Tornado warning! Woo hoo!

I’m really hoping we don’t get an actual tornado, but man the sky looks scary. Went from blue to nearly black in less than an hour. Very rare in MA.

Be safe and remember all tornado precautions.

Apparently someone got a shot of the beginnings of a funnel cloud in western Ontario last night. It never touched down – got maybe half the way and then got bored, I guess – but that was still a bit freaky.

Hide under a desk and cover my groin?

A few minutes ago it looked like the sky was going to open up and dump some real Wrath of God rain on us. A few piddly drops later, and the sky is lightening up. I wonder if the coming storm just passed me by.

I think that about covers it. Honestly, I don’t remember anymore. Do you open all the windows or close all the windows?

If you are hiding under a desk, make sure it is one that is very strong and that you can safely stand on.

Find a strong central part of the building as low as possible to stand in.

If all else fails, is the tub a safe place?

Anyway, here is the real information: Tornado Safety

Jim

I’m at work where most of the windows are stuck shut. I suppose I could just go into the hallway. That seems as safe as anything.

But it looks like the worst of it has passed, and the worst was pretty wimpy. Now it’s just sprinkling. The sky is a normal color again.

Man, we never get the really cool tornados.

Neither. Messing with windows just wastes time and, if you do get a tornado, the debris it kicks up will likely open them anyway.

Oh, yeah, I forgot tdn was in New England. We have a warning for Providence, too. It’s very nice and sunny right now and there is no such warning for my home. I have no outside windows here in this very large brick building and I even have a giant safe where three people could hide if need be, so I’m not too worried.

That is, unless it hits while I’m on the Washington Bridge going East. Oh, yeah, that would suck.

Yeah, it looks like Providence is clear, while Boston is under a dark cloud. Looks like Hartford, New York, and Philly are getting the worst of it.

We had some very intense rain for about 10 minutes earlier here in Southern NH. It’s nice and clear now, but an hour ago the sky was as dark as I’ve ever seen during the day. Very freaky.

I’m hearing hail is coming now. That’s always pretty amazing.

I’m in Hartford and the sky to the west is pitch black.

And now it’s sunny again. That’s how we like our weather around here – in hour-long increments.

That’s tornado-colored sky. I believe I’ve been through three in my life, and I know what that color means. When I was a kid in Iowa, one passed very close to us, and there was a lot of damage. A few years later, in upstate NY, we saw that sky again. My parents knew to get us safe, but all the neighbors were outside looking up and saying “My, isn’t that interesting?”

Really? I’m like 4 miles from you and we’ve still got grey.

I grew up in Northern Indiana and we would get warnings from time to time. Nothing ever hit very close, but when there was one that was relatively close the sky would turn this eerie dark green/yellow color. There was nothing else like it. I do remember spending a few hours in the basement here and there.

Was it a greenish color? I’ve been in thunderstorms where there were tornadoes nearby, and the sky got this weird greenish color to it. It looks black until it’s overhead, and then it looks gray-blue-green. That’s what I think of as a tornado-colored sky.

I always associated the green with hail. Sometimes it gets kinda bulbous on the bottom too.

Man, I loves me some nasty, exciting weather.

Well, now we’re back to gray. But it’s a light gray!

I’ve seen green and black skies, and both have produced severe thunderstorms and tornadoes. The only time tornadoes were really close, the sky was greenish (2005, small one passed over my neighborhood).

The blackest sky I’ve ever seen was in 1966, when a tornado hit about 60 miles from where I was living (in Belmond, Iowa, six dead). Neighbors and I were standing outside watching and saying “Somebody’s getting hit with something.” I didn’t know the sky could get that black. It wasn’t just dark, it was black, like night. Scary as hell.