Wichita Kansas and tornados

Yes I would be concerned but not panic about it. You are smack dab in tornado alley. I was stationed at the Air force base was in missile security. The can have some really good t storms. Go have fun but if it gets black out then you can worry.

A tornado went thru a few years back and tore up the Air force base really good.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&cad=rja&ved=0CDcQtwIwAQ&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DiQ4g9m3EGxs&ei=x6OKUbe1DoSiiQK8vYGgBw&usg=AFQjCNFtfLLQblZi7Cwt6X45CbXCvJvUYg&sig2=Jrz5z9vNPKzdluInwcjiEQ

We've been in a Kansas RV park during a tornado warning...sure there are risks in that region. That RV park actually had a storm bunker! The best advice is to have a weather radio on 24/7, even when driving and always know where the nearest shelter is...have a game plan in case things go bad in a hurry.

One thing you will find in Oklahoma and Kansas, is that when the weather gets rough, the local TV stations interrupt regular broadcasting, and just do weather until the threat passes. Even if that means all night. No commercials, JUST weather - alternating between broadcasts from the studio and airborne/ground spotters. It is amazing. They will zoom in on the storms, right down to the street intersections, and show you exactly which direction it is going. As long as you know where you are in reference to their map, you should be able to evaluate how much danger you are in.

NOAA weather radios are good, but they just repeat info plugged into them. It is VERY hard to discern where the storms are just by using a weather radio if you are unfamiliar with the area/counties. Also, unless you have your weather radio set for the alerts in the counties surrounding you, it will be going off for every warning within it's signal range, even if that warning is 100+ miles away. I would suggest you rely more on the local TV channels.

The technology is present now to allow forecasters to "know" when the storms will be bad. The forecasters then share this info, and make sure the public knows the area is at an increased risk for dangerous tornados. If you here them discussing how tomorrow evening might be bad, take note, they aren't kidding....

Hopefully, your campground owner will be a local native, and he/she will know what you need to do. Ask when you check in - sometimes there are local public shelters, though often you cannot take pets. The campground *may* have a tornado shelter on the property, but don't bank on it. The construction requirements and associated insurance costs make shelters pretty impossible for the private owner. At least that was our experience up until our family sold our campground in 2007.

Deb and Ed M wrote:
NEVER try to outrun a tornado - they are FAST (can move 50 mph)

"NEVER" is a bit too strong.

If you are already on the highway going 70, the math would say you have a 20 MPH advantage- as long as you are driving away from the tornado.

There's also the old advice to drive "sideways", away from the tornado's path.

This is one of those times where common sense comes into play. If you pull over and hit the ditch whenever there's a tornado warning, you're probably going to get swept away in a flash flood.

On the other hand, if you are sitting in the car, stuck in traffic, and the tornado is coming- THEN, it's time to hit the ditch and pray.

There are indeed cases of folks getting killed in cars trying to flee tornadoes- so "get in the car and run" isn't a good recommendation. But you really can't say that's the WRONG and the most dangerous thing to do.

I don't think there's any cases of tornado chasers getting caught FLEEING a tornado...certainly a few have been caught while CHASING/ATTEMPTING TO GET CLOSE TO a tornado.

I think the bigger risk is that tornados are not always the clear black funnel. They can be cloudless, hidden in rain, or hit you at night. In the case of Joplin, MO, I'm afraid that some folks were 'blindly' driving through a big rainstorm (not 'fleeing') and suddenly hell broke loose on them.

Just like anywhere else you travel you need to be weather aware! Tornadoes come quickly, but the basic weather formations that cause them normally are seen coming for at least 24 hours, but the actual tornadoes form quickly.

Deb and Ed M wrote:

Trackrig wrote:
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?

NEVER try to outrun a tornado - they are FAST (can move 50 mph) and can change course in the blink of an eye. Furthermore, when you see the pictures of tornadoes on TV, they are always moving from the left to the right - the photographer is on the south side (dry side) of the funnel as it moves away. Quite often, the leading edge of a tornado is rain-wrapped, so you won't see the funnel until it's too late. Or...as in the case of my sis-in-law: the tornado can be unrecognizable as a tornado. She was standing in the dining room, watching the hail with her 2 yr-old son, and looking at a particularly black cloud. Finally, when the F-5 tornado was close enough to make her ears pop, she headed for the basement, and her house was destroyed before she hit the bottom step. (Plainfield, IL 1990)

I was recently reading a book about an outbreak of F-5 tornadoes that hit Michigan in 1956; and the majority of people who were injured or killed, had tried to outrun the funnels in their cars.

And lastly - if you try to dodge one tornado - you might drive into the path of another one, depending on what kind of storm system is creating them.

The good news: they usually come with ample warning, especially with the new Dual-Pol radar. Most are small and have narrow destruction paths. A stout building will survive most close passes by a funnel, so your best bet is to protect yourselves from flying debris - and in an RV park, there will be a LOT of that.

It is not just the new generation RADAR but also the highly trained spotters (SkyWarn) that give better warnings.

I remember Plainfield rather well. It is the benchmark tornado for the spotters and disaster teams in this area.

I spent about two weeks in Plainfield providing communications for the Salvation Army Disaster team.

Trackrig wrote:
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?

NEVER try to outrun a tornado - they are FAST (can move 50 mph) and can change course in the blink of an eye. Furthermore, when you see the pictures of tornadoes on TV, they are always moving from the left to the right - the photographer is on the south side (dry side) of the funnel as it moves away. Quite often, the leading edge of a tornado is rain-wrapped, so you won't see the funnel until it's too late. Or...as in the case of my sis-in-law: the tornado can be unrecognizable as a tornado. She was standing in the dining room, watching the hail with her 2 yr-old son, and looking at a particularly black cloud. Finally, when the F-5 tornado was close enough to make her ears pop, she headed for the basement, and her house was destroyed before she hit the bottom step. (Plainfield, IL 1990)

I was recently reading a book about an outbreak of F-5 tornadoes that hit Michigan in 1956; and the majority of people who were injured or killed, had tried to outrun the funnels in their cars.

And lastly - if you try to dodge one tornado - you might drive into the path of another one, depending on what kind of storm system is creating them.

The good news: they usually come with ample warning, especially with the new Dual-Pol radar. Most are small and have narrow destruction paths. A stout building will survive most close passes by a funnel, so your best bet is to protect yourselves from flying debris - and in an RV park, there will be a LOT of that.

I grew up near Wichita living there for the first 23 years of my life. I think I have seen 2 tornados. I saw more tornados in the 8 years I lived in Oklahoma City. May is a big month for tornadoes in both OK and KS. As a matter of fact, May 3rd and 5th are two days that stick out in my mind for large, long track tornadoes in OK with the May 3rd, 99 tornado missing our house by a couple blocks. KS and OK are very similar for tornado chances. I wouldn't sweat it, your chances of actually seeing one is slim to nearly none. I actually would like to be a storm chaser some day, it would be so energizing, but my wife would never allow it.

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.

Leeblev wrote:
Golly Gee!And so many are afraid to come to CA because we have earthquakes. Lets see......last one causing damage was??????? Oh! several years ago. Last tornado causing damage was????? Yesterday!
Since I am a California boy, tornado's scare me. I guess insurance in tornado country is similar to earthquake insurance here. So expensive you can't afford it.
Have I endured a tornado? No. However a couple of years ago, I hunkered down in a Sam's Club parking lot in Omaha and watched the local news warn of several in my area. Was I scared. You bet! This was the same day that a tornado took out an entire town in Iowa as we were driving west on I-80.
No thanks, I like my earthquakes.

Oddly home owners ins. was no more expensive than any place else.