Severe Weather Preparedness Week (Indianapolis, Fort Wayne: credit, home, tornado)

[Future Trooper]

As I am sure you all probably might know but thought I would give y'a'll a reminder. This week has been designated Severe Weather Preparedness Week. Be sure to review your severe weather plans with your family and make sure you have an adequate amount of food for you and your family to last 3-4 days. Be sure to have an emergency kit and have phone numbers to people you may think need help or incase you need help.


Thank you for your time


Gdude

[ShadowCaver]

Thanks for the note - was cool tonight, standing on dam of pond, hearing one town's siren wail, and then just a bit later another one further in the distance...

For more info:
FEMA: Are You Ready?
http://www.weather.gov/os/severeweather/index.shtml
NWS Indianapolis, IN

[Toxic Toast]

I had a bit of a chuckle when the sirens in Indianapolis went off after 7. I knew, somewhere, someone was unaware of the tornado drill and probably freaked out as the storms were rolling in right behind the sirens.

[Future Trooper]

I know of some people who did freak out because of the alarm testing at 7pm....lol( I know I am terrible!)

[DLK55]

Our weather radio went off first, then our Fox interrupted its programming to explain it was a test and the sirens would be going off, which they did a few minutes later.

Good thing they tested the sirens around here because evidently a few of them aren't working. Better to find out now than later.

[Signora]

Is Fort Wayne an area that gets tornados?

[ShadowCaver]

Originally Posted by Signora

Is Fort Wayne an area that gets tornados?

Yeap... had two in the area [Columbia City and northern FtW area] just this month.

Check out the links in post #52 of this thread http://www.city-data.com/forum/india...tornado-6.html

[Signora]

Ok... now I am a little nervous. We are probably moving there and tornados have always made me a bit jumpy....

[ShadowCaver]

Signora - don't fret it... there's many more things in life to be nervous about Just be aware and prepared

Tornado warning - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Advances in technology, both in identifying conditions and in distributing warnings effectively, have been credited with reducing the death toll from tornadoes. The average warning times have increased substantially to about 15 minutes; and in some cases to more than a one hour's warning of impending tornadoes. The U.S. tornado death rate has declined from 1.8 deaths per million people per year in 1925 to only 0.11 per million in 2000. Much of this change is credited to improvements in the tornado warning system.

2007 Tornado Fatality Information [hint, don't live in a trailer home/park]

List of causes of death by rate - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia [take care of your heart, etc., careful driving, and other causes much more important IMHO ]

[DLK55]

Originally Posted by Signora

Ok... now I am a little nervous. We are probably moving there and tornados have always made me a bit jumpy....

Like ShadowCaver said, don't fret about it too much. We're as or more prone to them up in our neck of the woods. I've lived here just over 10 years and the closest one has come to us was 2 miles away about 5 1/2 years ago. That doesn't sound like much but except for the largest tornadoes, it can make a pretty big difference. Overall, we've probably received more damage in our area from severe thunderstorms than from tornadoes in the time I've been here.

In general, we don't get those mile wide monsters that you might see on TV out in the plains. They're the exception rather than the rule here.

There have only been two tornadoes in almost 140 years in Allen County(Where Ft. Wayne is) that have caused a loss of life.

http://www.crh.noaa.gov/images/iwx/I...nadoTracks.pdf

The strongest storm ever to hit Fort Wayne?

It appears that the tornadoes of May 26, 2001 and May 14, 1972, along with the downburst of October 8, 1992, were probably the most destructive storms ever to occur in Fort Wayne. No tornado greater than F2 strength has ever been recorded in the city.

NWS Northern Indiana

A couple of things to consider:

A real basement is a plus.
A NOAA weather radio is good to have.
Pay attention and take warnings seriously when they do happen.

In short, relax. Something's more likely to happen to me that you because I happen to be one of those morons that stands in the back door of our garage ogling thunderstorms sometimes trying to get a picture of lightning and I would be right at home running around with the guys that drive around the plains chasing tornadoes.