All About Tornadoes (Salina, Seneca, Greensburg: apartment complex, condo, motel)

[country_girl2122]

how do you cope living in kansas with the worry of tornadoes?
have you had an experience with a tornado?
what areas of kansas get most of the tornadoes?

i'm just curious about it =/

[Shoshana]

I no longer live in Kansas, but spent the first 30 years of my life there.

When you grow up with it, you just accept it as a part of life. You take precautions. When deciding where to live, you take into account what protection is available. I learned to read the weather; between that and the various tornado sirens and warnings over TV and radio, I knew when to take cover.

I lived in Pensacola FL during hurricane season one year. I was afraid of hurricanes, having had no experience with them and seeing the pictures on national television. Turns out the locals were not afraid of hurricanes, but of tornados! Their explanation was that you know when hurricanes are coming in, but not tornados. I think it is all in what you know or don't know.

I've never been in a structure that was damaged by one, but have witnessed their destruction. The last time I lived there (1999) I saw the results of two big ones. On one, an entire mobile home park was totally destroyed. The National Guard was brought in to cordon off a 1 square mile of the city. In the other, I was driving in Oklahoma two weeks after a tornado hit a small town and totally destroyed it. The Red Cross was still there providing recovery relief. Both left me speechless and in awe of nature's power.

I don't know if there is any area in Kansas that get more tornados than others. They can and do hit anywhere in the state.

[AZ_singlemother]

I grew up in Western Washington and had to prepare for the "big one" earthquake. Prayed all my life it would never happen. Without warning the 7.0 hit and lasted longer than a normal earthquake standards of 30 seconds - no warning, just take cover. Just have to not be in denial and know the risks take precautions and heed the warnings seriously.

[Jammie]

Yes~I agree with Shoshana. I don't live in Kansas, but also live in tornado alley. We had over 90 tornadoes sighted in our area yesterday. Luckily, we don't NORMALLY have the powerful tornadoes that Kansas and OKlahoma have. It's all in what you're used to in growing up. Many of the areas in tornado alley offer places for people to go that are safer then houses since most of the houses are stick built homes rather then the concrete in the South. My husband is responsible for opening one of the shelters so we keep the weather channel on when it's stormy. We had exactly ten minutes to get to the shelter and open it yesterday. There was a tornado heading straight for us. It IS scary and we all probably get a bit tense over it. Funny, but I didn't even know till about 10 years ago that there is a "tornado alley", I just thought that's the way weather is.

So basically, keep tuned to your local tv station or weather channel or local radio station. Seek shelter immediately. Pull off the interstate if you can get into a town and shelter. If not, pull over immediately. If you're close enough and have a few minutes time, get to your nearest shelter such as Red Cross shelter, courthouse, public safety building, etc. Be aware and know in advance where you're supposed to go and exactly how long it takes for you to get there.

I was pleasantly surprised in visiting the Kansas forum today. There's already a thread started offering condolensences and the attitude of the Kansas residents is so refreshing. Most are just thankful to be alive and be with their loved ones.

[silverhaired51]

having lived in here most of my life, you respect the tornados. I have never been in one, the closest one was a few years back and it went about 5 miles down the road. You could hear it and it did sound like a train.

[kansaslady]

Originally Posted by country_girl2122

how do you cope living in kansas with the worry of tornadoes?
have you had an experience with a tornado?
what areas of kansas get most of the tornadoes?

i'm just curious about it =/

You learn to deal with it and hopefully have a basement in your home, a shelter nearby, or a neighbor who has a basement. And at least there are warnings. When I lived in California, there were never warnings about earthquakes. Many areas of the country have devastating weather to contend with...hurricanes, earthquakes, tornados, ice storms, floods. Other than earthquakes, one of the scariest things to run into in CA is the tule fog on I5 (the Grapevine); talk about pea soup! The fog is so bad (how bad is it?) that if you can still see the hood of your car if you're lucky.

It's named "Tornado Alley" and stretches from TX to WI/MI, but tornados can strike anywhere. Most of the weather channels will show the "alley".

[W350]

We live in Salina, our last direct hit was in the 60's. There have been a few in our area and sooner or later the law of averages is bound to catch up with us. Like anyplace, we have our problems. Generally you will have two or three days advance warning when the conditions are "right" and watches will be posted. Like the previous post, just keep you wits about you and listen to the radio or watch a television channel dedicated to the weather in your area. It is nice to watch the various cable channels available, but when the conditions are right, keep something local dialed in.


I have experienced two tornadoes and have watched several. Thankfully I have no personal losses to them. They are an extremely powerful force of Mother Nature and we all need to learn to respect that. Glen

[Paul_Bettes]

I grew up In Greensburg, and with the exception of 2 weak ones that hit in the early/mid '80s we had never had any to speak of, I guess the law of averages really cought up with us. In fact, I grew up in a trailer court. Huge one, had 6 the most I can ever remember. It was mostly for overnight stops and custom cutting crews on the way through. I was living in Little Rock in the mid '90s when they had a small earthquake in Arkansas, and I'll still stick with tornados over earthquakes. I have a handheld scanner with noaa and ham frequencies, 2 gms radios with noaa also, cell phones for my wife and I. I keep a first aid and disaster kit in the van and in the house also. Look, listen, and prepare. Doesn't matter what type of disaster you have in your local area (Tornados, floods, earthquakes, volcanos), that's all you can do.

[jessaka]

Shoshana,

We once lived in Pensacola too. Left when a hurricane came in, went to a motel up north, but came back when the TV showed the eye was near New Orleans. Well, we didn't know that they spin off tornadoes, and we drove back through town when the winds were still high. Saw a lot of destruction on the way. We moved before the next one ever came.

[janetjanetbobanet]

The last time I lived there (1999) I saw the results of two big ones. On one, an entire mobile home park was totally destroyed. The National Guard was brought in to cordon off a 1 square mile of the city.

I was cowering in the basement laundry room of an apartment complex at Seneca and Macarthur, just to the southwest of the destroyed mobile home park you mention, when that tornado hit. We lost the top floors of two buildings in our complex and had damage to some other buildings and almost every car in the area. I would never have known all of that was happening while I was in the basement, was quite shocked when I came out. No lives lost at our place but a couple of deaths, I think, at the mobile home park. A co-worker of mine was in the bathroom of her mobile home there and had a real scary time. Her home was not too badly damaged, though. Here we just learn to watch the weather channel when things look threatening and know when to go to the basement. I noticed the sky looked wierd that day and turned on the TV, saw the projected path was my address and grabbed my purse and went downstairs.