country has some kind of severe weather risk to it. The best advice is to educate yourself about tornadoes, and how to be prepared for them if you do ever find yourself facing one.

[jer17]

Thanks again for the info on tornados. I am not going to let them keep me from moving. Just a little bit nervous about them, is all. I'm sure there's safety classes of some sort on protecting yourself from them? I am familiar with them, movies, tv, news, books, etc, but I've never lived in an area where they could happen.

thanks again,

jer

[domergurl]

There's no need to take classes or watch videos ... but if it will make you feel safer, then by all means. First, buy a house with a basement. Make an emergency kit and have a battery operated weather radio, blankets, etc.

[HoosierRN]

Here is a link for you about tornado safety.

http://www.tornadoproject.com/safety/safety.htm