Tornadoes while RVing

[ThaOpenRoad]

So we all know the USA gets a lot of twisters. Ever see that movie...Into The Storm? Well if you're in a RV and a tornado hits you get could be injured or even killed. Even from a weak EF0 or EF1. Nevermind the EF4 or EF5 monsters. There was a RV park in Louisiana that was hit by a tornado last year, a few people died. And tornado season is almost upon us. A RV is pretty much no match to any size tornado. It will rip the rig apart like it's nothing. But some areas of the USA get more twisters than other parts. So if you're traveling in tornado prone areas be careful.

STATES WITH THE MOST TORNADOES
- Florida
- Oklahoma
- Kansas
- Mississippi
- Iowa
- Louisiana
- Illinois
- Alabama
- Indiana
- Maryland

STATES WITH THE LEAST TORNADOES
- Alaska
- Nevada
- Oregon
- Utah
- Washington
- Arizona
- Idaho
- California
- Montana
- Maine

What do you think?

[camperforlife]

There has been a lot of good info here but as someone who was in a campground hit by a tornado there are circumstances that catch you by surprise. You think you are prepared but find yourself riding out a tornado in a hybrid travel trailer.

We arrived on a Sunday, the office was closed and our site info was left in a mailbox. Weather was not perfect but it wasn't raining or threatening. The campground was unusually quiet. We started setting up and the wind picked up. We leveled, set the jacks and got the canvas ends set up when the sky fell. We didn't have a chance to even think about a bad storm. Fortunately the huge trees that came down were in the front of the campground and the trailers hit were unoccupied. It happened so fast and over so fast we barely had time to be afraid yet be prepared.

[CavemanCharlie]

To the Original Poster I say, Welcome To the Forum.

Thanks for the Heads Up about Tornado Safety. It is that time of the year.

I agree with the others that have said that the best defense is to keep a weather radio around and be aware of the local conditions and find a safe place to go ahead of time.

[TyroneandGladys]

Ductape wrote:
Thanks, but I think there's too much attention paid to stories spreading worry about low probability risks.

Check out FDR's first inaugural address for another perspective.

Of course if a lot of you stay home out of worry; more room in the parks for the rest of us... :B

PS. Welcome to the forum!

I am from Oklahoma and you do not need to worry but be INFORMED of the conditions AND take PRECAUTIONS.
To me it is no different than checking the air pressure of my tires or being aware of high wind warnings and parking for the day.

[Ductape]

Thanks, but I think there's too much attention paid to stories spreading worry about low probability risks.

Check out FDR's first inaugural address for another perspective.

Of course if a lot of you stay home out of worry; more room in the parks for the rest of us... :B

PS. Welcome to the forum!

[ThaOpenRoad]

TyroneandGladys wrote:
A tornado hit a RV park in OKC last year there was a death and many injuries BUT no injuries or deaths to those that went into the parks storm shelter.

Oh yeah - https://youtube.com/watch?v=THPnZN22SAY

[TyroneandGladys]

Know where to go in the campground and then go there when needed. A tornado hit a RV park in OKC last year there was a death and many injuries BUT no injuries or deaths to those that went into the parks storm shelter.

[pnichols]

Hmmm ...: Assuming that "getting away from a tornado funnel that is traveling 10/20/30 MPH" may require having to slug along ultra-slowly in bumper to bumper traffic and since tornadoes move from SW to NE ... why, geometrically, shouldn't one travel 90 degrees to the path line when confronted with bumper to bumper traffic jam speeds??

Hence, it seems like the surest way to put distance between yourself and the funnel's path would be to travel (at whatever traffic speed) in either a NW or SE direction - NOT by slugging along in traffic traveling due south or due north.

Low escapee average traffic speeds as compared to tornado across-ground speeds may modify geometry math.

[traveylin]

Sharknado, a terrifying documentary of tornados near coastal areas sucking up sharks and distributing them in a city where they eat the populace. Basement were an effective escape.

[2gypsies1]

You would, most likely, have an indication of a possible tornado or bad storm. You should be monitoring the weather with some kind of device.

You definitely should not keep driving or just sitting in your RV. You need to get into a shelter. You also should not park under an overpass. If a tornado should happen it would be twice as bad in that wind tunnel.

If you're in a RV park/campground, the best place is the restroom. There aren't many windows and it's usually a concrete block building. We spent many hours at various times in the Alabama state park restrooms - men, women, children, pets, lawn chairs, etc... they all went in the same one. The rangers came and knocked on doors alerting us to the bad storms.

When traveling in those states and checking into a campground, the first thing you should ask is where is the nearest shelter. Sometimes they're even marked on the campground map you are given.

[wa8yxm]

BB_TX wrote:
Last year there were about 40,000 traffic deaths on our roadways. There were 17 tornado deaths. Be aware of approaching storm systems, but worry far more about traveling on the highways than about tornadoes. Tornadoes always make large headlines, but actually affect a very tiny fraction of land. Of course, that is of little consequence if you are on that particular fraction of land.

Good advice.. I'm from South central Lower Michigan, back in the 1960's there were a string of KILLER tornados that hit in an area called Kinderhook (I've worked there) which is just south of Coldwater, or just NORTH of the Indiana state line on US-27/I-69

The scary part is the Weather Bureau issued the ALL CLEAR just minutes before they struck.

Today, in no small part thanks to that storm system,, We have a wide ranging network of Storm Spotters.. NO, they are not the Storm Chasers you see in the movies like Tornado and Twister,, These folks do not run TO the storm (They TAKE COVER) but they report on the formation and movement, They are trained as to what to look for, Day or night, they use 2-way Radio, Cell phones and other means to communicate.

YOU CAN BECOME ONE.

visit www.arrl.org and find a club near you... Even if you are not a licensed amateur radio operator like me most clubs sponsor, in cooperation with the NOAA, (And conducted by NOAA) Weather spotter classes...

IN addition to what to watch for, and how to report, they also teach about taking shelter.... Where to shelter and things like that.


Next page:

In tornado season,, Check with the camp host/office to find where the designated shelter is when you check in.. Better prepared than "Where do I go"

Finally, Weather/all Hazard Radios.. Yes they can be annoying, but A story told by NOAA is about a factory that installed one,, When the WARNING sounded they took shelter in a properly designed storm shelter, And when the ALL CLEAR sounded they returned to ground level and found.... the building's foundation and floor, No walls, No roof, no machinery.. No cars in the parking lot (Just a big block chevy engine) NOTHING

Also nobody injured or killed... Imagine what would have happened without the warning.

A radio that accepts an EXTERNAL antenna is best

[BB_TX]

These maps make it easier to visualize areas of most concern, especially the areas with the black and dark red dots.

Tornado alley risk maps

[ThaOpenRoad]

Dtank wrote:
Hmmmmmm - only 20 states in the US?
(Total between the haves and have nots. Are the remaining 30 "marginal" or what?)

Here's the full list of states. This is based on tornado occurrences per square mile. Worst to best.

1. Florida
2. Oklahoma
3. Kansas
4. Mississippi
5. Iowa
6. Louisiana
7. Illinois
8. Alabama
9. Indiana
10. Maryland
11. Nebraska
12. Arkansas
13. Texas
14. Missouri
15. Delaware
16. South Carolina
17. Tennessee
18. Georgia
19. North Carolina
20. Ohio
21. Wisconsin
22. Kentucky
23. South Dakota
24. Minnesota
25. North Dakota
26. Massachusetts
27. Colorado
28. New Jersey
29. Connecticut
30. Michigan
31. Virginia
32. Pennsylvania
33. Rhode Island
34. New Hampshire
35. New York
36. Wyoming
37. Hawaii
38. West Virginia
39. Vermont
40. New Mexico
41. Maine
42. Montana
43. California
44. Idaho
45. Arizona
46. Washington
47. Utah
48. Oregon
49. Nevada
50. Alaska

[Dtank]

steve-n-vicki wrote:
I sure am glad Arkansas did not make that list, since we have already had 3 rounds of tornadoes since the first of the year and more forecasted for this coming Friday

Hmmmmmm - only 20 states in the US?
(Total between the haves and have nots. Are the remaining 30 "marginal" or what?)

Having experienced a tornado (with fatalities) up close and personal in Wichita Falls Texas - TX must be like Arkansas...a "maybe" state!?

Second and third posts will be states -with and without- lightning and floods.
Fourth - states with and without most/least drive-by shootings.

The sky is falling.......sometimes even in "Tornado safe California",
*trees* have been falling recently due to record rains, resulting in death and destruction..:(

Forget the RV - best to stay in your home on high ground....
with a tornado shelter, of course!..:W

.

[BB_TX]

I have lived in the southern end of tornado alley for all my 71 years. Last time our house was damaged by a tornado was in 1948. Can't remember the last time one hit any where in our town, but long, long time ago. Have actually seen only 3 in my lifetime.

Last year there were about 40,000 traffic deaths on our roadways. There were 17 tornado deaths. Be aware of approaching storm systems, but worry far more about traveling on the highways than about tornadoes. Tornadoes always make large headlines, but actually affect a very tiny fraction of land. Of course, that is of little consequence if you are on that particular fraction of land.

When you check into a park, ask about on site shelters available in the rare case of a tornado. If none available, know where the nearest most sturdy building is located, a concrete block restroom for example. If nothing at all available at the park, then know where you may safely go before a potentially violent storm arrives, such as a big box store. Have a good weather radio. Have a good weather app and radar on your phone. And keep up with weather forecast on TV. Be prepared but don't fret over it.

And by the way, Texas annually has the most tornadoes, more than twice any other state except Kansas. Of course, that relates to the state size.

Annual tornadoes per state

[sdianel_-acct_c]

One thing I learned from my son who lives in OK is that MOST tornadoes move from the SW toward the NE. So either head due south or north. (not southwest or northeast). Remember the math problem in school where there were 2 trains going different speeds? I said I would never use that. Well I did. We were travelling east on I-10 and a tornado was moving toward I-10 from the south heading northeast. I calculated that if we continued on the same speed we would intersect with the tornado just as it crossed I-10. So we stopped for lunch and avoided the storm. Told my DH that I FINALLY used that math problem! LOL!!