The amazing mix of conditions which lead to tornadic thunderstorms is upon us again.
Several tornados have touched down today, thankfully in isolated areas (so far). Straight line winds, too. 70 mph. Tennis ball sized hail.
For the next few months we will “feel” the air, sensing whether weather conditions seem ripe for those laft afternoon into the evening severe thunderstorms to form. We will keep track of where the ever moving Dry Line is that day. Wall clouds and other lowerings will cause both concern and fascination. Cellars and safe rooms are cleaned up and stocked with emegency needs.
We aren’t fatalistic here. But May 3rd, 1999 still sits on top of our memories. On that day, over 40 people died in storms that set off close to a hundred tornados, including the F5 that had the highest ground level wind speed ever recorded on Earth, 318mph.
It’s a part of life here. Just like other places have blizzards, floods, or earthquakes. You live your life as normal, but you watch the sky.
It’s about time!! My son’s soccer game got called on account of lightning this morning. My county is under a Tornado Watch right now but the skies are blue outside. Gary England just gave me an update on the Severe T-Storm in a neighboring county. The signs of spring are truly upon us.
I hoped it was going to storm during my nap but it didn’t.
This is one of the things I miss most about Oklahoma. Ah, Tornado season.
Reminds me of stories my family would tell me, of the time at my father’s parents’ house when the whole family really did stand out on the front porch and watch a tornado move across the field, ravaging the neighbor’s home, until it was time for them to move like hell into the shelter.
OK. Now it’s officially tornado season. I just heard Gary England say “hook echo”.
My county has been upgraded to a Tornado Warning but the storm is 20 miles from my house and moving the wrong direction. I can see it from my porch and it is impressive.
Gary’s on right now!! Large hail. Damaging winds. You gotta love it.
Early 90s. I hade it a project of sorts to record all the Star Treks.
In OKC, Channel Four played new TNG (syndication, remember?) at 10:40 pm Sundays, followed by two eps of TOS. I watched all the TNG new eps while recording, and would often fall asleep while continuing to record the rest.
Wouldn’t you know it, every single ep had a storm/'nado warning icon in the viewing area. Watching some of those eps at times always made me try to relive what was going on those nights. Some nights were just a gnab gib, with that very relaxing thunderstorm sleep… Some eps were cut off as my power apparantly went out.
I remember talking to Linda Cavinaugh about the Trek Sundays, and she said (at the time TNG was new, remember?) that it was their most consistantly watched night of local programming. Sometimes, I really miss those days. Now, I have DVD, WWW, cell phone alerts, etc… Good times.
Get yourself a scanner, and tune in to the area amateur radio Skywarn net. They’ll see things first and report it to the National Weather Service, if the group is active.
Yep! Buy one of those $30 crappy TV/radios too. Not to sound fatalisitic - but…if the twister’s gonna getcha, there’s not much you can do on a limited budget.
Now, if you’ve got a little cash on hand, there’s this:
I believe that’s standard issue for NWS offices. I’ve been in the one at the local office and it’s like walking into a tomb. The downside is that the thing is completely RF-proof. No radios, no cell phones, no nuthin’ is gonna get in or out.
