Wichita Kansas and tornados

Trackrig wrote:
This question will show my lack of knowledge about tornados. The closest I've been to one is watching them on TV. If you were in an RV park, at your MH, wouldn't you have some hint from the weather that one was coming? If it looked like it was headed directly for you, couldn't you just raise your levelers, disconnect, and drive away from it? If you can see it commng directly for you and you know you're going to get hit, but it's still a couple miles away, couldn't you try to get out of the way? Isn't a tornado fairly slow moving? Has anyone tried to dodge a tornado from being parked in an RV park?

Bill

Not really.

Your average tornado is short lived. It can quickly drop down, tear stuff up and dissipate just as quickly. The long-lasting ones that go 40 miles on TV are the exeption, not the norm. They also zig/zag veer/ do not go in perfectly straight lines.

A lot of victim interviews tell how they don't think it's bad, but suddenly it starts getting bad- they run for the basement, but hear the house coming apart while they are still going down the basement stairs.

Also, sometimes they hit at night and sometimes they are hidden in the rain. So it's a tough call.

The difference between an old fashioned rip-roaring thunderstorm that happens 99.9999% of the time and you sit and enjoy and a deadly tornado strike can be very quick and kind of subtle. Yeah, the wind gets gusty 40 MPH- strong but not a big deal, but then trees take flight and stuff starts to come apart at 60 to 80 MPH- the wind gust can hit in a matter of seconds.

Don't take this to mean that a person is helpless when a warning is issued or a funnel cloud is very close by- in some instances you can probably hit the car and drive away (or hit the concrete restroom).

But to 'break camp and pull out'...too far over the elusive middle ground. I'm 53 years old and have experienced who knows how many tornado WARNINGS- even a few in the camper. I have yet to have needed to be in the basement or out of the camper...and what I just said- while true- is of no value to a bunch of folks in Joplin MO.

Also, there's the bad, but semi true joke. A camper/mobile home is a tornado magnet. The reality is that campers and mobile homes fare really crummy in most tornadoes, while a stick house will actually survive the majority of weaker tornadoes without collapsing/coming apart.

I'm kind of a weather nut and head to the window for tornado warnings. Most of the storms are mundane storms (sure lightning, thunder, black clouds, strong winds, hail), but some sudden, stronger, wind gusts have given me an appreciation for the folks going down the steps while the roof comes off.