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?

[johnhicks]

Yes Florida storms are right here right now.

[rockhillmanor]

malexander wrote:
I'm an Okie. We sit out on the porch and watch'em.
.....

X2

From the Midwest and as a kid when a storm was coming Dad would call us out on the porch and we'd sit on the swing and enjoy the storm as it hit! :C

Fast forward to >Florida.....the minute you know a storm is coming you RUN into the house from where ever you are at because of the most dangerous lightening strikes I have ever seen.

I was standing barefoot "inside" my house on the tile floor when a bolt of lightening hit outside the window, I felt it go thru my whole body.

[Mr_Mark1]

I'm so glad that we don't have tornado's in California (ha ha). On Friday, we had 90 mph gusts and it blew over my fireplace stack made of Stucco. The structure is an 11' tall x 7.5' wide x 3.5' stack sticking up from the roof. Neighbor had a plate glass window blow out. My house keeper happened to be there and took a video of the event (I was out of town).

The living room/dining room has a 70 ft. wall of glass and no breakage (thanking my lucky stars). I think the house is angled just right in correlation to which way the wind normally blows. The wind blow 'by' the windows, not 'at' the windows.

These strong winds seem to come through the California desert every few years (at this magnitude). A couple of times a year we get strong winds (40-50 mph gusts).

Making lemonade out of lemons. The workers are there today to clean up the mess and build a new stack.

MM.

[rockhillmanor]

Wanderlost wrote:
Don't scare yourself out of going somewhere:

Get appropriate weather apps AND a weather radio. That weather radio will shriek at you until you get up and listen to it - very important when the storms come in at night.
Watch/listen to local weather forecasts. Use your apps/internet connections to check out the weather forecasts for where you're going that day.

Always know what county you're in and what adjacent counties are, so you'll know if/when you're in a watch/warning area.

Don't drive into a wall cloud. Wait it out.

Just be weather alert. In time, it will become second nature.

I grew up in Tornado Alley. It's not anywhere near as scary as some like to portray - as long as one pays attention.

X2

The biggest lesson I learned was to map out the counties I will be driving thru on my trip for each day. This should be in all the books for new RV'ers.

Those green interstate signs you are driving under don't tell you what County you are in when the weather station is screaming at you what County the tornado is headed for!!! :E

And the national weather station does give out warnings by Counties. They figure you live in and are familiar which country you are in.

My first tornado newbie experience as a Snowbird, while driving the MH had my shorts in a bunch because I didn't know what County I was in, driving thru, or more importantly headed into. :R

I now "print" out a "County" map of all the states I am planning to be driving thru. Keep it on the console at all times.

[Wanderlost]

Don't scare yourself out of going somewhere:

Get appropriate weather apps AND a weather radio. That weather radio will shriek at you until you get up and listen to it - very important when the storms come in at night.
Watch/listen to local weather forecasts. Use your apps/internet connections to check out the weather forecasts for where you're going that day.
Always know what county you're in and what adjacent counties are, so you'll know if/when you're in a watch/warning area.
Don't drive into a wall cloud. Wait it out.

Just be weather alert. In time, it will become second nature.

I grew up in Tornado Alley. It's not anywhere near as scary as some like to portray - as long as one pays attention.

[rockhillmanor]

Don't know who compiled that list but the Memphis area is the Bermuda triangle for tornadoes and real real bad storms. Been there done that stupidly drove thru there during tornado season twice. :B

[RPreeb]

malexander wrote:
I'm an Okie. We sit out on the porch and watch'em.
The news people were telling where one was a couple years ago. My 19 yo daughter wanted to GO see it, it was only a few mile from our house. So, we went.:)

We do the same here in NE Colorado. 🙂

[malexander]

I'm an Okie. We sit out on the porch and watch'em.
The news people were telling where one was a couple years ago. My 19 yo daughter wanted to GO see it, it was only a few mile from our house. So, we went.:)

[cmcdar]

I am just heading home from spending 4 months in Florida.

Twice this year we had to head to the showers/shelter due to Tornado WARNINGS. It was quite scarry.

Couple things. Last year I did have smart phone apps but this year the same apps failed to notify me.

BOTH times that we had to seek shelter, it was at night. I wanted something that I could trust, that would alarm and wake me in case of a tornado warning. ALSO, it had to be easy enough to set the channels each time I relocated.
Found a great one!

ANOTHER THING - I snowbird for four months and change campgrounds frequently. (state campgrounds) I found it quite alarming to listen to the alerts and NOT know what county I was in or sometimes the town. So I made myself maps of the surrounding counties for each campground I stayed in. BELIEVE ME I was glad I did.

I asked this same question on here previously and there are some folks that are quite beligerent and dismissing.

Don't pay any attention to them! You prepare yourself so that, If necessary, you can get yourself and family to a safe place until the storm passes.

One more thing. The forst time we went to the shelter, I did take my cell phone and a little flashlite/weather radio. THANK GOD!

After we were there about 10 minutes the power went out. We were able to listen to the weather, use the lite, and with my phone monitor the radar and watch as the storms passed.

To the nay sayers - 14 people lost their lives in one of those storm event systems. Four were killed when a tree fell on thier mobile home as they slept.

I will make every effort to keep the ones I love safe!

[MrWizard]

you can't control anything, if it hits your park, head for cover

while driving, i have two rules

if its behind me keep driving
if its in front of me, STOP, find a spot to pull over and wait it out

#1 do my best to avoid it..
i grew up in tornado alley, i experienced "Black Wednesday" April 3, 1974, 147 tornadoes in 24hrs across 13 states, hundreds of people killed

lived with the threat every year, until i moved to Calif in 1978

yes i have traveled thru Oklahoma and midwest during tornado weather
hence my two rules
keep driving or stay put, my safety means more than my arrival schedule

[ThaOpenRoad]

Tornado hits RV Park. And this didn't happen in Tornado Alley, it happened in Washington state.

http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/video-vault/Tornado-Hits-RV-Park_Dallas-Fort-Worth-417804523.html

http://www.nbcrightnow.com/story/35035945/ef0-tornado-topples-rvs-in-monroe

[CavemanCharlie]

I'm not sure that you can list states. It's more the certain areas that are likely to get hit and some of those areas cross state lines. I live in Southern MN and we get some tornadoes. But, way northern MN does not get as many.

[RPreeb]

ThaOpenRoad wrote:
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?

Colorado should be on the upper list, ahead of Alabama, Mississippi, Iowa. Although only the eastern 1/3 of the state is subject to tornado activity, if figured by storm density in the area so affected, Colorado might rank even higher.

For most of my camping, I'll be in the mountains, and although that is where our storms build, conditions don't allow them to spawn tornadoes until they move out onto the plains. In the mountains, it's the lightning that can get pretty wild, especially if you are high up, or in the open.

Many years ago there was a supposed tornado in Manitou Springs at the foot of Pike's Peak, but it was never truly confirmed a tornado. The damage was consistent with a weak twister. Also had one take a path through the southern part of Denver several years ago, only 10-15 miles from the mountains.

It's common knowledge that tornadoes zero in on mobile home parks, so I guess that would put RV's as a secondary target. 😉

[Campinghoss]

Good thread but do not forget waterspouts. We were on Hatteras Island during a thunderstorm over the Pamlico Sound and four waterspouts were heading toward our cg. Most the time they do not make land but two of these did. We went to the bathhouse for safety.