Tornados for Dummies
I have never read anything on what to do to avoid and be forewarned of tornados and how to seek shelter on the road or in a larger or small town if you find yourselves in tornado danger in your RV. S...
Forum Discussion
Our last year anniversary we ate at a steakhouse in OK City. We talked to a local rancher in his 50’s who said he had never seen a tornado in his life, either, and we thought that must be the exception to the rule. Especially since we came in right behind the Moore tornado and went through the area a couple of days later. WWII films of bombed out and destroyed cities had nothing on it.
I was once caught in a tornado without any warning and I really don’t want to repeat the experience. I was 18 and in the Army in KY, on the second floor of a barracks. It was a bit before dawn and I woke up because my face was wet and I heard a tremendous roar. My face was wet because the roof was being pulled away from the sides and rain was coming in on my face. Most of the platoon was already up and dressed and running around in a semi-panic. It was impressive; I saw shingles, garbage cans and other debris going horizontally past my window. And there was so much lightening it was light outside with flashes of dark. When it passed we had to go dig out a company that had been on bivouac in the boonies. The county is rolling, forested hills and some distance from camp you could see a white swath coming across the hills where the trees had been stripped of their bark. So we hadn’t even been in the strongest part of the storm. Even more impressive.
Awareness of the weather is most important because it gives you time to find shelter or move out of the path. And, as mentioned, there are many types of shelters in tornado country; I’ve seen them in banks and even supermarkets. If you have enough warning, just asking a local where the nearest shelter is should work. If caught with little time to react, I would likely just take off perpendicular to its path; I can cover a mile pretty fast with enough motivation.:) Caught in the boonies I’d probably head for the nearest, deepest ravine.
It’s nothing to be paranoid about, as many times as I’ve traveled tornado alley county and seemingly always during prime tornado season, I’ve never personally seen one. But I do keep track of the weather and am prepared to run for cover if I have to.
I was once caught in a tornado without any warning and I really don’t want to repeat the experience. I was 18 and in the Army in KY, on the second floor of a barracks. It was a bit before dawn and I woke up because my face was wet and I heard a tremendous roar. My face was wet because the roof was being pulled away from the sides and rain was coming in on my face. Most of the platoon was already up and dressed and running around in a semi-panic. It was impressive; I saw shingles, garbage cans and other debris going horizontally past my window. And there was so much lightening it was light outside with flashes of dark. When it passed we had to go dig out a company that had been on bivouac in the boonies. The county is rolling, forested hills and some distance from camp you could see a white swath coming across the hills where the trees had been stripped of their bark. So we hadn’t even been in the strongest part of the storm. Even more impressive.
Awareness of the weather is most important because it gives you time to find shelter or move out of the path. And, as mentioned, there are many types of shelters in tornado country; I’ve seen them in banks and even supermarkets. If you have enough warning, just asking a local where the nearest shelter is should work. If caught with little time to react, I would likely just take off perpendicular to its path; I can cover a mile pretty fast with enough motivation.:) Caught in the boonies I’d probably head for the nearest, deepest ravine.
It’s nothing to be paranoid about, as many times as I’ve traveled tornado alley county and seemingly always during prime tornado season, I’ve never personally seen one. But I do keep track of the weather and am prepared to run for cover if I have to.
