[Threestep2]

Originally Posted by nightbird47

If someone was placing saferooms in houses where the residents couldn't afford them, I'd apply. But it seems to be something you lose out on if your income isn't high enough. I wonder how many people would participate and feel much safer in their homes.

I don't get the people who like to see if they can see it coming.

Research, ask questions. We found a very little known grant by the county we lived in in TX which paid 1/2.

[Johnhw2]

How much warning before Tornados form and get on the ground? There is a meteorologist in Dallas on Channel 8 Pete Delkus is his name. With the equipment and staff on the road with their resources he predicted with 10 to 15 minutes lead time where 5 tornados hit in DFW area over Christmas a year ago. Is this new or luck? Using Dopler and radar he can spot a hook pattern and where the winds are moving in different directions close together, indicating a funnel. On the ground spotters are directed to the area he forecasts may see this and between their visual and if his radar shows signs of debris indicating the funnel is on or near the ground, he called the locations where we had damage and called them with some lead time.

This seems like a better approach if it works this way often, with that much notice one can move to another location to avoid being personally hit. I have no idea what a personal tornado safe room or cellar costs but given the odds are low of an individual location being hit even in an active area, I like the predictive approach over a shelter to run to. Schools should have shelters though and some work locations in active areas as logistics to move a large number of people are fraught with failure. Also these semi public shelters should be clearly marked as such for neighbors to move to in case needed.

Tornados don't scare me like hurricanes do as they are highly localized in impact.

[mapleguy]

One of the things that I have to wonder about is.....


Why houses that are in an area that is prone to tornados are not built of concrete ?


Concrete is the mandatory building material in the Caribbean islands, where they get hurricanes all most every year. Poured concrete is no harder to build than a "sticks and bricks " house but much stronger in a tornado situation. A second advantage is that the house is cooler in summer and warmer in winter as the concrete has greater insulation values. Add metal hurricane shutters and the house becomes a much stronger structure than a mobile home.


Look at the after photos. Most of what you see is broken lumber, and aluminium siding from houses. Wooden framed houses are a disaster waiting to be blown away. Mobile homes are even worse.


Jim B.

[SluggoF16]

Originally Posted by caliguy92832

Like this? lol


https://youtube.com/watch?v=yV_lbJWMUy0

Yes. Same one, my nephew, who was a senior at Westmoore, took this and then chased it. Instead of going away from it. And, of course, posted it on everything. His parents were, to use one descriptive word, apoplectic.

[bawac34618]

Originally Posted by Johnhw2

How much warning before Tornados form and get on the ground? There is a meteorologist in Dallas on Channel 8 Pete Delkus is his name. With the equipment and staff on the road with their resources he predicted with 10 to 15 minutes lead time where 5 tornados hit in DFW area over Christmas a year ago. Is this new or luck? Using Dopler and radar he can spot a hook pattern and where the winds are moving in different directions close together, indicating a funnel. On the ground spotters are directed to the area he forecasts may see this and between their visual and if his radar shows signs of debris indicating the funnel is on or near the ground, he called the locations where we had damage and called them with some lead time.

If severe weather is expected on a certain day, they are usually hyping it for a week before. If the situation looks dire enough, they might even close or let school out early. Once the first storms fire, it's wall to wall weather coverage on all the local stations until the storms push out of the OKC media market. The coverage is very precise and they will tell you exactly where each storm is going. It isn't like it is on some places where you hear the sirens, take cover, and hope it's nowhere near you. Here, the meteorologists will pretty much tell you exactly where it is headed down to the street. Tornado warning is usually issued whenever either a tornado is spotted by a chaser or a hook echo appears on radar.

[eddie gein]

Originally Posted by bawac34618

If severe weather is expected on a certain day, they are usually hyping it for a week before. If the situation looks dire enough, they might even close or let school out early. Once the first storms fire, it's wall to wall weather coverage on all the local stations until the storms push out of the OKC media market. The coverage is very precise and they will tell you exactly where each storm is going. It isn't like it is on some places where you hear the sirens, take cover, and hope it's nowhere near you. Here, the meteorologists will pretty much tell you exactly where it is headed down to the street. Tornado warning is usually issued whenever either a tornado is spotted by a chaser or a hook echo appears on radar.

The coverage is pretty good unless it was like the last one that hit Moore. The thing formed around Newcastle and they just didn't have time to get the warning out. Anymore that is really the only thing to worry about. If they form anywhere in southwest Oklahoma usually there is plenty of time to track it and figure out what to do.

Just getting a few days advance warning helps you to know to be tuned into the weather on the days that are at risk.

When I was a kid, you pretty much didn't know they were on you until the tornado siren went off.

[MyNameIsBellaMia]

Originally Posted by SluggoF16

What most other Okies do... get on the roof and watch it comin'. (Of course, nowdays it's get out the smartphone so you can post it on social media.)

Exactly.


After 72 years of living nowhere but Kansas and Oklahoma, get to where you have an open view, preferably facing the southwest. My brother and I used to lay on top of the chicken house to watch for tornadoes.


Out on the farm in the 50s and 60s, there were no warnings. You didn't know 'til you saw it. Then you hi-tailed it to the basement.

Originally Posted by bawac34618

If severe weather is expected on a certain day, they are usually hyping it for a week before. If the situation looks dire enough, they might even close or let school out early. Once the first storms fire, it's wall to wall weather coverage on all the local stations until the storms push out of the OKC media market. The coverage is very precise and they will tell you exactly where each storm is going. It isn't like it is on some places where you hear the sirens, take cover, and hope it's nowhere near you. Here, the meteorologists will pretty much tell you exactly where it is headed down to the street. Tornado warning is usually issued whenever either a tornado is spotted by a chaser or a hook echo appears on radar.

I remember with the 1999 tornado, Gary England flatly said, "If you're above ground and in the path, you're gonna die."

[Johnhw2]

Tornado sirens can be incredible imprecise. If plano a city of 300kpeople gets a warning they sound off regardless of where it is headed which could be 10 miles from parts of plano. Also they are offend timed when watches are issued not when one is headdd toward the area near the sirens. I hope okc metro does a better job with their Siren use.

[bawac34618]

Originally Posted by eddie gein

The coverage is pretty good unless it was like the last one that hit Moore. The thing formed around Newcastle and they just didn't have time to get the warning out. Anymore that is really the only thing to worry about. If they form anywhere in southwest Oklahoma usually there is plenty of time to track it and figure out what to do.

Just getting a few days advance warning helps you to know to be tuned into the weather on the days that are at risk.

When I was a kid, you pretty much didn't know they were on you until the tornado siren went off.

I agree with what you were saying. However, meteorologists had been hyping that day for a week before. People should have known it was going to be bad. The way meteorologists around here hype potential high-end severe days is a double-edged sword. Most of the time, when the storms hit they aren't bad enough to justify the fearmongering. Every once and a while, there is a day like May 20, 2013 or May 31, 2013 where the hype actually pans out. Unfortunately, this causes a lot of people to have a "cry wolf" attitude towards the local meteorologists and they don't always take them seriously. Why would you? If you did, you would need mind-altering substances just to get through April and May here.

[MyNameIsBellaMia]

Originally Posted by Johnhw2

Tornado sirens can be incredible imprecise. If plano a city of 300kpeople gets a warning they sound off regardless of where it is headed which could be 10 miles from parts of plano. Also they are offend timed when watches are issued not when one is headdd toward the area near the sirens. I hope okc metro does a better job with their Siren use.

They just recently started targeting specific areas. Before a couple of months ago, the sirens went off all over town regardless of where the tornado was and which direction it was headed, and it's a large area to cover. Now they are more specific. We'll see how it works. Since tornadoes are unpredictable, I dunno. If someone lives on the Moore/Oklahoma City border and the tornado is in Moore, are the sirens on the OKC side going to sound?


I'd be interested in seeing the map as to how it breaks down. How does it overlap?