Tornado warning ??? Wow !! (Phoenix: power lines, closing, live in)

[azriverfan.]

Originally Posted by Finger Laker

It's not so much panic, it's unfamiliarity

back in upstate NY if a storm comes through and drops a few feet of snow it's a part of life - you put that same storm in dallas i'm sure the message would be different

people here don't have outdoor cellars, food stocks and in many cases drainage and other infrastructure to rapidly handle unusual weather

I must say the freeways were excellent last night though and for the most part driving around was no different than driving in any rain storm

They panic as a result of their unfamiliarity and I understand those reasons but for those of us who have lived in areas with inclement weather, the Phoenix crowd seems a bit ridiculous at times. And people were driving 10 miles under the speed limit going east on I-10 last night. And even Oklahoma City and Dallas experience bad snow storms on occassion. It's just that Phoenix experiences relatively no inclement weather so it is a bit comical when our city overreacts to any inclement weather. And let's be honest, it doesn't have to rain heavily for people on the freeways to slow down here, even light rain will cause traffic to build up.

[Finger Laker]

yeah - but it's nothing unique

i've seen denver slow down in a light snowfall (same with back home)

you also have those who give no caution or think that their vehicles will drive themselves (like someone who speeds over a stretch of ice because they have 4 wheel drive.......)

i think people were actually driving better last night than in some of the earlier rainfalls this year .... maybe the scared at shadow crowd stayed in

[DewDropInn]

I cannot honestly tell you if it sounded like a freight train.

The sound of my heart pounding drowned out everything else.

[Sarimn00]

Originally Posted by DewDropInn

Well, whatever the heck it was, it went over my house!

First warning was that I had opened the door from the laundry room to the garage and had trouble pulling the door closed. I've been under what I call El Nino-caused tornados in So Cal and that's the first thing I thought of. Something not good was happening.

A few minutes later the wind was howling. Windows on the west side of the house were shaking. Rain was just blasting at the windows side-ways. Ears popping. I will admit that it scared the heck out of me because I was wondering if the windows were going to blow in. I also seriously thought of getting into the bathtub.

After whatever it was passed over it got so calm that was scary.

My neighbors are telling similar stories.

Did it sound like a train? They sound like that a lot up here in MN. Heard it once, hope never to again

[ArizonaBear]

Originally Posted by azriverfan.

My wife and I were laughing about it. People in Phoenix panic with any type of inclement weather. They drive in the rain like people drive on black ice in places with a real winter. Having lived in Oklahoma and Dallas in which tornado warnings seemed to be a weekly occurrence, it was comical to see the television interrupted with a message instructing people what to do. This is the first time I can ever recall a significant tornado warning since I've lived in Phoenix. This is nothing compared to the type they have in the midwest/midsouth in which sirens come on and people actually have outdoor cellars built underground with food stocked.

Originally Posted by Finger Laker

It's not so much panic, it's unfamiliarity

back in upstate NY if a storm comes through and drops a few feet of snow it's a part of life - you put that same storm in dallas i'm sure the message would be different

people here don't have outdoor cellars, food stocks and in many cases drainage and other infrastructure to rapidly handle unusual weather

I must say the freeways were excellent last night though and for the most part driving around was no different than driving in any rain storm

Finger Laker summed it up succinctly.

Flip side: that huge heat wave in Chicago some years ago killed hundreds of people due in large part to no AC in many homes and the people are not as physically 'hardened' to the heat like were are. Such temps in Chitown would not have raised a pimple on a gnat's butt here.

[ArizonaBear]

Originally Posted by sierraAZ

BREAKING NEWS!!!

The end of the world is coming a little ahead of schedule! The Mayans actually meant 2010, but the Americans used to their Imperial system got it messed up and turned it into a dozen (12).

Everybody please have a chat with your creator whoever he may be and prepare to be blown away by the horrendous tsunami!

And the Mayan calender has no relevance for the USA since they did not range as far north

[intmd8r]

Originally Posted by Sarimn00

Did it sound like a train? They sound like that a lot up here in MN. Heard it once, hope never to again

Yep, me too. Once was enough. I was literally screaming at someone across the room and we couldn't hear each other; it sounded like a freight train was barreling through...

[Steve-o]

Originally Posted by azriverfan.

This is nothing compared to the type they have in the midwest/midsouth in which sirens come on and people actually have outdoor cellars built underground with food stocked.

Those are common in the Plains states (ie NB, KS, OK, TX), not the Midwest. We get very few tornado warnings this far north (I think we had maybe one last year). Ive never ever seen an outdoor cellar in this area. And who would stock it with food? I mean, youre only in there for a short time, its not like people are waiting out a hurricane or something.

[LordBalfor]

Originally Posted by Steve-o

Those are common in the Plains states (ie NB, KS, OK, TX), not the Midwest. We get very few tornado warnings this far north (I think we had maybe one last year). Ive never ever seen an outdoor cellar in this area. And who would stock it with food? I mean, youre only in there for a short time, its not like people are waiting out a hurricane or something.

Chicago may not get very many, but you are still in an area where you can get some pretty strong ones. I remember some pretty strong ones in our area when we lived in SW Michigan (Battle Creek) when I was a kid - of course as it turns out SW Michigan is in the area affected by the absolute strongest category tornadoes (Chicago in the next level down). Also recall a couple of tornado instances when we lived in eastern North Dakota.

Here is a VERY interesting and informative map.

http://www.crh.noaa.gov/images/lmk/tornado_risk_map.jpg

As folks can see - Arizona is very low risk for strong tornadoes.

Ken

[Christopher Garay]

I was born and raised in the state of Arizona. I remember when I was in elementary school we had a tornado warning and there were several cells spread throughout the county. The first thing I did was ran to the basement and turned on the television and began to call all of my friends and advise them to seek shelter. I started to cry because I was scared out of my wits and this was new to me. Since then whenever we have a tornado warning, the first thing I do is jump in my car and drive towards it. I remember the adrenaline I felt and now when I get the chance to feel that adrenaline I go for it, no questions asked. -Christopher Garay-