# It wasn't a tornado, it was a ? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 25, 2003, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-wasnt-a-tornado-it-was-a/171171 "2003-04-25T18:51:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2003, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-wasnt-a-tornado-it-was-a/171171/1 "2003-04-25T18:51:30Z")
The FtG household was awakened this am but a horrific roaring noise. It got louder then gradually faded. Lasted about a minute. We though it was a tornado for sure. There was a heavy downpour going on at the time. But at no time was there any lightening or thunder. By the time we checked the windows (didn’t rush to them immediately for obvious reasons) no wind of note. We checked a few weather channels. No severe storm or tornado watches/warnings (quick: which is worse?) in the state or even adjoining ones. (The same system had caused tornados 2 states over.) The radar loops look quite innocent. Broad green with just a hint of yellow. No orange/red. Checked the local news, online paper. No reports of anything other than heavy rain. So, it wasn’t a tornado. What was it? Even a funnel cloud would have been caught on radar and reported. Couldn’t have been a low flying plane since any plane flying that close would have been over and gone in no time. (We actually had a small plane hit the tops of our trees and crash not far off a little over a year ago. So I know what _that_ sounds like. Also had a high pressure gas main leak last month a block away. Very loud roar but that lasted for hours.) It was extremely loud, enough to wake us in a panic, not at all rumbling like thunder. In fact, “smoother” sounding than the proverbial freight train. What could it have been? ---
**Author:** ![Sauron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@Sauron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sauron)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2003, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-wasnt-a-tornado-it-was-a/171171/2 "2003-04-25T19:04:11Z")
Possibly straight-line winds. These cause a lot of damage with the thunderstorms we always get in the South, and many property owners learn to their dismay that their insurance covers tornado damage but not straight-line wind damage. Or it coulda been an exceptionally heavy pocket of rain. I’ve heard rain so loud that you had to shout to be heard in a house. Or it coulda been a brief spate of hail. Or you coulda had a close encounter of the second kind. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2003, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-wasnt-a-tornado-it-was-a/171171/3 "2003-04-25T19:36:55Z")
Could have been a [microburst](http://www.tornadochaser.net/tornado.html). One of those uprooted a tree in my friend’s back yard and slammed it back down into his roof. Mess. No tornado watch/warning/reports, nothing on radar. ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2003, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-wasnt-a-tornado-it-was-a/171171/4 "2003-04-25T19:41:11Z")
Probably a downburst. When a thunderstorm is developing, warm air is rising quickly in the center of it. As the storm “matures”, falling raindrops can cut off the updrafts and reverse the flow, dragging the air downward with what can be dangerous force, even worse than tornadoes in some cases. There was one here in Colorado a few years back and another in the Boudary Waters area of Minnesota as well. Acres of trees just snapped and lying on the ground. They are responsible for a number of airplane crashes as well. [http://www.usatoday.com/weather/tg/wdnburst/wdnburs1.htm](http://www.usatoday.com/weather/tg/wdnburst/wdnburs1.htm) [http://snrs.unl.edu/amet451/zumpfe/downburst.html](http://snrs.unl.edu/amet451/zumpfe/downburst.html) ---
**Author:** ![tanstaafl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ba8739/32.png) [@tanstaafl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tanstaafl)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2003, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-wasnt-a-tornado-it-was-a/171171/5 "2003-04-25T19:44:20Z")
And, to answer your quick question, a _watch_ means that conditions are right for the formation of a tornado (or whatever). A _warning_ means that one has actually been spotted/detected. So, watch=could happen and warning=has happened. ---
**Author:** ![dwc1970](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a183cd/32.png) [@dwc1970](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dwc1970)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2003, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-wasnt-a-tornado-it-was-a/171171/6 "2003-04-25T19:48:35Z")
> [@](#): > > No severe storm or tornado watches/warnings (quick: which is worse?) From [this site:](http://www.tornadochaser.com/saf.htm) > [@](#): > > What is the difference between a Tornado Watch and a Tornado Warning? > > A Tornado **Watch** means that tornadoes are possible in your area. > > A Tornado **Warning** means that a tornado has been sighted or indicated by weather radar and it is time for you to take shelter. ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2003, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-wasnt-a-tornado-it-was-a/171171/7 "2003-04-25T21:04:48Z")
IANAM(eterologist), but I recently attended severe WX spotter training. The smallest tornadoes MAY NOT show up on radar. So it is possible. But the other answers are possible too. Note that most tornadoes are at the “back” end of the storm, in the uplift portion (a/k/a rain free base). Brian ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2003, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-wasnt-a-tornado-it-was-a/171171/8 "2003-04-25T21:49:31Z")
I was working in a house during an early summer t-storm. A violent rush of extremely warm air took the roof of. The weather guy I called said it was a downburst. I’ve been in several tornados, so I knew something was different. Fun. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2003, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-wasnt-a-tornado-it-was-a/171171/9 "2003-04-25T22:07:26Z")
Another vote for a microburst. I witnessed one once. After a particularly strong thunderstorm cell had passed, there was a sudden rush of intense wind, I’d guess between 80-100+ MPH that lasted from 45 seconds to a minute or so. The roar was definitely tornadic in intensity, and it was quite impressive. ---
**Author:** ![stypticus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f05b48/32.png) [@stypticus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stypticus)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2003, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-wasnt-a-tornado-it-was-a/171171/10 "2003-04-25T23:02:35Z")
It wasn’t at about 3:00, was it? There was an earthquake in the Olympic Mountains, Washington, this morning with a magnitude of 4.8. Earthquakes have been known to create a roaring sound. One news article is [here](http://abcnews.go.com/wire/US/ap20030425_773.html). But then, you’re located “not in the PNW”. That could be interpreted as “not within roaring distance of the Olympic Mountains”. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2003, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-wasnt-a-tornado-it-was-a/171171/11 "2003-04-26T01:35:06Z")
Probably aliens. Be glad no one was probed. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2003, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-wasnt-a-tornado-it-was-a/171171/12 "2003-04-26T01:56:57Z")
I lived through a Microburst once – the big one that hit eastern Ontario, southwest Quebec, and northern New York in the early 90s. Also note that severe thunderstorms can have damaging winds without invoking tornado vortexes. ---
**Author:** ![lorinada](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b5e925/32.png) [@lorinada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lorinada)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2003, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-wasnt-a-tornado-it-was-a/171171/13 "2003-04-26T03:13:02Z")
In fact, earlier this week, the town of Venus, Texas was nearly destroyed in straight-line winds. [http://www.venustexas.org/storm.htm](http://www.venustexas.org/storm.htm) ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2003, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-wasnt-a-tornado-it-was-a/171171/14 "2003-04-26T17:09:14Z")
Rain and hail can be ruled out. Those would have been heard directly. (Have a metal ridge vent.) There was absolutely no debris around the neighborhood. A mid-level t-storm usually sends leaves and such into the streets. How far away can you hear a microburst? And just to make things interesting. The dangerous part of the storm passed thru last evening. (So I had to have the computer off. Couldn’t followup sooner.) There was 2 tornado warnings issued 40 miles west of us. The storms were moving northeast. Whew. Then they were moving east. Hmm, that will bring them close. Then southeast. Uh-oh. But they kept turning south and went by us. Hardly rained at all. So maybe it was a 15hr warning? (PS: The “watch vs warning” was a self-test.)