Tornado Weather

54 year in North Texas and have never seen a tornado. But man we've been close on numerous occasions.

We are in Amarillo Tx. getting ready for open heart surgery. I'm more worried about hail then tornado. I'm 71 and lived in Texas Panhandle all my life. During that time I've seen 2 tornadoes. I know they can happen but just not a huge chance it hits where I set. I'm not worried about it. I do use my sense and pay attention to the weather from the National Weather Service.

WalMart carries a good road atlas which has the counties marked. It comes in big print, too. :)

Also, when you enter a state, stop at their Welcome Center and pick up an individual map.

Book stores and truck stops also have atlases.

rockhillmanor wrote:

Nunyadamn wrote:
I am heading east starting Saturday. I will be traveling through NM,OK,HS,IL,IN,OH etc. My wife is worried about tornado's and is starting to rub off on me. I will be stopping in Hugoton, KS, and then Melvern, KS. We will be traveling on the 50/56 mostly and there was just a big tornado going just past Dodge City, KS.

I am used to monsoons here in AZ. They usually start up in the early evening and don't last more than an hour.

I'm not sure what questions to ask. Just looking for any advice on traveling through tornado country.

Weather reports are usually given by 'county' and/or the name of a small town.

When we are RV'ing we don't have a clue what county's we are traveling thru. And on the interstate signs not all of the surrounding towns are listed.

That is what happened to me. Weather radio screaming about a tornado rapidly crossing into X county and I didn't have a clue what county or small town I was traveling by/thru on the interstate. :R

Since that frightening event I print out a clearly marked 'county' road map of the states I will be traveling thru. If needed, At a glance I can see if I am driving in the path of predicted bad weather.

Sometimes you just have to resort to the old fashion way.
:C

Can someone suggest a good source for a state by state map that clearly shows the counties and towns without unnecessary clutter?
Thanks

dave17352 wrote:

NEOK wrote:

d3500ram wrote:
I do not want to high jack the topics, but semi- related (and please treat me as ignorant)....

Folks mention to use a smart phone for apps, info, data, etc. I do not have a smart phone but is there risk of not having coverage during an occurrence? I guess what I am trying to ask this: We often read of folks getting into trouble by relying on technology (a la GPS giving "wrong" directions.)

Is relying on smartphones doing oneself a disservice for tornadoes?

You do have a point but we have had more instances of poor or no reception on our weather radios than no coverage on our cell phone. This includes our experience at home and on the road. After living in Oklahoma for almost 70 years we know to keep a close eye the weather regardless of where we are. As others have mentioned meteorologists can predict days in advance if weather conditions are right for severe weather. Listen to the weather reports on TV or radio and your weather radio or smartphone app as the weather gets closer. The Weather channel even shows maps with the following user says it Torcon ratings of 1 through 10. The higher the rating the more likely a tornado can occur. If you are in higher rating alter your travel or look for a place with shelter available.

I agree with NEOK here. I haven't been everywhere, man :) but I have been all over the Midwest and the West. For the most part a smart phone is great for weather info and it just keeps getting better and better in terms of coverage.

There are several good smart phone apps, but of course they depend on having cell coverage where you are. Just as an emergency weather radio depends on having good radio coverage. And your TV info depends on having a good TV signal.

I agree with finding important info about your location ahead of time. Also find out which signal works best---cell, radio, TV.

The best app I've found is called WeatherUnderground. It requires access to the location service on your phone. With that info, it shows you a radar map, warnings for your location, and real-time info from all the local weather stations that are in its network. The radar is excellent, can be zoomed in and out, and updates really often.

NEOK wrote:

d3500ram wrote:
I do not want to high jack the topics, but semi- related (and please treat me as ignorant)....

Folks mention to use a smart phone for apps, info, data, etc. I do not have a smart phone but is there risk of not having coverage during an occurrence? I guess what I am trying to ask this: We often read of folks getting into trouble by relying on technology (a la GPS giving "wrong" directions.)

Is relying on smartphones doing oneself a disservice for tornadoes?

You do have a point but we have had more instances of poor or no reception on our weather radios than no coverage on our cell phone. This includes our experience at home and on the road. After living in Oklahoma for almost 70 years we know to keep a close eye the weather regardless of where we are. As others have mentioned meteorologists can predict days in advance if weather conditions are right for severe weather. Listen to the weather reports on TV or radio and your weather radio or smartphone app as the weather gets closer. The Weather channel even shows maps with the following user says it Torcon ratings of 1 through 10. The higher the rating the more likely a tornado can occur. If you are in higher rating alter your travel or look for a place with shelter available.

I agree with NEOK here. I haven't been everywhere, man :) but I have been all over the Midwest and the West. For the most part a smart phone is great for weather info and it just keeps getting better and better in terms of coverage.

d3500ram wrote:
I do not want to high jack the topics, but semi- related (and please treat me as ignorant)....

Folks mention to use a smart phone for apps, info, data, etc. I do not have a smart phone but is there risk of not having coverage during an occurrence? I guess what I am trying to ask this: We often read of folks getting into trouble by relying on technology (a la GPS giving "wrong" directions.)

Is relying on smartphones doing oneself a disservice for tornadoes?

You do have a point but we have had more instances of poor or no reception on our weather radios than no coverage on our cell phone. This includes our experience at home and on the road. After living in Oklahoma for almost 70 years we know to keep a close eye the weather regardless of where we are. As others have mentioned meteorologists can predict days in advance if weather conditions are right for severe weather. Listen to the weather reports on TV or radio and your weather radio or smartphone app as the weather gets closer. The Weather channel even shows maps with the following user says it Torcon ratings of 1 through 10. The higher the rating the more likely a tornado can occur. If you are in higher rating alter your travel or look for a place with shelter available.

Just saw this thread and am not going to read all the suggestions. So what I have to say has probably already been said. If so, sorry for being repetitive.

During our 14+ yrs of full timing we ran into this numerous times. Having come from an area with frequent tornado watches and warnings, it was pretty easy to recognize well ahead the general conditions favorable to tornados. Upon check in, ask the cg manager where to go in the event of a tornado warning. Most cgs have an area map included in their checkin package. Write down the name of the county you are in and the adjoining county names at the appropriate sides or corners of the map. Have the host locate the nearest hospital on the map (good place to ride out a warning if the cg doesn't have a shelter). Knowing what counties are on what sides of you can help you track local radio reports of weather movement. Have a good radar app on your smart phone and know how to read it and, of course, have an emergency weather radio.

d3500ram wrote:
..Is relying on smartphones doing oneself a disservice for tornadoes?

It's nice to have with all the new weather maps BUT I would not have a cell phone as my 'only' means of watching the weather where I am traveling. Cell phone towers may not be in the area AND cell phone towers can be disabled by storms. Leaving you with zip signals.

I always carry my hand held CB in the MH for weather conditions. And it works great for info in real time where I am for unexpected road conditions. AND if there is no cell signal it acts as another source of emergency use. I don't leave home RV'ing without it. :C

HH Cobra Road Trip
with built in NOAA Weather & Emergency Radio 10 weather channels.

https://www.cobra.com/products/portable/hh-road-trip

rk911 wrote:

Nunyadamn wrote:
I am heading east starting Saturday. I will be traveling through NM,OK,HS,IL,IN,OH etc. My wife is worried about tornado's and is starting to rub off on me. I will be stopping in Hugoton, KS, and then Melvern, KS. We will be traveling on the 50/56 mostly and there was just a big tornado going just past Dodge City, KS.

I am used to monsoons here in AZ. They usually start up in the early evening and don't last more than an hour.

I'm not sure what questions to ask. Just looking for any advice on traveling through tornado country.

best advice? get and use a weather alert radio. we keep ours on 24/7. we do not set it to warn us about severe weather in just the county we're currently in. we prefer to get warnings for nearby counties so we can track the severe weather and be prepared. in addition, when driving and the sky looks bad or there is a realistic threat of severe wx keep your radio tuned to local AM radio for area warnings and updates.

This is what we've run into. Weather alerts going off all night but having no idea where they are as we are not familiar with the counties.

Carry a map marked with county names (most are) to augment the weather radio. Don't have a decent smart phone so I don't or if the apps may negate the need for the maps and weather radio.

We were thankful the campground host rode around the CG telling everyone to head to the bathrooms when twisters were in the area.

TV works too, as long as you know the area some.