Tornado Season Madison (Fitchburg, Middleton, Shorewood: apartment, condo, mattress)

[Saltinbanqui]

Hello everyone,

With the weather getting warmer and warmer we are entering the tornado season here in Wisconsin. I am not from this area of the country so I am still getting used to the idea of living in place where tornadoes happen - but I want to be prepared if one hits the area where I live. I will start by making a tornado kit with, canned food, flashlights, a radio etc.

I live in a condo and have some doubts about which is the safest room to use as shelter in case of tornado. The condo doesn't have a basement, but a garage in the lowest level. There is also a small closet in the same level and a mechanical room that could be used as shelters. My question is: is it a good idea to use a mechanical room in case an event like this happens? It looks to me like the sturdiest room in the house since it has concrete walls all the way around, but there a lot of pipes that could be a hazard, I guess. Should I'd be better off using the walk-in closet?

I live actually in Fitchburg. Is that an area more prone to be hit by Tornadoes? What other previsions you recommend?

Thanks a lot.

[Megan1967]

To my knowledge there hasn't been a tornado *touch down* in the Madison metro area (Madison, Monona, Fitchburg, Middleton, Maple Bluff, Shorewood) in decades. There have been funnel clouds, which have done some damage, but no actual tornadoes. I have lived here since 1986 and never seen anything even remotely scarey. I have also lived in the area (I was born and raised 45 miles south of here) my whole life and never seen even a funnel cloud. So, personally, I don't see tornadoes as a very big threat.

I think your walk in closet would be the best bet. I would have said the mechanical room, but you make a good point about the pipes.

[7G9C4J2]

You are very prudent to plan ahead for where to run in the event of threatening weather. In general, you should go to the lowest level of your home, in a completely interior space, preferably with strong walls around you. If you have time, drag a mattress or futon into the room with you and huddle underneath it.

Flashlights (with plenty of fresh batteries) and a NOAA weather radio are basic common-sense items that everyone should keep in their home. First aid kit, too.

While I agree with Megan that statistically the Madison area appears to be immune from tornado activity, I would hesitate to place too much reliance on that happy situation continuing indefinitely. My spouse grew up in Kalamazoo, Michigan, where there had not been a tornado on record in over 150 years. He discovered the hard way, as our apartment collapsed around him when an F3 tornado roared through town on May 13, 1980, that a century and a half of tornado-free weather did not confer permanent immunity to funnel clouds. He survived, though four other folks lost their lives in that storm, and to this day, he pays heed when the tornado sirens start howling.

No, I am not being a fear-monger. And certainly we are at a much lower risk than those poor souls who live in Oklahoma. All the same, I would strongly counsel against the assumption that we'll never have a tornado again just because we haven't had one in recent memory.

[ranger17]

seeing what happened in OK this week, makes us miss the basements we had in WI that much more (most homes here in SC are no slabs and crawlspaces). But while living here, just like in WI, tornados are not common, they can and do happen.

All the years we were in the Madison area, most that came thru were minor. We actually saw one in Deforest but it only hit a field before leaving. But that shouldn't grant a fall sense of security, as Stoughton was hit in 2005, and major f5 tornados hit Barneveld (drove past the area the day after, it was bad) and Oakfield in the 80's and 90's.

We always went to the basement if the sirens went off, but i think many back home there have a false sense of security that may turn around and bite them back someday. And as i am a weather channel geek, i've seen enough tips to say you should have a plan in place if a warning hits (where to go, have shoes, water, radio, wallet, they even suggest a simple bike helmet) and please dont forget your pets.
There is nothing wrong with playing it safe.

[mlb]

Grew up in Madison in the '50's and 60's..... far west side.

Sirens all the time warning against tornadic activity - but nothing ever came in town.

Heard because the lakes protected you.

Worst tornado, of course, was Barneveld, WI 1984

[Chelito23]

There have also been tornadoes in Fitchburg over the years (one within the last decade and a few more in the 90s). I remember sightseeing the damage as a kid. There were homes without rooves and walls, trees totally torn up. It was fascinating, but part of the interest was because it was so rare. No one area is immune to tornadoes. Joplin, MO never had had a tornado before their F5, just like Barneveld here. So it doesn't make sense to look back anecdotally and say "I have never seen or experienced one first hand so they really aren't an issue." I also remember a few on the far east side, past the interstate, touching down near the John Lancaster car dealership.

The one theme is that in general WI has tornadoes but they aren't typically as intense as in the South or the ones on the Great Plains. But again, that doesn't make the area immune.

It sounds like a reasonable plan of action in the unlikely event of a destructive tornado will keep you safe. Check with your neighbors and landlord about where to go in your specific building since you know it better that us.

You will be fine, so just relax and be alert and you shouldn't have any problems.

[r_k]

Several tornadoes have touched down in the Madison metro area during the last few years. Most were of the weak F0 or F1 variety causing mostly property damage and very few deaths. It is best to be prepared, but not unduly worried. Madison gets an average of 6 or 7 tornado touchdowns per year within a 50 mile radius, and most are F0 or F1. The largest in recent years was the aforementioned F5 that struck Barneveld (about 20 miles west of Madison) in 1984. More recent was the F3 that struck just north of Stoughton in Aug 2005, killing 1.

[mugglesport]

This is the 3rd or 4th time I've seen mention (here or on other websites) about Madison and tornados. I'm really confused as to why there's such a concern in this area, but maybe that's because I'm from North Texas, where Tornados of some magnitude happen multiple times per year.

[ranger17]

Originally Posted by mugglesport

This is the 3rd or 4th time I've seen mention (here or on other websites) about Madison and tornados. I'm really confused as to why there's such a concern in this area, but maybe that's because I'm from North Texas, where Tornados of some magnitude happen multiple times per year.

i'm sure some if it is brought back up due to the recent tragedy in OK (i didnt look but would not be surprised if these threads are up in other state forums as well).
I lived in Wi for 47 yrs, and we just dealt with warnings when they happened and had our plan in place even though thankfully we never were hit. But now that i live in SC, another southern state that has no basements in general, watching the events unfold the past few nights on tv i guarantee the wife and I discussed it more then we ever did before.......

So if it gets some folks thinking about it, and realizing it's not a great idea to sit in the drive and watch the storms roll thru..... then it's a good thing.

[7G9C4J2]

Good points, ranger17. I suspect that another factor in the questions is the fact that Madison (or at least the university) has a fair number of international residents who may never have lived in a part of the world where tornadoes are common, and they understandably have questions/concerns about a risk they've never faced before.

Unquestionably, the general south-central Wisconsin area presents a low risk of death, injury or destruction from tornadoes in comparison to some of the more southerly parts of the U.S. But "low risk" is not the same thing as "no risk," so there is merit in reminding ourselves of the basic prudent courses of action if threatening weather develops.

I would add that in the 18 years I lived in south Texas, there was only one hurricane that actually made landfall in the region where I lived - but every year, all the local news media sources would run multiple big "hurricane preparedness" stories, just like the "severe weather preparedness" stories we see and hear in Madison each spring. So I don't think that kind of thing is limited to tornado questions in Madison.