[Old Fossil]

Originally Posted by jeffbase40

I read that one lady died inside a safe room! Apparently the debris crushed the door in. So much for safe rooms being tornado proof.

Mayflower has spent a long time recovering from a devastating oil spill last year, and now this. Just awful.

Properly constructed safe rooms are tornado proof, but just an inside windowless room is not.

[Old Fossil]

Originally Posted by DC at the Ridge

Tornadoes are horrific, to be sure. But they aren't an overwhelming problem. Most people who live in Arkansas have never seen a tornado, or even been affected by one. While I think a storm shelter can be a prudent precaution, I only know a handful of people who have one. Tornado watches are pretty common. Tornado warnings are pretty rare, and when they occur, a lot of people go outside to look for one.

Here in Little Rock TV Station KATV has a weather alert system where they will call you on your land-line and/or cell phone if a tornado is bearing down on your ZIP Code. Last night the tornado sirens went off but we knew it was for the general area and not us. That has been a blessing. In the past we tried the weather radio but it also alerted for the general area.

[Old Fossil]

I just received an email from a friend in Belgium checking to make sure we are O.K. The word got around.

[DC at the Ridge]

Originally Posted by Old Fossil

Here in Little Rock TV Station KATV has a weather alert system where they will call you on your land-line and/or cell phone if a tornado is bearing down on your ZIP Code. Last night the tornado sirens went off but we knew it was for the general area and not us. That has been a blessing. In the past we tried the weather radio but it also alerted for the general area.

Benton County has a similar alert system, but I'm somewhat rural, and so far it seems like it still has a few kinks to work out.

[slingshot]

Originally Posted by Old Fossil

Thanks slingshot. I was watching the radar and saw a squall line was nipping on your north side.

I was watching the radar on the internet until midnight and I believe that same storm went by us with 'Tornado Votex Signatures' in Oklahoma but they never touched ground when they crossed the state line and came over our area. We were surely blessed.

[thegreenflute334]

Originally Posted by DC at the Ridge

Benton County has a similar alert system, but I'm somewhat rural, and so far it seems like it still has a few kinks to work out.

I read that three systems were out.. Anyway.. I don't think we are out of the woods yet, although I did see a rainbow in Missouri earlier. I'll download it and post.

[thegreenflute334]

Originally Posted by shyguylh

Since then, though, we've done more research, and ARK sure seems like a tornado magnet. The Ft Smith area most certainly is. It may not quite be on the level of places like Moore OK, but it still seems pretty bad.

We normally take the good with the bad. A person can a million excuses not to move anywhere. I really like it here now. There was a time when I hated it, trust me.

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by shyguylh

Since then, though, we've done more research, and ARK sure seems like a tornado magnet. The Ft Smith area most certainly is. It may not quite be on the level of places like Moore OK, but it still seems pretty bad.

Why can't there be places that are pretty and not that expensive (Mena is pretty also, although I don't know that it's the Ozarks per se) but WITHOUT these sorts of problems?

I wouldn't necessarily permit fear of a natural disaster dissuade you from a relocation decision. Seattle is supposed to endure a massive earthquake "someday". Will that day be tomorrow or after we're all dead? Who knows? People are moving to Phoenix and Denver in droves, despite the fact that drastic mandatory water conservation measures may be existent there in the not-so-distant future. People are moving to Pittsburgh in droves now, too, and it seems like it's cloudy here every day. People are moving to Florida in droves, as if Hurricane Andrew never happened. The population of Moore, OK is continuing to grow, despite being a "tornado magnet".

At the very least tornadoes shouldn't be that frightening because meteorologists can usually track instability in the atmosphere favorable to their development well before a funnel cloud would touch down and decimate a community, providing those on the ground with AMPLE opportunity to hunker down. I'd rather have a 15-minute warning about an impending tornado than ZERO warning about a 9.0 earthquake or catastrophic flash flood.

[Luvvarkansas]

Seems the best "safe room" is buried underground. They do that with a lot of storm shelters, don't they?

[Sam I Am]

Originally Posted by MissSoBelle

Thank you so much for your thoughts and concern, Sam I Am. I just heard from my sister who lives in the area there. Everyone in my family is safe. Obviously, there is no school in Mayflower today. My niece is very concerned about her students, as they are not getting good news reports yet. She just knows that 15-16 people have died with more reported missing. What a sad situation.

The devastation in Mayflower was unbelievable - it's like someone picked up the city and then smashed it on the ground.

MissSoBelle, I do hope that things are more optimistic for your niece's students today. It is absolutely awful what has happened, and we continue to pray for peace for those affected.