Tornadoes?

[Karried]

Wow, this disaster in Florida really makes me think about severe weather... is it hard for those of you that have experienced tornadoes to see this coverage?

How many here have ever been in a tornado where you had to go to your shelter or your closet? Have you ever heard a tornado? or seen one?

I feel confident that at least here we have a little bit of a warning.. what did these poor people have.. a few seconds to react? At 3 am? Very sad.

[mranderson]

"How many here have ever been in a tornado where you had to go to your shelter or your closet? Have you ever heard a tornado? or seen one?"

I have, yes and yes.

[Easy180]

Being a Moore-on the May 3rd tornado arrived about 15 minutes after I got home...Great timing...Anyways I heard the sirens and looking out my back window it was nasty...Got in the bathroom and heard the wind get very strong as the doggie door was flapping like crazy for it seemed 10 minutes

The tornado passed about a 1/4 mile to the north....I was stuck in the house in the dark while my wife and her family didn't know what became of me and the house until close to 4 hours later when they finally found a way to get in the neighborhood

Wasn't super scared until I saw what that dam* thing did ...It would have destroyed my old house w/o blinking

Two words come to mind....They suck

[windowphobe]

I went outside to watch the infamous F5 in 1999, mostly on the dubious basis that if I'm gonna die, I want to see what kills me.

Gary England, you may be sure, would not approve.

[OUman]

Haven't heard one or been in one, but I've seen a few on some of the chases I went on while in college. Only they were either small or roping out. As far as FL is concerned, this is their peak tornado season, much of the SE gets tornadoes this time of year. You may recall the tornado outbreaks back in '98 and '00 in the SE states. But at 3a.m., when people are asleep, there's not much you can do but warn people who are awake by providing continuous updates on T.V. and sound the sirens. Imagine if the majority of May 3rd tornadoes had formed at that time, not something you want to think about.

Yep, Gary England would not approve, but on that evening he said either get underground or get out of the way if you can, something he doesn't advise when there's a tornado on the way, but of course that tornado was an F5, and you had a good chance of escaping it with it being daytime and with the warning lead time being that good.

[drumsncode]

I went outside to watch the infamous F5 in 1999, mostly on the dubious basis that if I'm gonna die, I want to see what kills me.

I've had the same thoughts myself. I've only taken cover once, a couple years back when it headed right for my addition. Somehow it skipped over me.

I figure if a tornado destroys my house, I might as well die, because having to deal with the insurance company will surely kill me anyway. They'd probably call it "flood damage" because some water spilled onto the floor. After seeing all the people getting cheated during the Katrina disaster, you know what I mean.

[dismayed]

That's pretty funny drumsncode, and sadly probably somewhat true.

Easy180, I was also out on the highways just before the May 3rd tornado hit. I realized it was getting close and managed to get to my parent's house, which was nearby. They have a tornado shelter... I think the entire neighborhood was in their shelter that evening.

Because I grew up on the south side of town, I've seen a lot of tornadoes and a lot of tornado damage, more times than I can count really. I've never seen a storm like the May 3rd tornadoes. The whole event makes me think that the TV warnings we have should include an "F-scale estimate" of the tornado. I know all tornadoes are dangerous, but realistically I think most people who have grown up around tornadoes would respond very differently to an F5 as opposed to an F1.