General Weather Discussion - February 2014

[Easy180]

I am already starting to get extremely nervous and anxious about the upcoming tornado season. When some people say they are ready for spring I usually say "I'm not!" Am I alone in that?

I could easily just skip over May the next few years

[Plutonic Panda]

I'm fully ready for tornado season every spring and not getting nervous and anxious about it. This is because my house has a safe room.

Agreed

[Roger S]

I am already starting to get extremely nervous and anxious about the upcoming tornado season. When some people say they are ready for spring I usually say "I'm not!" Am I alone in that?

I can dodge the tornados.... I can't dodge the cold..... Bring on the fishing weather!

[Easy180]

I'm fully ready for tornado season every spring and not getting nervous and anxious about it. This is because my house has a safe room.

Have a shelter as well so just have to hope they don't hit when I'm at work way up on the north side

[venture]

Mostly quiet tonight except for wind around here. Storms development going on right now to the SW and W of Tulsa. Small hail and gusty winds main threat right now.

[SoonerDave]

I am already starting to get extremely nervous and anxious about the upcoming tornado season. When some people say they are ready for spring I usually say "I'm not!" Am I alone in that?

In all seriousness, bchris, why get nervous? Being nervous isn't going to do one thing to change a weather pattern or alter the strength of a tornado or the diameter of a hailstone. I realize some folks worry more than others about weather - we're each wired a little differently - but I hate to see someone express such a level of worry about our traditional spring storm season before we're even out of February. I'd just encourage you to enjoy today - try not to sweat the stuff you can't do anything about. Don't let tomorrow's potential tornado do any damage in your head today. Not at all meaning to be snarky or anything - just encouraging - we've had some beautiful weather the last few days - would hate to think you cost yourself the enjoyment of them because of concerns about a potential storm. Heck, keeping us reasonably informed is what the good folks here like Venture and Anon et al are all about - to keep the stress and angst level down.

Enjoy your day!

[venture]

Here is a look at the current winds as we return to our usual walking with a 45 degree lean. Max gust since midnight has been in Woods county at 64 mph.

[PennyQuilts]

I am already starting to get extremely nervous and anxious about the upcoming tornado season. When some people say they are ready for spring I usually say "I'm not!" Am I alone in that?

Sounds like you've got some anxiety/tornado phobia. When I was in my twenties the storms would freak me out - maybe because I had little kids and worried about them, dunno. I've done a 180 over the years and chalk that up to having a better understanding of the risks, better understanding of how tornadoes behave (although the May 31 psychotornado should put a scare in me) and much better ability to track them - and that's allowed me to really appreciate the glory of spring weather. Venture has been great about giving me heads up when there is a storm threatening my place and that helps me be able to sort through anxiety and focus on actual danger. But regular stations also do a great job.

I think something that makes me feel better is how few people actually die even in the big storms. Most people are killed when caught away from home. Moreover, the vast majority of tornadoes aren't strong enough to destroy your house in the first place.

That being said, we're having a storm shelter installed in a week or so. If you don't have access to one, it might be well worth the price for your peace of mind.

[SoonerDave]

Sounds like you've got some anxiety/tornado phobia. When I was in my twenties the storms would freak me out - maybe because I had little kids and worried about them, dunno. ...

When I was a kid, even into my very early teens, severe weather season used to really scare the socks off me. I realize the storm season gets rolling in earnest in May, but for some reason I always dreaded April as "the" storm/tornado season. I'd get a knot in my stomach when old Jim Williams on the erstwhile WKY-TV or Gary on KWTV would announce even a severe t-storm watch, for heaven's sake. My dad is from Maine, and he never understood the weather hysteria down here, and my angst level drove him nuts (he was his own kind of goofy, but that's an entirely different thread). It wasn't until I started learning about the weather in my own small way that taught me when to be concerned, and when not to be. And it also taught me a lot about when TV mets hype for ratings, not for the sake of information.

[PennyQuilts]

I think SoonerDave and I had similar experiences and similar remedies. It may be that some youngsters/young adults may be predisposed to the anxiety and that it lessens with age and knowledge. Dunno. I know that, even now, I approach storms with a different attitude than my husband who has never been alarmed by them. I have a regular routine of gathering up supplies, making sure the dogs have leashes handy, having water set in, making sure the batteries are fresh, phones charged, etc. That may be the result of anxiety in earlier years or, more likely, just a reflection of how I approach it (plus, I enjoy preparing - these days, it is part of the fun).

[jn1780]

I think SoonerDave and I had similar experiences and similar remedies. It may be that some youngsters/young adults may be predisposed to the anxiety and that it lessens with age and knowledge. Dunno. I know that, even now, I approach storms with a different attitude than my husband who has never been alarmed by them. I have a regular routine of gathering up supplies, making sure the dogs have leashes handy, having water set in, making sure the batteries are fresh, phones charged, etc. That may be the result of anxiety in earlier years or, more likely, just a reflection of how I approach it (plus, I enjoy preparing - these days, it is part of the fun).

Looking at the storm prediction centers webpage every other day and reading the weather forums during severe weather season is one of my favorite activities to do in the spring. I find science and mother nature interesting. I admit, I find other people freaking about the weather funny. I appologize to the < 1% of the population that severe weather actually does impact every year.

[PennyQuilts]

I tell my New England and east coast friends and relatives that we treat it like a spectator sport. The notion of settling in for an evening of storm watching from your easy chair confuses them. They realize we aren't making light of the harm they can cause but there is an intellectual aspect to it where the more you know, the more fascinating it is.

I was in NYC last year and a lightning storm rolled in. Watching it from a high rise was breathtaking. I mentioned that I found storms to be exhilarating - I never feel more alive than when a storm is rolling through. My dil commented that she didn't understand the mindset. Then she stopped to think about it and said my son (her husband who grew up here) had the exact same reaction and would watch the storms with the same level of devotion. You can take the kid out of Oklahoma...

[ou48A]

I tell people that are not from our area that freak out over our tornadoes they see on TV that it's real reality TV.

[venture]

So this isn't for down here, but we complain about our storms that move extremely fast in the early Spring season...

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTHERN INDIANA
913 PM EST THU FEB 20 2014

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN NORTHERN INDIANA HAS ISSUED A
* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
ADAMS COUNTY IN NORTHEAST INDIANA...
BLACKFORD COUNTY IN EAST CENTRAL INDIANA...
NORTHEASTERN GRANT COUNTY IN CENTRAL INDIANA...
JAY COUNTY IN EAST CENTRAL INDIANA...
SOUTHERN WELLS COUNTY IN NORTHEAST INDIANA...
SOUTH CENTRAL PAULDING COUNTY IN WEST CENTRAL OHIO...
VAN WERT COUNTY IN WEST CENTRAL OHIO...

* UNTIL 1000 PM EST

* AT 905 PM EST...SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WERE LOCATED ALONG A LINE
EXTENDING FROM 5 MILES SOUTH OF VAN BUREN TO HARTFORD CITY TO 8
MILES SOUTHEAST OF ALEXANDRIA...AND MOVING NORTHEAST AT 80 MPH.
75 MPH WINDS WEERE REPORTED AT MARION AIRPORT AS THIS LINE OF
STORMS MOVED THROUGH.

THESE ARE VERY DANGEROUS STORMS.

HAZARD...80 MPH WIND GUSTS.
SOURCE...RADAR INDICATED.
IMPACT...MOBILE HOMES WILL BE HEAVILY DAMAGED. FLYING DEBRIS WILL
BE DANGEROUS TO PEOPLE AND ANIMALS. EXPECT CONSIDERABLE
DAMAGE TO ROOFS...WINDOWS AND VEHICLES. EXTENSIVE TREE
DAMAGE AND POWER OUTAGES ARE LIKELY.

[PennyQuilts]

wow!

[Anonymous.]

Interesting that most of the tornado reports from last night all came out of the Severe Thunderstorm Watch, and NOT the Tornado watch.

[PennyQuilts]

Interesting that most of the tornado reports from last night all came out of the Severe Thunderstorm Watch, and NOT the Tornado watch.

Scary, actually.

[venture]

Interesting that most of the tornado reports from last night all came out of the Severe Thunderstorm Watch, and NOT the Tornado watch.

Looks like it is about half an half if the time stamps are right. They did a severe watch initially with a few tornado reports but then upgraded the watch an hour later to tornado that the others fell in. At least the acted fairly timely in making the change. Then you look at the rest of the reports and area covered by tornado watches and nothing but mostly wind.

[Anonymous.]

Ah, okay. I did not look into it this morning other than reading the reports.

I just remember glancing last night during the event and seeing all the TOR warnings in the blue box.

Glad to see they upgraded.

[Easy180]

Are the models backing off on snow next weekend? The 10 day forecasts I've seen show temps in the 40's.

[venture]

Are the models backing off on snow next weekend? The 10 day forecasts I've seen show temps in the 40's.

New 12Z GFS has precip south of the area ahead of the front that will come through. Still takes us below freezing for next Wednesday.

[SoonerDave]

Interesting that most of the tornado reports from last night all came out of the Severe Thunderstorm Watch, and NOT the Tornado watch.

In some respects, this might illustrate a bit of how a particular kind of watch can actually have the reverse of its intended effect. That is, I suspect when the average person sees or hears a severe thunderstorm watch, they don't necessarily take that as strong a warning as a tornado watch, and thus assume the overall risk isn't as significant (eg, "It's just a thunderstorm watch"). In effect, they diminish the value of the severe t-storm watch because it isn't a tornado watch. Yet, obviously, we've seen plenty of circumstances where factors play in such that tornadoes develop many miles outside the "designated" watch area.

[PennyQuilts]

In some respects, this might illustrate a bit of how a particular kind of watch can actually have the reverse of its intended effect. That is, I suspect when the average person sees or hears a severe thunderstorm watch, they don't necessarily take that as strong a warning as a tornado watch, and thus assume the overall risk isn't as significant (eg, "It's just a thunderstorm watch"). In effect, they diminish the value of the severe t-storm watch because it isn't a tornado watch. Yet, obviously, we've seen plenty of circumstances where factors play in such that tornadoes develop many miles outside the "designated" watch area.

Smart or not, I know I'd likely take that attitude, candidly. I suppose I should use this little exercise as an opportunity to rethink my storm planning criteria.

[venture]

In Today's edition of ... "The GFS Model: Erm Mah Gawd We Gunna Die!"...

Next monday...

[Anonymous.]

Looks like a copy paste forecast this week. 40s and touching to low 50s some days in the sun this week. Rain chances Friday into Saturday. And like V mentioned, armageddon Sunday into Monday. Lol.