I was always told that if the sky is green, get into the basement. It's strange to see the outside turn green, but I've seen it many times. Also, if you hear a train coming but there's no train, RUN!
The fun of living somewhere coastal is that that also applies for hurricanes. Hopefully your local meteorologists have a good eye on which one(s) you're getting that day.
Chris , please don't think that an American thunder storm *can't* kill you . Strong storms can have deadly lightning , destructive flat line winds , killer hailstones , and flash floods which can quickly form & drown you 😬
Tornado sirens originally were air-raid sirens at the end of World War II, they were put into use. Americans are good at reinventing things for different purposes
Yes, in fact, they still double as warning sirens in case of an attack or other civil emergency. During the Cold War, they were Civil Defense sirens, and it was over time that civil authorities thought to begin using them for weather emergencies, such as tornadoes. As an aside, back in the day, my dad was in the Civil Defense.
@StuartistStudio1964 in fact, the way you tell the difference between a Tornado siren and an attack siren is the sounding pattern. Tornado sirens will ramp up and stay at their maximum pitch, whereas attack sirens do that up and down pattern
@@skyraider87 interesting enough, I grew up in Davidson county TN (Nashville) and they use the attack pattern for tornado warnings, as in up and down.
7:55 In answer to your question: Every region in the US has deadly acts of nature: tornadoes, hurricanes, droughts, forest fires, earthquakes, floods, blizzards, ice storms, volcanic eruptions and I'm possibly missing a few things. Some regions are less destructive than others. I've lost everything I owned *twice* to hurricanes myself. Your belongings are just things; after you go through a few storms you realize how transient modern life really can be. You stop attaching yourself emotionally to objects. You make sure your insurance is paid and all the safety precautions on your physical home are up to date. You have a closet dedicated to disaster supplies (we just called ours the hurricane closet) and know when to leave, and where to go. You simply plan for it and go on with your life. The inner strength you feel knowing you survived through weeks without things like power and running water is priceless. You find you're more generous than you thought you were with your time and supplies. People are more gracious to each other. You really discover who you are. Of course, it depends who you're weathering the storm with. That said, I've never lost anyone in a storm so I don't want to speak for those that have. I'm sure they've had very different experiences. But while I've been through many hurricanes, I've slept through most of them. It's tornadoes that scare the hell out of me.😅
In the areas with earthquakes and volcanoes there is always the threat of tsunamis. Southern California recently has proven to be prone to everything listed almost. So far no volcanoes there.
My son is about your age and he is a storm chaser in Ohio. He once identified and called in a night time tornado to the authorities. They issued a tornado warning and he’s credited with saving many lives. Only a handful of people were killed, even though the tornado was graded an EF4. Wind speed between 166 and 200 mph (267 - 321 kmph) and the damage was incredible and widespread.
Really I’m in Ohio? What part was he in I’ve probably been to it. We lost our home to a fire in 2015 im originally from South Carolina. Aunt had a vacant rental here. She let us rent to own it so it’s ours now. Much respect to your kid.
What you might experience before a tornado that is different from other storms--the sky turns a sickly greenish color, the air gets very still, and your ears might pop. Flags or tree branches might start to blow in different directions. I didn't see the tornado near my house, because thankfully, I was in the basement with my children. It picked up a huge old oak tree from somewhere, I never did see where that tree came from, roots and all, and landed on my roof. A neighboring small town was flattened, in a different tornado. Debris was scattered for miles around. I have seen spikes from railroad ties driven through telephone poles, which we assumed were from a tornado, but we also have straight-line winds that are incredibly destructive. The good news is tornadoes don't often last more than a few minutes on the ground (but some do), Oh--I should say I am American and live in the central part, not on Tornado Alley.
Hiding in a closet doesn't protect much more than just the house as a whole, but the glass in the Windows have less of a chance of hitting you in a closet.
And other shrapnel. After a tornado hit my mother’s house, in the dining room a roofing tile had blown in through the window and embedded itself in an interior wall like a ninja throwing star, right at neck level!
I guess you do what you can. I live in AK so the main thing we have to worry about is earthquakes, which usually aren’t even dangerous unless on the coast. I have heard of funnel clouds in the interior, but no more. I would take earthquakes over tornados any day
the smaller the room, or space, the more structure the walls provide and the less likely the roof will come off, at least thats what I was told. you want to find something interior to the house or underground, away from windows, away from loose objects that can fly around. is this fool proof? no. but it helps.
People hide in bathrooms, especially in older homes, because the tiled walls are usually concrete and the tub is cast iron. Then they will cover themselves with blankets because any debris in the air can hit you and anything at 300 mph will seriously hurt you. Another scary thought is that you can be in the basement and the house can collapse on top of you and you can't get out.
The problem with tornado videos is they can never show you the true scale of these monsters. If you ever get close to one, the size is utterly beyond comprehension.
I believe nowadays with everyone having cameras is a game changer. Because back in the day you had to just rely on movies and a few photos in the news. Now you can see tornados rip through a neighborhood as it slowly approaches whoever is recording
I lived in Oklahoma for only 18 months. The tornado sirens are tested the first Wednesday of every month at 10 am so you know what they sound like. I was sitting in the car with my girlfriend one time and it was weird stormy weather (otherwise known as a typical Oklahoma day). Off in the distance I saw something strange “what’s that?” “A tornado, have you never seen one?” “No, shouldn’t we go home or something?” “Nah, it’s too far away.” She was so nonchalant as a native. I was freaking out as a transplant. lol
I'll take one for the team and answer the bathroom question :) Yes, sometimes our houses have interior bathrooms or "powder rooms" (contains only a toilet, sink and mirror), so there aren't any windows. Instead, a fan gets installed in the ceiling that sucks air out. They're loud and obnoxious, but they do a good job removing body odors and even excess steam. These kinds of bathrooms really are good to hole up in for a tornado, because their walls are often lined with water pipes going all over the rest of the house. The pipes themselves can often be sunk pretty deeply in the ground in order to avoid freezing in the winter. As a result, they provide extra reinforcement to the room.
I hid in my bathroom a few weeks ago, only room in my place with no windows. We were under a tornado warning, it started getting really loud, lights flickered. 2 tornadoes ended up landing about 30 mins from me. One of my friends and his family and dog hid in their hallway as one of them hit their home. All were safe but their home had massive damage and both their cars were totalled.
Plus there's the bathtub, especially if it's ceramic or iron. When I lived in an apartment building with no basement I spent a tornado warning laying in the bathtub with two cats and cushions on top of us.
Once, I was online playing a game with some friends when the sirens started going off. They heard it through my mic and seemed alarmed. I was like, "Relax, I'm watching the weather radar and it's going to go past me to the north by about three miles." I suppose you get used to it. That's just Arkansas for you.
......but then on the other hand, the sirens went off and because you're so used to it, you only notice after about five minutes and then get up and look out the window to see why the damn sirens are still going off and there's a tornado in the back yard
Tornado sirens are often extremely creepy is because in a lot of smaller towns and unincorporated communities the tornado sirens are just repurposed Air Raid Sirens from WW2.
@@tlockerk I don't know how big the military presence is in Kansas, but the infamous Spanish Flu that swept the world most likely came out of a military base there, and as soldiers deployed to Europe they brought it with them. Because of WW1 and the secrecy most countries were trying to maintain about the strength/condition of their armies, Spain was the only country that was reporting on it. So, knowing that, and the overall climate of the US during the Cold War, it makes sense that the government would want to have air raid sirens at least around the military bases scattered all across the nation. The air raid sirens didn't get conscripted into use as tornado sirens until bases (in particular all the war planes & other military equipment) took damage from tornadoes. From that point on, sirens were put in place pretty much everywhere that's at risk of tornadoes.
@@tlockerk from what I’ve heard they installed them nearly everywhere, although a lot of towns bout them as surplus after the war. At least around here they did.
Those duel tone sirens in southern ruel towns are menacing. The secondary lower pitch tone sounds like a siren from the next town over being carried by the wind.
I live in tornado valley, in Nebraska. I have always lived here and always been afraid of tornadoes. We've experienced a lot of tornadoes but have been lucky enough to have no damage to our home and our families homes. I have memories from when i was around 6 being woken up in the night to go into the basement and hope the tornado doesn't hit us. In one storm we were in the basement, and just 5 miles from us a tornado took out an entire building. I think the reason we don't move is because it's not that big of an issue, tornadoes are definitely a real threat and happen just often enough for people to be afraid but not enough for us to move away, we only have one every few years and most of the time (in my area at least) they don't ever cause life changing damage. The tornado siren is also supposed to instill fear but in some towns the tornado siren goes off regularly to signal other things, like 12:00 lunchtime, or just random times, it is more annoying than scary. TLDR: I have always lived in tornado valley and have had tornadoes almost hit my house, but since it doesn't happen that much we dont move away. Also the tornado siren is sometimes overused in small towns and don't instill fear.
the Grand Island tornado most likely is an exception. tornado's are erratic. Miles may be destroyed and then one house in the center is fine. Or the reverse is true. they can flip trains, obliterate tally buildings.
even if you are in a fully underground basement, you can suffer danger. My parents hid in their basement in the GI tornado and not only was everything above ground totally ruined, but everything in the basement was shoved into the south west corner of the place. this included some VERY heave, lowlieing machinery. Had there not been a small window above my parents ( who hid behind a solid core door crammed against them by the Shop smith and Lathe, they would not have been able to get out. There were tow neighbor boys, after the all clear who went house to house digging people out.
Tornado alley is a higher population of low income people also, so they don't really have the ability to move as easily. In the US though, if you aren't dealing with tornados you're dealing with some other natural disaster. Wild fires, flooding, mega snow storms etc. The ones that grew up and live in tornado alley are used to it lol. You'll see tons of videos with people on the porch watching it slowly head to them. Midwesterners are a bit crazy (coming from one).
One time growing up I was at my neighbor's house playing video games. My dad runs through the door and was like get in the basement there is a tornado. As I headed home there was a tornado starting to come down overhead. I was like heck no I'm watching this. lol Besides if it does fully touch down it is already past us.
@@reanimated That is assuming, of course, that the hurricane itself isn't also _spawning_ tornadoes. That _is_ a thing that happens, pretty commonly. Having lived in Florida for a number of years, it's always a bit funny to me when I meet people who don't realize that, and they try to argue that they'd prefer to live somewhere that gets hurricanes over somewhere that gets tornadoes, because the predicted path of a hurricane at least gives you some advance warning. And then I have to chime in, "Uh... you do realize that hurricanes and tornadoes _aren't_ mutually exclusive, right?"
People don't realize the US is a fairly hostile landscape. Between wild animals, dangerous environments, and extreme weather we could honestly give Australia a run for it's money. It's just most Americans are so used to it we don't even notice it. I mean walk out your back door and see a rattlesnake, then that afternoon a tornado hits 5 miles down the road, or you see a bear or coyote in your garbage. Depending on where you live that's just something that happens.
It really doesn’t matter where you live in the USA you will have dangerous weather. Take a pick hurricanes, tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, blizzards, land slides, flooding, etc.
as frightening as the sound is, there is a big problem of alert fatigue. basically they go off so often and nothing happens so people take it less seriously. Its why the Joplin death toll was so high.
The town where I live and work sounds the siren four times a day for workers. Which meant that almost no one took shelter last year when a tornado happened to pass a neighboring town at 6pm, one of the scheduled times. Luckily no one was hurt.
yeah thats.....exactly what happened to me...didn't even register until theyd been going off and going off and going off and why and oh hey there's a tornado chomping its way up the street, THAT'S why the hell they're going off and going off and going off.....
happened here, not with sirens but the news. evey bit of rain we had for a month was made out to be the big one. so when the big one did come no one paid it any mind. lots of unnecessary deaths because of that.
Yes back in the late 80’s early 90’s they were called tornado drills. By the 200’s the were renamed “inclement weather” weather drills. I only remember 2 occasions where these drills were put into practice at my schools.
@@NeonBeeCat20 as well and yeah, where i live schools were required to do tornado drills once a month. didn't always actually happen once a month but they were supposed to. i live pretty close to jarrell though, so that could be a factor on why they were so strict
@@HoustonmechanicR-xt9eyJust once for me. Fortunately nothing hit us but a bunch of the other girls were crying. I wasn’t but not because I was brave… I was always a little detached from reality as a kid, lol.
The thing with tornado sirens is that they sound when a tornado has been spotted in your area, but it could be a tornado that just touches down in a field and never does any damage to people or buildings, or it could be a massive F5 heading toward you with the potential to completely flatten buildings. For this reason unfortunately many people in my area ignore tornado sirens when they go off because they have heard them go off and then not been hit by a tornado themselves so many times. Once when I was growing up the tornado sirens went off and I was the only member of my family who took shelter in the basement because I had just been taught to do so in kindergarten while the rest of my family members had lived through a lot of tornado sirens without ever getting hit by a tornado. Then we started getting phone calls from relatives asking if we were alright because apparently an F5 tornado had completely flattened a neighborhood like a mile away from us, including their high school. That's why it pays to be cautious and take shelter when the sirens go off even if the chances of being directly hit are small!
Kansan responding here. Sirens typically sound 10-15 minutes before the storm arrives... if they sound at all. While it is true that many people living in Tornado Alley have never seen one, I have personally witnessed over 20... I am 58 years old.
You get a full 10 to 15 minutes? Lucky. I’ve been hit several times in Texas and usually we get maybe 90 seconds of warning from the sirens. Our NOAA radios are a must as a result because they go off before the sirens.
When a tornado siren goes off, that means it's actually on the ground. I live in Kansas and have for 27 years. I've never seen a tornado at home, but have experienced the terror one time of a threatened direct hit from one on our small town. The sirens were bad enough, but then we made the mistake of listening to a local radio broadcast where the announcer kept telling everyone in town to take cover immediately. with rising panic as it inched closer... "It's 4 miles away and heading right for you. 3 miles away, take cover! Get away from windows in your house! 2 miles away...1 mile away! It's almost on top of you!" We prayed and the tornado popped back into the clouds and spared our small town of 584 souls. Next time after getting in place, I will never listen to the radio like that again. Ever. As for why we live here, there are natural dangers everywhere. Earthquakes on the West Coast and hurricanes on the East Coast and Gulf Coast. Dangerous snow and ice storms in the Midwest and East coasts and tornadoes East of the Rocky Mountains, pretty much, so pick your poison. Oh, and people are concerned about severe thunderstorms due to lightning (black outs), large hail and straight winds over 70 miles an hour
To answer why. They are frequently tracking across ground that is good for farming and often you were born there. Why do people live next to volcanos? Why do people live in areas prone to earthquake, hurricane, flooding, landslides, avalanches? People get used to them and usually know how to handle them. My childhood home we had a large underground root cellar with a reinforced steel door that locked from the inside. My first house had a full basement and a large reinforced concrete room with a reinforced concrete roof. You make adjustments. If you are driving you turn 90 degrees to the path of the tornado and drive like crazy to get away.
not to mention that much more mundane things like car accidents or heart diseas are MUCH more likely to kill you. it simply isnt worth focusing on the slim chance that your house might get destroyed. obviously you should always have a plan for emergencies, but the risk just isnt as high as you would think
Only addition Id note is if you're driving and you can actually see the thing heading at you, its often too late to run. When its too late to drive away you NEED to get out of the car and take cover in the ditch. Its going to suck and its still risky, but better odds than surviving when it throws your car.
Yup you get used to it. Went camping in Oklahoma once and the campsite had literal steel boxes, buried into the ground, with massive internal locks. There were at least 6 across the whole site. Big tornado shelters.
I survived the June 8, 1966 Topeka, Kansas F5. It went all of the way through the city. I remember the green sky and the freight train noise. There are some good videos about it on TH-cam. The destruction was wild.
The bathroom is actually a better choice because of the pipes. The bathtub will also give you more protection especially if you can pull a mattress over yourself or at least a heavy blanket.
@@lennybuttz2162 It depends upon the house. My bathrooms are exterior rooms, whereas my "closet" is a tiny laundry room so there's still grounded pipes.
The room is irrelevant. As many walls or "protection" between you and the tornado is the key. Many people have taken shelter in the bathtub and that was all that was left after the tornado passed. Most deaths from a tornado are from injuries caused by flying debris.
A lot of people talk about how certain sounds can get you straight out of bed in a split second. But trust me, nothing gets you out of bed quicker than the sound of a civil defense siren going off to warn you of a possible tornado in your area.
If everyone tried to outrun a tornado in cars, the roads would get clogged and a lot of people die. We hear the sirens once a week for testing, and if you hear them during a storm it makes you start checking news outlets. I've had friends and family lose houses and cars from them, my friends dad lost his leg because of a tornado.
I live in the path of Mt Rainier and have a lahar siren (giant mudflow) and a traffic jam is the major thing I worry about. If the siren goes off then about 90,000 people living in the lahar hazard zone has between 30-45 minutes to get to high ground up to 100 feet (about 30 meters) from the valley floor. We get traffic jams when people are following the rules. I can't imagine what it will be like when everybody knows they have to escape and tries to drive in their car.
Interesting fact: the tornado sirens we use today were invented during the Cold War and were called 'Civil Defense' sirens. They were to warn people of incoming nuclear warheads. Some of the original sirens have been replaced with newer ones. Sirens are also used to warn people who are outside, not inside.
Yes Tornados Have Happened In Germany The Most Recent Was Back On 21 December 2023. IF2/T4 tornado confirmed to drop in the Cologne district of Poll on thursday evening as hurricane/storm "Zoltan" passed over Germany. The tornado tracked for 16.7 km and measured as wide as 370m. It were rated IF2 based on damage assessment, snapping strong powerlines, and deroofing a house. 2 people sustained injuries.
What is that, the equivalent of an EF1-EF2? The scale confuses me. Either way, I understand why Germany would have more tornados than the rest of Europe. Based on its geographical features. The Alps and the low flat farmland. That being said the strength and amount is both far weaker and much more infrequent(by a lot) than in the US. Also, because of the way tornados are measured here in the US the strength doesn't matter much is almost all damage related. We have had countless tornados since 2013 that were strong enough to be an EF5 but they didn't hit the right things at the right time in the right way. There's also been times where it appears they have just refused to give an EF5 even though houses were tornados completely of their foundation. The entire system needs to be reevaluated in my personal opinion. In reality I believe we are downplaying just how much stronger these tornados are. Also, good reaction... hope to see similar stuff in the future.
Growing up in Indiana in the 1980s, a Tornado Warning on the TV was the scariest thing to ever happen.. What I was told was that if I heard the wind rushing "like a freight train", that I had thirty seconds to get into the underground tornado shelter.
Trust me the sound of a tornado siren is normally not that scary when you hear it during the day. In South Dakota it’s every first Tuesday of the month at 1 p.m., but when you here that siren at 7 at night on a Friday that siren is terrifying, you have to get all living things in your house to the basement then, in typical Midwest fashion, go out and see how bad it is. The scariest thing is when you’re outside on a hot humid day when it suddenly gets cold and dry very quickly. That is the quickest way to tell if a tornado is coming.
I remember being in a car being hit by a rain wrapped tornado, we didn't see it coming. We parked on the side of the road because we couldn't see then all of a sudden the rain went sideways, and then boom being hit by grass,branches dirt and the car shaking violently. We made it out shook but unharmed. Funny thing was we saw the storm it was in and thought it was just rain, after that day I don't bother driving if I see storm cells in the area
fun fact-I don't know if this was the most recent tornado in Germany but May 20 2022 there was a tornado in west Germany which swept thro many towns caused mass destruction
I'm from Oklahoma. We're in the middle of tornado alley. I still live here because I love Oklahoma and wouldn't want to live anywhere else. Texas is the only other state I'd consider living in, and I'd only move there if I had to leave Oklahoma. Tornados happen here (and also in Texas), but they're not as common as movies like "Twister" would lead you to believe. I've had a few close calls in my lifetime, but thankfully a tornado has never directly hit my house. Closest call I ever had, a tornado was on the ground heading towards my town (at night, and rain wrapped), but it lifted a couple of miles before it reached us. Lots of buildings and houses in town were damaged because of the high winds, but it wasn't nearly as bad as it would have been if the tornado had stayed on the ground and made it into town. As for getting in a closet, the best place you can be is a tornado shelter, or a basement. But if a closet is the best thing you have, it'll be better than being out in the open with all of the broken glass and debris that would be flying around if your house gets hit. If a tornado directly hits your house you're going to have a real bad time, but it's still possible that you could survive.
Why we live there... in the US, it is more like "pick your poison" on what natural disaster you prefer. Out on the west coast, you might not have the tornado or hurricane risk, but earthquakes, landslides, and wildfires are common. In the Central US, wildfires and tornadoes are a higher risk. Also, flooding along the Mississippi River. On the East coast, tornadoes, hurricanes, and flooding are riskier. In most of the Northern US, blizzards are common. Anywhere you go in the US, there is a natural disaster than is higher risk. So, you go to somewhere where you are most comfortable with that risk.
America & our fascination with Tornados is weird because half the city will go find shelter (as you should) while the other half will grab their phones & start recording. They had to add “Tornado Emergency” to really make the point across
5:50 America specifically has the most suitable geography and weather for tornado formation, especially in tornado alley and the south. The land is rlly flat and cold air from Canada and the Rockies comes down and meets with warm air from the gulf which causes tornadoes. Thats why we can have multiple at once it’s just far more common there
The Midwest/ tornado alley is right in the center of where 4 air masses meet, maritime tropical, and continental polar. Basically hot and humid air along with cold and dry air
They blow the sirens when there is radar rotation in the clouds. Funny thing is most of us go outside to see if we can see a tornado. We had one hit my high school in 1992. Watched it come out from behind the barn across the road, then it lifted up and went towards the school. That year was a record year in Ohio for tornados. We just tied it a few weeks ago with like 62 tornados so far this year.
I was born and raised in Wichita, Kansas. When I explain to people the lifestyle of regular tornado season and having seen tornadoes, they always seem terrified. Even just the regular testing of the sirens.
Born and raised in Leawood, KS (KC suburb). Our sirens were tested first Wednesday of the month at 2pm. I only saw one tornado 'out in the wild,' but it was far away.
I live in Florida and the thunderstorms we get will sometimes spawn tornados and we were always taught to go into the most interior room of the house or in the bathroom in the bathtub because we don’t have basements here. In school we also had tornado drills and sometimes real ones where you went into the most interior hallway of the school and covered the back of your neck with your hands and put your head between your knees. When I was a kid we actually had a tornado take off part of our roof during Hurricane Ivan in Pensacola, Florida.
@@Adrianaandchris1 anywhere in Florida can get them, but the most common area is the north western Panhandle area. I live in Tampa now and Orlando is a little over an hour and a half away and I’d say we roughly get the same amount of tornadoes each year as Orlando, maybe slightly more but they usually aren’t deadly and are more downed trees and property damage, not like the ones in this video that flatten whole neighborhoods.
I wonder if they have them where you're at for golfers. I live in Florida and haven't heard of them except at golf courses. I'm glad you got them there.
Makes me think of the lightning strike that hit 2-3 people at the Traveler's Golf Tournament this year. We received a tornado warning during the tournament and the staff had to evacuate everyone. As soon as me and mom got in the car, all hell broke loose. It started off as a soft drizzle but then soon progress to an intense down pour. The poor folks who had yet get into their cars were being pelted by rain. Saw some lightning bolts crashing down around the area. I didn't witness the lightning strike that hit the people, but I would not be surprised if one of the lightning bolts I saw was that particular one. Thankfully the lightning struck the tree and not the people directly. Thankfully we were out in a middle of a field in a car, so it was the safest place to be when you're in those extreme weather events. PSA for those who are in situations like this. Stay away from trees during thunderstorms. They're natural lightning rods and have a higher likelihood of being struck than out in a middle of a field. Even better if you have a vehicle to take shelter in, since the rubber on the tires will keep you grounded in case it was struck by a bolt.
To answer your questions: "When do the sirens go off?" As early as 15-20 min ahead of time and as late as after the tornado is already halfway through town. "Can you outrun a tornado in a car?" Tornado wind speeds are in the hundreds of kilometers per hour but the tornado's windfield itself can move anywhere from 5 kph to over 100 kph so it really depends. What roads you have access to are a factor as you can only go certain directions while tornado can go any direction. It's often hard to tell which direction it's going and it can change directions suddenly and unpredictably. Combine that with panicked traffic, downed power lines and trees, and low visibility due to the storm and you're usually gonna have a hard time getting away in a car. You're just as likely to drive into it when it would have otherwise missed you unless you've got a lot of preparation and experience chasing tornadoes. You'll also need luck on your side.
They had 3 tornados in one storm system that injured 43 back in 2022. Not sure how that wasn't covered in the news for people...living there. Seemed severe for them!
8:38 Turning the lights off won't save you. 18:42 Most bathrooms in the US are located on the interior of buildings and they usually have fans that vent to the outside.
Tornadoes move with the parent storm, so they can can be nearly stationary, or can move at 85/90 kph. The safety rules are to put as many walls between you and the tornado as possible. Bathrooms are a good choice, as plumbing often reinforces the walls. The US has more tornadoes because of it's unique geography. The British Isles have the most tornadoes per square mile, followed by a large area across France and Germany, with Italy and Spain having some memorable tornadoes in recent years. Argentina and Uruguay, South Africa, Bengal, China, and Japan have all had significant storms in the last 20 years.
@@michaeltipton5500 Earthquakes and tsunamis I can see but the volcano bit caught me off guard. ..... but as soon as I read "washington" I remembered St. Helens. I was 8 months old at the time so by "remembering" I mean that people were still talking about it for years after. Actually I am learning all kinds of new things today, yay! Also this chart thingie says it erupted several more times; I'd still rather have a volcano than a tornado. A volcano isn't going to CHASE YOU DOWN
I'm from Kansas, and used to chase storms. It was a fun time. I was also blown off the road by one at night when I was NOT chasing storms at the time. It was not a fun time. Do I hear the tornado sirens, and have my TV show interrupted for tornado warnings? Yes, but the chances of actually getting hit by one is extremely small. The town I live in has had quite a few pass closely by, but hasn't had a direct hit in a good 120 years.
These videos never truly convey how terrifyingly massive these tornados are in person. I've been relatively close to some smaller ones and even then they are otherworldy to witness in person. It's like if you lived in a small town your entire life and then you get to the top of a tall mountain, your brain almost struggles to comprehend the distance your eyes are witnessing. It's very jarring and scary to witness the first time.
Okay, I live in Nebraska and have been through quite a few of these, so here's the answer to some of your questions: *Tornado watch. This means that conditions are favorable for storms to develop during the watch hours, and are often up to 12 hours in length. If you don't already have your weather alert notifications on, now's the time. Keep a radio or your cell phone with you. In the 1975 Omaha F4 tornado, the watch was issued around lunchtime and was set from about 2-8 pm. Just about everyone in town knew all day that something nasty was brewing, though. The timing was pretty much spot on, with the first of multiple twisters popping up just after two. *If an actual tornado is spotted on radar or by trained spotters, (a "confirmed tornado") you get the TORNADO WARNING. There may be a warning issued for a "possible touchdown" or "probable tornado." This means take shelter. No stopping for a sandwich or to finish that video game. Do not try to pack up the family and outrun it. Head to the basement with your storm kit. (always have one packed with blankets, water, extra batteries and battery-operated radio. A whistle is a good addition, in case you need to alert searchers to your location.) That's when the sirens start going off. *Wait until the all-clear sounds to come out. *You asked how fast they move, and that's one of the unsettling things about them. Some pass through quickly, some crawl through so slowly that they just seem to sit overhead, wreaking maximum damage, but they average 10-20 mph. Some move much faster or slower, though. Finally, why do we live/stay here? Some joke that it's because it's the only excitement we ever have. Others stay because it's home. Others stay because most of tornado alley is farm country, and farmers are a tough and resilient breed. Others because it's a good life, with stable communities and affordable living. In the end, everyone has their own answer.
I live in northern Indiana, and in 1998 a tornado skipped through our neighborhood and my family's backyard. We were lucky; it knocked over two trees, and took out the power lines, but no houses were damaged. I didn't see the tornado itself. There was a heavy rain, but it was blowing horizontally. I did see one of the trees bending back and forth, and then snap. Alerts are much better now; in the 1970s and '80s, warnings were too vague. Doppler radar now allows meteorologists to see wind rotation along with direction so there are fewer false alarms, and more accurate tracking of storms. In theory you could outrun a tornado in a car, but it's a bad idea to try: their speed can be 32 to 98 kph, but their path can be erratic. There could be traffic, downed trees, poor conditions from rain, or just no road in the best direction away.
As other people have pointed out, while going into your closet won't help you if your house is directly in the path of a tornado (though some of the smaller ones don't destroy the entire structure of the home so it's really just luck whether it does or not), it will help you if the winds of a nearby tornado/storm system throws debris at your home. I've lived in an area with dozens of tornadoes a year, and the only actual property damage we've experienced is from high winds knocking down a tree next to our garage, which ended up braking the window to the door of the garage. The tornadoes weren't even near us, but the storm systems they're apart of usually have extremely high winds and severe hail, so it's good idea to get away from any windows and outside facing walls. That's why trailer parks and other low-income areas are usually those most affected by tornadoes, because people living in trailers usually don't have any other option than to take cover in a closet or tub, and people living in low-income housing often don't have homeowner's insurance that will cover any damage from "acts of god". Also, note that most buildings in places that regularly experience tornadoes (like the Midwest/Tornado Alley) are constructed with basements, and you're given ample warning through both the local news, tornado sirens, and text notifications (I attend classes at my local Uni, so I also get a text from their warning system) whenever there is a tornado warning in the county, even if it's nowhere near us. It sounds ridiculous to someone who lives somewhere that doesn't have tornadoes for locals to go outside and watch for tornadoes, but if you've lived somewhere with tornadoes long enough you get pretty used to them. It doesn't take much of an education in meteorology to be able to look at your local Doppler radar and have a pretty good idea of when you're actually in danger. So, especially if you live in a relatively open area like on a farm, where you can see quite far in every direction, then it's extremely common to just go outside and watch for tornadoes during a tornado warning. As long as the system isn't on top of you, and it's still daylight (night tornadoes are very dangerous since you most often can't visually see them coming), then you'll have plenty of time to seek shelter.
Most areas in the US are subject to some form of regular natural disasters. On the East and Southern coasts we have hurricanes several times during the Summer. The West coast has earthquakes. Tornadoes hit the plains states in the middle of the country. If everyone decided to move somewhere with no disasters we'd all be crowded in just a tiny portion of the country. Most of those "bad" regions have nice features that make people want to live there despite the danger. One of the things that originally attracted people to move to the tornado areas back in the 1800s and early 1900s was the rich agricultural land that was available. The Homestead Act allowed anyone who would move to these areas 160 acres of land for free if they would live and farm there for 5 years. Free land was very attractive especially to the thousands of European immigrants who were coming to the US at that time.
We recently just had 14 tornados at night over Chicago and the suburbs in July. It was overhead but I remember opening the window to check the weather and felt a heat I never felt. I knew we were gonna get it that night. I called my sister to she if she was safe. I live a few blocks from the downtown area and I teased my sister telling her that the tornado was across the street from me. Then the warnings came and the alarms were loud and panicking. The next moment there was lighting that just wouldn't stop, and it just kept lighting and that scared the hell out of me. The heat and humidity was feeding the storm lots of pizza and ribs, then, before I knew it, the tornado was literally across the street from me. The wind was shaking our building, my windows were closed but I could feel the wind coming through. I live on the top floor of my building. The lights went out in seconds and I had to run to the hall outside my apartment. I was shaking and very much afraid. The whole apartment complex shook. I live across the street from a very busy highway and the tornado followed the freeway from the suburbs through the city down to the lake. I almost pissed my pants and I hope to never go through that again. Then, it ended just as soon as it started. But before the visitors left they went downtown to see the beauty of it all. I didn't sleep that night, I was too excited. Thanks for your thoughts on this matter.
Dear Chris, we average 2 major storms each month. We are that large of a nation, with each area facing different storms. Tornados happen without much notice. Weather forecasters try to warn where it will occur, but honestly, they know when we know. We have "Tornado Alley" through the center of our nation. This area has our largest farms and where most of our oil comes from (excluding Alaska). Hurricanes strike along the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Coast. Most hurricanes create tornados too. The Pacific Coast deals with earthquakes. Then we have blizzards and ice storms. Tornados and earthquakes are the ones to fear because we never have enough notice. God's Blessings, Irish
Chris, thunderstorms do kill people indoors. The strike can follow along metal and wiring. You do not take a shower or use landline phones. God's Blessings, Irish
A quick search showed that Germany usually gets 10-25 tornadoes per year, they just aren't usually very powerful. The UK usually gets about 30, but also not usually strong. The American Midwest is a wide open space, around 1500 miles wide between the Rockies and Appalachians, where hot air from the south and cold air from the north mix freely and get powered by strong wind currents.
I guess I’m going to be the first one to say this but, you comparing to sirens to wolves howling and doing an impression was super adorable. It reminded me of when we lived in North Carolina and whenever our dogs would hear any type of sirens they would type to harmonize with them.
The tornado sirens are to be taken very seriously. They sound when there is a tornado on the ground and heading towards you. I have been in two different tornadoes in two different states. The first one was the most frightening. We could definitely hear it coming. We hid in a closet that was just below ground level. The tornado bounced over our street and struck a small guard post killing three men. As I write this the siren is going off. It’s the first Wednesday of the month and they always test it on this day. I really enjoyed this video. I was an Army brat who was fortunate enough to live in Germany twice as a child. I absolutely loved my time there. It’s a truly beautiful, amazing, wonderful country. The German people are the best! Sending you blessings from Minnesota.
Tornados hit everywhere even though there are areas that get more than others. You just live somewhere and live with the fact you might encounter one. I grew up in the state of Indiana and we got them all the time. Like I live in Florida and we get tornadoes waterspouts hurricanes and even tremors from the earth moving. Wildfires too. You just enjoy your life and know how to be prepared and know where to go
I'm 64 and live in Michigan. I've been in close contact with 3 tornadoes in my lifetime. The first at the age of 14 when the school bus stopped and we all got under the bus as the tornado crossed the field about 150 yards away. The second was a tornado that tore down the street next to mine, ripping out most of the 1-foot tree trunk diameter trees for almost half a mile. A lot of siding and roof damage as well. The third was a tornado that I saw coming toward me while I was driving. I pulled under a bridge overpass as the tornado passed within 100 yards. Lots of hail but being under the bridge saved my car from any damage. But to answer your question... YES!!! They are scary and most certainly get your adrenalin pumping!!
Tornado sirens in the mid west is just a way to tell everybody to go outside. We don't believe it till we see it. Then we run like hell for the basement
Not if you're a Dad you don't. You stay outside gawking at it until it's peeling shingles off the roof and your wife is screaming words the kids have never heard before to get your GODDAMN ASS IN THE GODDAMN HOUSE AND DOWN THE GODDAMN BASEMENT YOU MANIAC Bonus points if you miss being beaned by a tree by four inches. And then I passed an entire flock of Dads in the parking lot watching and filming a different one. The thing was practically across the street. Why???
A 4 month old baby was swept up by a tornado. They found the baby nestled asleep in a tree. Baby was unharmed. So I thank the Lord for his protection of this innocent child. Truly a miracle bc usually you're thrown back to the ground & end up dying. 🛐✝️ P S if you like the American military then you should watch The Fat Electrician, The Real Rambo, Roy Benavides. He's truly an American Hero. You won't believe what he had done. It's amazing & true to a word. It's long so if you'd rather watch it & not post it. Well, I'd understand but please listen to his story. It shows true American grit. You'll be shocked.🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
We have had a record year this year with at least one hundred confirmed tornados this spring in Oklahoma. We raise cattle, wheat and families and have since leaving Germany in the mid 1800s this is why we are here. Many people here only see tornados on TV luckily. We got hit by a small one about a month ago, we lost our greenhouse and six trees but ourselves and home were not damaged.
If you hear the siren (and it's not 10 AM on the first Tuesday of the month when they are testing) then take cover. Once you're somewhere safe you can check your phone or radio or tv if you have one in your safe space to see where it is. If you're inside when the warning comes, do not try to outdrive a tornado. Being in a car is not safe. You heard what he said about trailers, and cars are smaller.
Thank you for this. Where I live it's 2PM on the 3rd Wednesday of every month. Now I know if I travel somewhere, it may test on a different day and time
You never want to try to outrun in a tornado in a car. They can go very fast and change direction quickly. Your best bet is to get into an area that is safe and wait there till it passes.
I heard the sirens lotrs of times growing up in Michigan, both when tested (the first Saturday of every month at 1300) and for real warnings. The sirens in each county are only activated when there has been an actual sighting of a tornado in that county. Yes, I was in the path of the tornado that went through Kalamazoo, Michigan, around 1610 on 13 May 1980. Our house had some damage, but the house across the street was left with its roof lying in the street, and the school directly behind our house was destroyed. It was after hours and no students were in it. Yes, I was extremely scared, but we had a basement and I had time to get in it and under a heavy desk after I saw the tornado coming.
Yes, we do have tornado specific sirens. On Memorial Day this year, a tornado ripped across Rogers and Decatur which had neighbors that were completely destroyed. Up here in Bentonville; my house had pillars knocked down, and a basketball goal (A metal one at that) folded like a piece of paper, trees had their roots ripped out, and part of my church’s roof was collapsed in by just the rain and wind. Finally the rain caused a landslide in Bella Vista and gas leaks. FYI Bella Vista is three cities away from Decatur and Rogers which boor the brunt of the storm.
I don't think you understand the scale of tornadoes. An EF5 tornado will wipe an entire city of the map. They are horrifyingly powerful. I've lived in Colorado, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri, Iowa, Indiana and Louisiana. I've seen one tornado and have seen the aftermath of quite a few. Joplin, Missouri still gives me chills.
American residential bathrooms are required to have either a) a window or b) an extraction fan. Tornado stories! 1) I worked at a Wendy's restaurant when I was in college. When the town's sirens sounded, we offered the customers two options: They could take shelter in the walk-in refrigerator with the staff, or leave the restaurant to find their own shelter. But no one could remain in the restaurant, unless they were in the cooler with us. 2) When I was a kid living in a small Kansas town, we had terrible storms for one whole week; the tornado sirens went off every night. For over an hour sometimes. Every night, we woke up, put the cats into their carriers, and went down to the basement. The entire town was sleep deprived, everybody looked and felt so tired! On the final night, the sirens started modulating their tone. I had never heard that before, and it was scary. Before, the sirens had just been an annoyance. The storm screamed and thundered, shaking the 100-year-old house. My dad told everyone to crawl under the workbenches he had built, as he had greatly overengineered them. And then the storm passed. There hadn't been a tornado, just the worst thunderstorm I have ever experienced.
The thing with tornados is that they can change direction and travelling speed at any point, so the sirens could go off two minutes or ten minutes before it arrives, or it might never arrive. Warnings are issued when rotation is detected or a tornado is reported on the ground, watches are issued when the conditions are right to create rotation. A tornado is a wind vortex. Tornados can even "jump." Fascinating and terrifying natural events.
I've been in 3 tornadoes. None were direct hits. Just had one recently. Couldn't see it coming because we had so many trees. There are so many trees down,now, it doesn't look like the same place. We will be able to see one coming now. We have a lot of sky after that tornado. All the trees that came down in our yard, fell away from the house. We had no damage! Some of our neighbors weren't so lucky. There were trees down on many houses and the wind blew some houses off their foundation a bit. The neighborhood about 1- 2 blocks away lost houses. When the weather is HOT is when you start looking for them, especially when it is humid and rain is expected.🌪
I live in Oklahoma. I feel like most of us live here because our families are from here. I have been in the storm shelter more times than I can count. I lived in a small town that was mostly destroyed in May 1999. Trees fell on top of our shelter and we were trapped for hours until someone with a chainsaw came through and cut us out. All roads were blocked by emergency services, some of my family couldn't get in to make sure we were alive. They walked miles up dark country roads to find a way to us. Their emotional breakdown upon finally seeing us standing in the yard...... burned into my memory.
I’ve experienced a tornado twice. Once was when I was 6 and it right by house and my dad went outside to watch it! He said it just nearly missed our house and neighborhood. The second time was when I was 13 and freaking out cause the tornado came when we were on vacation in DECEMBER! We got to our hotel nearly in time! Then everyone was rushed to a tornado shelter in the hotel and luckily it passed us. The third time was at camp and we at my camp chapel. My camp doesn’t have a shelter. First was the phones tornado watch in the middle of the preacher’s speech. We confirmed it was a watch so I went to bathroom. Right as I was going to get out the sirens went off! So I rushed out. I love watching storm chasers so I wasn’t afraid anymore and I was 15. Everyone is freaking out and we’re told to walk down to our mess hall. As we are walking someone screamed “ RUN!” So everyone ran. We get to safety and wait out the storm until midnight. Short story short everyone is safe!
19:26 answer: Sometimes you have 10 minutes; sometimes the sirens are late or don't happen at all where you are. Tornadoes walk the line between predictable and unpredictable. They typically move in the ENE direction, but they can go any direction and even make u turns and loops. They typically travel at around 25-30 mph (40-48 km/h); however, they can be as fast as 89 mph (143 km/h) [so far]. At night or when rain-wrapped, they're basically invisible. Add in that other people had the same idea, and that it's likely for driving conditions to already be poor due to prior rain and/or hail. At last, the prospect of driving away from a tornado-warned area is a gamble. Sheltering in place is more often recommended. In the case of tornado emergencies, evacuation has been recommended before. I've experienced a few tornadoes far off and one close that I only heard from inside shelter (no noticeable damage - missed us but was loud).
Oklahoman here. I've been luck enough to see 3 tornadoes in person. And often played Gary England drinking game. Tornadoes have an interesting culture here.
Been through a tornado sideswiping my neighborhood. It really feels like nature herself is out to get you when a tornado comes calling and you're reminded that you're absolutely powerless to do anything but pray you'll survive.
0:58 US viewer here. I happen to live in a state whose geographic profile does not favor severe thunderstorms capable of producing tornadoes. The last one to do so struck my hometown of Salt Lake City, Utah in 1999, and it peaked at only an F2. However, almost no warning was ever issued for it, catching nearly everyone in the Salt Lake Valley off guard, injuring dozens and killing one. On the other hand, my area does get its share of thunderstorms capable of requiring severe thunderstorm warnings each summer.
I was born and raised in southern Minnesota (the northern end of Tornado Alley) in the 1960s and I remember maybe twice having to shelter in that time. In the 70s I went to college/uni in Iowa, and experienced a couple then. One touched down about half a mile away from me. I got stationed in Omaha in 1984 while in the Air Force, and have lived here ever since. I have had tornadoes nearby nearly every year since then. (Nearby being a very loose term.) Once I even had one "bounce" over the building I was sheltering in. But I wouldn't live anywhere else. For one thing, all the other natural disasters I can think of will affect large areas / take out whole cities. Tornadoes, while very violent, are *very* localized. They may cut a swath through town, but if you are not directly in the path, you will likely survive, possibly with little or no injury. This spring (April, 2024) we had a tornado outbreak in Eastern Nebraska and Western Iowa. One caused some damage in Elkhorn, on the west side of Omaha. Another destroyed a commercial hangar at the Omaha airport. Another hit the town my daughter-in-law and grandkids live in. Their church, a couple blocks away, was destroyed. The neighbor's house had the roof ripped off, and their she driven across my DiL's back yard. She just had a window broken in her back door, where the shed hit it. Her folk's home, a half mile away, was untouched.
I’ve been through a few tornadoes as well as watched a few tornadoes go through our farm. Keep in mind these tornadoes were smaller tornadoes, nothing compared to tornado valley’s tornadoes..! My first experience with a tornado was by far my worse one yet, as it went right through our house with us in it. It slammed a tree through the wall, almost hitting my mother and I, and obliterated our deck. That’s not mentioning all the trees we had to remove that had fallen on our roads and the public roads in order to leave! But that, sorta like I mentioned, is just here in Grenada, Mississippi. I have watched on the television ‘monster tornadoes’ plow through Oklahoma residences with no resistance. I remember recently, however, a tornado came through some towns southwest of us, completely destroying them. Look up the Rolling Fork Mississippi tornado (I think it was called…) it brought pieces of house, jewelry, cars, and whatnot all the way to my city of Grenada, which is more than 165 kilometers (~102.6 miles) away from us! Oh and the closets will protect you from the glass and splinters that might be flung at you.
Sirens are typically 3-10minutes ahead of the storm, if the area even has them. I've been in quite a few through the years and you just get used to their existence. Our county actually decommissioned their sirens. The storm itself can move anywhere from 0 to 75mph. You can't necessarily outrun them because of traffic, but you can side step them pretty easy. What makes them so dangerous is a lack of awareness and the speed with which they move. Most fatalities are at night because most bedrooms are on an exterior wall and the residents are unaware the storm is approaching. Winds in a tornado can span anywhere from 70mph to 300mph. They have been known to embed straw silverware etc into trees and buildings. Part of my training class actually includes pictures from the Tuscaloosa AL tornade where a 2"x4" board was sent like a spear through the exterior wall, the inerior wall and clean through the refrigerator in the kitchen where it stopped. They are capable of hurling 80ton trucks through the air and reducing an entire structure to its foundation. Many places have implemented building codes that require steel saferooms anchored to the foundation for safety. Hope this helps a little.
Been lucky enough to not ever experience a tornado, but those rare warning alerts are enough to make my blood run cold. The only natural disaster that has given me nightmares.
I've recently moved from the Midwest USA to southern Germany. I arrived in Germany in May. The weather notifications are pretty frequent for Germany, however my experience so far is this. I get a notification that a severe storm is coming, rain moves through with a little rumble and a little lightning. By comparison to a similar warning from US weather service when we get a thunderstorm warning the storms are much more powerful and potentially dangerous winds, and lightning that you do need to be concerned about and potential flooding if you live in a low lying area. Also, heat warnings are a weather alert in Germany but it sends out the warning for as low a temperature as 85 degrees fahrenheit. Comparing to the US Midwest weather service they only send out heat warnings if it's well over 90 degrees, and it's expected to last for several days. I also used to live in Tucson, Arizona so for me high heat isn't that intimidating as long as you use some basic precautions like not being highly physically active in the worst part of the day, staying well hydrated etc. So far the worst storm I've experienced here in Germany by comparison is a light thunderstorm by Midwest standards. Maybe this year's season has just been pretty calm for where i am.
I live in Omaha, Nebraska; this year has been crazy for tornados. We've had MASSIVE storms this yer like none other. I was stuck inside a tea shop (inside a boys bathroom) on my lunch break for over 3 hours across the street from my job in May due to them literally popping up all around Omaha. Two blocks from my house was destroyed. My friends house was completely leveled. It's been so wild. My brother and I were attending an outdoor concert a few days later in Kansas and had to sit in our car for 2 hours and hope for the best during another damn storm with tornados and hail! I love your channel! ❤️ I took 4 years of German in school and was in the National German Honors Society upon graduation. 😊
1:14 the sirens we use for tornados were originally installed as part of our cold war prep to warn people to seek shelter in the even of nuclear war. Now days we use them to warn people to seek shelter from tornados.
67 yr old lifelong Alabamian here. Ive only seen one tornado up close and personal when I was about 6 yrs old. It wasnt a big one but I can remember watching it come right by the house and taking the roof off our barn and sending it into the woods like a rocket launch. As an adult Ive seen the aftermath of tornado's many times working for the US Dept of Agriculture. I always had to go out and collect damage data after the fact, and Ive volunteered in many cleanups. Just last year an F3 came within a mile of my house and killed one man in a trailer. Europeans ask why would you live in a "tornado alley"? Well its not like these "alleys" are individual place that can be avoided. We're talking huge areas prone to tornado development. Its like asking why do you live in Europe?
I am a total tornado veteran. Cheyenne,Wy in the 70's had tornados on the ground, in town several times a summer. We had a place in the basement under a pool table with pillows, blankets and a radio. I have been within a mile of a tornado touching down in Wy, Wa, Ia, SD, and Ne. The green erie feeling between 5 and 7pm should never be ignored. We have some awesome photos of a tornado dancing through the cemetary knocking over gravestones.
I grew up in the Texas Panhandle, in Amarillo. Lubbock, that he mentioned in the first part of that video is 100 miles south of Amarillo. I was down there after that happened, scary stuff. I've seen a tornado on the ground, we were driving from Clovis New Mexico home and there was a small on in the field to the left of our car. I was just transfixed, my parents then noticed it and freaked out, my dad floored it to get away. I've had a couple go over houses I have been in, but they weren't on the ground yet. One hit about 4 miles from my house, tore up a shopping center and a few homes (EF-1 or 2). And then, when we moved to Houston, we were having one hell of a storm and all of a sudden my husband said "uh....this isn't good. Both of us had our ears pop (from the lower barometric pressure) and he heard it go over us. That hit about a mile and a half from our house, tore up a store and a couple homes. My husband used to chase tornadoes. He grew up in southeast Oklahoma, in a little town called Antlers that got almost completely flattened by a tornado in 1945, (9 years before he was born). He remembers having tornadoes every spring around there. He went to the University of Oklahoma for a chemistry degree. But he also signed up to help calibrate the Doppler radar (back in 1974, when it was newer). He was given a pair of binoculars, a CB radio,, and a map and told to go watch for tornadoes. He did see one and reported it, he loved doing it and misses it now. Me? Yeah, I've had enough tornadoes that I'm not happy with them but I'm not sitting in closets now that I have at least gotten a bit more calm about them. When we first married, I was terrified of storms. Now, I'm nervous but enjoy watching the weather with my husband.
To answer a couple of your questions: The warning time for the sirens has gone up considerably in recent years. They will typically sound giving as much notice as possible when there's a radar indicated or observed tornado threat. The actual time will vary depending on the situation. As for how fast do these storms move, that also can vary but it is not uncommon to see the cell moving anywhere from 30 mph to 60 mph. Can you out-drive them? It is possible, but not a recommended activity. This is also not an indicator of wind speeds. Those can be anything from 60 to (if memory serves me...) the maximum on record of 300 mph. Tornados are amazingly fascinating, horrifying, yet spectacular phenomena. We are still learning how to predict them, and what actually is happening inside these things. Storm chasers all over have dedicated their life's work and their time to researching, chasing, documenting and exploring these.
I live in Marble Falls, Texas, near Austin. When we have a strong thunderstorm system going through, the local TV stations go to continuous coverage of weather. The Doppler radar will find all the incipient tornadoes, with a large number of what amount to false positives, EF 0 or EF1 tornadoes.
I was always told that if the sky is green, get into the basement. It's strange to see the outside turn green, but I've seen it many times. Also, if you hear a train coming but there's no train, RUN!
I've seen the ominous green sky, too. You know "it's" going to hit the fan!!!
I saw the sky turn green once when the region I was in got a tornado warning seeing it that color was eerie AF.
Besides the green air there is absolutely no movement and complete silence.
The fun of living somewhere coastal is that that also applies for hurricanes. Hopefully your local meteorologists have a good eye on which one(s) you're getting that day.
@@delorisbiocic2114 That's the eye of the hurricane feel, too. Been there. The air is too damn still.
Chris , please don't think that an American thunder storm *can't* kill you . Strong storms can have deadly lightning , destructive flat line winds , killer hailstones , and flash floods which can quickly form & drown you 😬
and straight line winds
@@sianne79 🌬
@@sianne79 considering I have seen half a tree impale the trunk of a car from straight line winds in excess of 100mph, yep.
He did say "inside your house"
I don't think Europe in general gets severe thunderstorms like we do here in the US.
Tornado sirens originally were air-raid sirens at the end of World War II, they were put into use. Americans are good at reinventing things for different purposes
Yes, in fact, they still double as warning sirens in case of an attack or other civil emergency. During the Cold War, they were Civil Defense sirens, and it was over time that civil authorities thought to begin using them for weather emergencies, such as tornadoes. As an aside, back in the day, my dad was in the Civil Defense.
@StuartistStudio1964 in fact, the way you tell the difference between a Tornado siren and an attack siren is the sounding pattern. Tornado sirens will ramp up and stay at their maximum pitch, whereas attack sirens do that up and down pattern
Indeed.
th-cam.com/video/l04qWEEPFEk/w-d-xo.html
Old Dodge motors, back in the day.
@@skyraider87 interesting enough, I grew up in Davidson county TN (Nashville) and they use the attack pattern for tornado warnings, as in up and down.
7:55 In answer to your question: Every region in the US has deadly acts of nature: tornadoes, hurricanes, droughts, forest fires, earthquakes, floods, blizzards, ice storms, volcanic eruptions and I'm possibly missing a few things. Some regions are less destructive than others.
I've lost everything I owned *twice* to hurricanes myself. Your belongings are just things; after you go through a few storms you realize how transient modern life really can be. You stop attaching yourself emotionally to objects. You make sure your insurance is paid and all the safety precautions on your physical home are up to date. You have a closet dedicated to disaster supplies (we just called ours the hurricane closet) and know when to leave, and where to go. You simply plan for it and go on with your life.
The inner strength you feel knowing you survived through weeks without things like power and running water is priceless. You find you're more generous than you thought you were with your time and supplies. People are more gracious to each other. You really discover who you are. Of course, it depends who you're weathering the storm with.
That said, I've never lost anyone in a storm so I don't want to speak for those that have. I'm sure they've had very different experiences. But while I've been through many hurricanes, I've slept through most of them. It's tornadoes that scare the hell out of me.😅
In the areas with earthquakes and volcanoes there is always the threat of tsunamis. Southern California recently has proven to be prone to everything listed almost. So far no volcanoes there.
My son is about your age and he is a storm chaser in Ohio. He once identified and called in a night time tornado to the authorities. They issued a tornado warning and he’s credited with saving many lives. Only a handful of people were killed, even though the tornado was graded an EF4. Wind speed between 166 and 200 mph (267 - 321 kmph) and the damage was incredible and widespread.
Mad respect for your son!!!
God speed to your Strom chaser Son. May he be safe on all his chases
Really I’m in Ohio? What part was he in I’ve probably been to it. We lost our home to a fire in 2015 im originally from South Carolina. Aunt had a vacant rental here. She let us rent to own it so it’s ours now. Much respect to your kid.
W SON
your son is badass
What you might experience before a tornado that is different from other storms--the sky turns a sickly greenish color, the air gets very still, and your ears might pop. Flags or tree branches might start to blow in different directions. I didn't see the tornado near my house, because thankfully, I was in the basement with my children. It picked up a huge old oak tree from somewhere, I never did see where that tree came from, roots and all, and landed on my roof. A neighboring small town was flattened, in a different tornado. Debris was scattered for miles around. I have seen spikes from railroad ties driven through telephone poles, which we assumed were from a tornado, but we also have straight-line winds that are incredibly destructive. The good news is tornadoes don't often last more than a few minutes on the ground (but some do), Oh--I should say I am American and live in the central part, not on Tornado Alley.
Hiding in a closet doesn't protect much more than just the house as a whole, but the glass in the Windows have less of a chance of hitting you in a closet.
And other shrapnel. After a tornado hit my mother’s house, in the dining room a roofing tile had blown in through the window and embedded itself in an interior wall like a ninja throwing star, right at neck level!
Not to mention they're usually on interior walls which take longer to get to
I guess you do what you can. I live in AK so the main thing we have to worry about is earthquakes, which usually aren’t even dangerous unless on the coast. I have heard of funnel clouds in the interior, but no more. I would take earthquakes over tornados any day
True, but it's better than nothing.
the smaller the room, or space, the more structure the walls provide and the less likely the roof will come off, at least thats what I was told. you want to find something interior to the house or underground, away from windows, away from loose objects that can fly around. is this fool proof? no. but it helps.
People hide in bathrooms, especially in older homes, because the tiled walls are usually concrete and the tub is cast iron. Then they will cover themselves with blankets because any debris in the air can hit you and anything at 300 mph will seriously hurt you. Another scary thought is that you can be in the basement and the house can collapse on top of you and you can't get out.
The problem with tornado videos is they can never show you the true scale of these monsters. If you ever get close to one, the size is utterly beyond comprehension.
"The finger of God"
I believe nowadays with everyone having cameras is a game changer. Because back in the day you had to just rely on movies and a few photos in the news. Now you can see tornados rip through a neighborhood as it slowly approaches whoever is recording
I've seen a very small tornado up close. Even that was pretty stunning. I can't imagine seeing one of those big monsters coming my way.
As a kid I used to be scared of tornados but as an adult I find them fascinating to see
Correct. El Reno was 3 km wide.
I lived in Oklahoma for only 18 months. The tornado sirens are tested the first Wednesday of every month at 10 am so you know what they sound like. I was sitting in the car with my girlfriend one time and it was weird stormy weather (otherwise known as a typical Oklahoma day). Off in the distance I saw something strange “what’s that?” “A tornado, have you never seen one?” “No, shouldn’t we go home or something?” “Nah, it’s too far away.” She was so nonchalant as a native. I was freaking out as a transplant. lol
I'll take one for the team and answer the bathroom question :)
Yes, sometimes our houses have interior bathrooms or "powder rooms" (contains only a toilet, sink and mirror), so there aren't any windows. Instead, a fan gets installed in the ceiling that sucks air out. They're loud and obnoxious, but they do a good job removing body odors and even excess steam.
These kinds of bathrooms really are good to hole up in for a tornado, because their walls are often lined with water pipes going all over the rest of the house. The pipes themselves can often be sunk pretty deeply in the ground in order to avoid freezing in the winter. As a result, they provide extra reinforcement to the room.
I hid in my bathroom a few weeks ago, only room in my place with no windows. We were under a tornado warning, it started getting really loud, lights flickered. 2 tornadoes ended up landing about 30 mins from me. One of my friends and his family and dog hid in their hallway as one of them hit their home. All were safe but their home had massive damage and both their cars were totalled.
@@WolfLove89 Glad everyone’s okay!
@@erinzelnio8359 Me too. After it happened I messaged him to see if they were okay. Didn't hear from him for about a week
Plus there's the bathtub, especially if it's ceramic or iron. When I lived in an apartment building with no basement I spent a tornado warning laying in the bathtub with two cats and cushions on top of us.
@@mfinchina__117 I wouldn’t think cats aren’t much of a shield against tornadoes 😁
Once, I was online playing a game with some friends when the sirens started going off. They heard it through my mic and seemed alarmed. I was like, "Relax, I'm watching the weather radar and it's going to go past me to the north by about three miles." I suppose you get used to it. That's just Arkansas for you.
......but then on the other hand, the sirens went off and because you're so used to it, you only notice after about five minutes and then get up and look out the window to see why the damn sirens are still going off and there's a tornado in the back yard
Respect tornado warnings. These. storms are absolutely nothing to mess with.
Tornado sirens are often extremely creepy is because in a lot of smaller towns and unincorporated communities the tornado sirens are just repurposed Air Raid Sirens from WW2.
Hm, didn't know this! Got to wonder why they installed air raid sirens on town in Kansas during WWII.
@@tlockerk I don't know how big the military presence is in Kansas, but the infamous Spanish Flu that swept the world most likely came out of a military base there, and as soldiers deployed to Europe they brought it with them. Because of WW1 and the secrecy most countries were trying to maintain about the strength/condition of their armies, Spain was the only country that was reporting on it. So, knowing that, and the overall climate of the US during the Cold War, it makes sense that the government would want to have air raid sirens at least around the military bases scattered all across the nation. The air raid sirens didn't get conscripted into use as tornado sirens until bases (in particular all the war planes & other military equipment) took damage from tornadoes. From that point on, sirens were put in place pretty much everywhere that's at risk of tornadoes.
@@tlockerk from what I’ve heard they installed them nearly everywhere, although a lot of towns bout them as surplus after the war. At least around here they did.
Those duel tone sirens in southern ruel towns are menacing. The secondary lower pitch tone sounds like a siren from the next town over being carried by the wind.
@@tlockerk They were installed in case of nuclear attack. The 50's and 60's were so much fun.
I live in tornado valley, in Nebraska. I have always lived here and always been afraid of tornadoes. We've experienced a lot of tornadoes but have been lucky enough to have no damage to our home and our families homes. I have memories from when i was around 6 being woken up in the night to go into the basement and hope the tornado doesn't hit us. In one storm we were in the basement, and just 5 miles from us a tornado took out an entire building. I think the reason we don't move is because it's not that big of an issue, tornadoes are definitely a real threat and happen just often enough for people to be afraid but not enough for us to move away, we only have one every few years and most of the time (in my area at least) they don't ever cause life changing damage. The tornado siren is also supposed to instill fear but in some towns the tornado siren goes off regularly to signal other things, like 12:00 lunchtime, or just random times, it is more annoying than scary.
TLDR: I have always lived in tornado valley and have had tornadoes almost hit my house, but since it doesn't happen that much we dont move away. Also the tornado siren is sometimes overused in small towns and don't instill fear.
the Grand Island tornado most likely is an exception. tornado's are erratic. Miles may be destroyed and then one house in the center is fine. Or the reverse is true. they can flip trains, obliterate tally buildings.
even if you are in a fully underground basement, you can suffer danger. My parents hid in their basement in the GI tornado and not only was everything above ground totally ruined, but everything in the basement was shoved into the south west corner of the place. this included some VERY heave, lowlieing machinery. Had there not been a small window above my parents ( who hid behind a solid core door crammed against them by the Shop smith and Lathe, they would not have been able to get out. There were tow neighbor boys, after the all clear who went house to house digging people out.
Wow, that's so scary! I'm glad they were safe and I'll keep this in mind the next time a tornado comes around!
Tornado alley is a higher population of low income people also, so they don't really have the ability to move as easily. In the US though, if you aren't dealing with tornados you're dealing with some other natural disaster. Wild fires, flooding, mega snow storms etc. The ones that grew up and live in tornado alley are used to it lol. You'll see tons of videos with people on the porch watching it slowly head to them. Midwesterners are a bit crazy (coming from one).
One time growing up I was at my neighbor's house playing video games. My dad runs through the door and was like get in the basement there is a tornado. As I headed home there was a tornado starting to come down overhead. I was like heck no I'm watching this. lol Besides if it does fully touch down it is already past us.
Me: Gulf Coast native. Friends from Kansas: "Eh whatever, tornadoes, nbd." Me, I'll take the hurricane, thx.
@@reanimated That is assuming, of course, that the hurricane itself isn't also _spawning_ tornadoes. That _is_ a thing that happens, pretty commonly. Having lived in Florida for a number of years, it's always a bit funny to me when I meet people who don't realize that, and they try to argue that they'd prefer to live somewhere that gets hurricanes over somewhere that gets tornadoes, because the predicted path of a hurricane at least gives you some advance warning. And then I have to chime in, "Uh... you do realize that hurricanes and tornadoes _aren't_ mutually exclusive, right?"
People don't realize the US is a fairly hostile landscape. Between wild animals, dangerous environments, and extreme weather we could honestly give Australia a run for it's money. It's just most Americans are so used to it we don't even notice it. I mean walk out your back door and see a rattlesnake, then that afternoon a tornado hits 5 miles down the road, or you see a bear or coyote in your garbage. Depending on where you live that's just something that happens.
It really doesn’t matter where you live in the USA you will have dangerous weather. Take a pick hurricanes, tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, blizzards, land slides, flooding, etc.
as frightening as the sound is, there is a big problem of alert fatigue. basically they go off so often and nothing happens so people take it less seriously. Its why the Joplin death toll was so high.
The town where I live and work sounds the siren four times a day for workers. Which meant that almost no one took shelter last year when a tornado happened to pass a neighboring town at 6pm, one of the scheduled times. Luckily no one was hurt.
yeah thats.....exactly what happened to me...didn't even register until theyd been going off and going off and going off and why and oh hey there's a tornado chomping its way up the street, THAT'S why the hell they're going off and going off and going off.....
happened here, not with sirens but the news. evey bit of rain we had for a month was made out to be the big one. so when the big one did come no one paid it any mind. lots of unnecessary deaths because of that.
Tornado drills were a common thing when I was in school
Yes back in the late 80’s early 90’s they were called tornado drills. By the 200’s the were renamed “inclement weather” weather drills. I only remember 2 occasions where these drills were put into practice at my schools.
@@HoustonmechanicR-xt9ey guess I showed my age with that comment
Im 20 and we had tornado drills in school, and they were called tornado drills, and apparently my younger sisters still do them.
@@NeonBeeCat20 as well and yeah, where i live schools were required to do tornado drills once a month. didn't always actually happen once a month but they were supposed to. i live pretty close to jarrell though, so that could be a factor on why they were so strict
@@HoustonmechanicR-xt9eyJust once for me. Fortunately nothing hit us but a bunch of the other girls were crying. I wasn’t but not because I was brave… I was always a little detached from reality as a kid, lol.
The thing with tornado sirens is that they sound when a tornado has been spotted in your area, but it could be a tornado that just touches down in a field and never does any damage to people or buildings, or it could be a massive F5 heading toward you with the potential to completely flatten buildings. For this reason unfortunately many people in my area ignore tornado sirens when they go off because they have heard them go off and then not been hit by a tornado themselves so many times. Once when I was growing up the tornado sirens went off and I was the only member of my family who took shelter in the basement because I had just been taught to do so in kindergarten while the rest of my family members had lived through a lot of tornado sirens without ever getting hit by a tornado. Then we started getting phone calls from relatives asking if we were alright because apparently an F5 tornado had completely flattened a neighborhood like a mile away from us, including their high school. That's why it pays to be cautious and take shelter when the sirens go off even if the chances of being directly hit are small!
I am a Joplin tornado survivor. I still have nightmares.
I was driving through the night before truly scary
im glad youre alive. i really am. bless your heart
I grew up in Kansas but had moved to Arizona by the time that tornado happened. I can't believe the destruction that one left behind!
NE. here. My heart goes out. I tried to join the volunteer team
That was a really bad one.
Yes we have tv broadcast interruptions for a variety of things, including tornado warnings. We also get alerts on our phones
The phone thing we have as well
Kansan responding here.
Sirens typically sound 10-15 minutes before the storm arrives... if they sound at all.
While it is true that many people living in Tornado Alley have never seen one, I have personally witnessed over 20... I am 58 years old.
Yikes! Iowan here, I've never seen one, although I've looked up and seen the clouds going in a tight circle over my head. Stay safe, James.
Crazy how tornado alley has been shifting east. Lots of tornadoes in the southeast nowadays.
Been noticing a slight spike of tornadoes in the Northeast too. 😕
You get a full 10 to 15 minutes? Lucky. I’ve been hit several times in Texas and usually we get maybe 90 seconds of warning from the sirens. Our NOAA radios are a must as a result because they go off before the sirens.
lifetime Andover resident. 1991 F5 (EF5) - no siren.
When a tornado siren goes off, that means it's actually on the ground. I live in Kansas and have for 27 years. I've never seen a tornado at home, but have experienced the terror one time of a threatened direct hit from one on our small town. The sirens were bad enough, but then we made the mistake of listening to a local radio broadcast where the announcer kept telling everyone in town to take cover immediately. with rising panic as it inched closer... "It's 4 miles away and heading right for you. 3 miles away, take cover! Get away from windows in your house! 2 miles away...1 mile away! It's almost on top of you!" We prayed and the tornado popped back into the clouds and spared our small town of 584 souls. Next time after getting in place, I will never listen to the radio like that again. Ever.
As for why we live here, there are natural dangers everywhere. Earthquakes on the West Coast and hurricanes on the East Coast and Gulf Coast. Dangerous snow and ice storms in the Midwest and East coasts and tornadoes East of the Rocky Mountains, pretty much, so pick your poison. Oh, and people are concerned about severe thunderstorms due to lightning (black outs), large hail and straight winds over 70 miles an hour
To answer why. They are frequently tracking across ground that is good for farming and often you were born there. Why do people live next to volcanos? Why do people live in areas prone to earthquake, hurricane, flooding, landslides, avalanches? People get used to them and usually know how to handle them. My childhood home we had a large underground root cellar with a reinforced steel door that locked from the inside. My first house had a full basement and a large reinforced concrete room with a reinforced concrete roof. You make adjustments. If you are driving you turn 90 degrees to the path of the tornado and drive like crazy to get away.
Well said
not to mention that much more mundane things like car accidents or heart diseas are MUCH more likely to kill you. it simply isnt worth focusing on the slim chance that your house might get destroyed. obviously you should always have a plan for emergencies, but the risk just isnt as high as you would think
Only addition Id note is if you're driving and you can actually see the thing heading at you, its often too late to run. When its too late to drive away you NEED to get out of the car and take cover in the ditch. Its going to suck and its still risky, but better odds than surviving when it throws your car.
Yup you get used to it. Went camping in Oklahoma once and the campsite had literal steel boxes, buried into the ground, with massive internal locks. There were at least 6 across the whole site. Big tornado shelters.
I survived the June 8, 1966 Topeka, Kansas F5. It went all of the way through the city. I remember the green sky and the freight train noise. There are some good videos about it on TH-cam. The destruction was wild.
If you don’t have a basement or interior room, a closet is the best thing you have. Think of exploding windows flying through your house.
The bathroom is actually a better choice because of the pipes. The bathtub will also give you more protection especially if you can pull a mattress over yourself or at least a heavy blanket.
@@lennybuttz2162 It depends upon the house. My bathrooms are exterior rooms, whereas my "closet" is a tiny laundry room so there's still grounded pipes.
@@KaylieRobinson OK
I remember using mattresses on top of the tub back in the day - we lived in an apartment on the top (second) story.
The room is irrelevant. As many walls or "protection" between you and the tornado is the key. Many people have taken shelter in the bathtub and that was all that was left after the tornado passed. Most deaths from a tornado are from injuries caused by flying debris.
A lot of people talk about how certain sounds can get you straight out of bed in a split second. But trust me, nothing gets you out of bed quicker than the sound of a civil defense siren going off to warn you of a possible tornado in your area.
If everyone tried to outrun a tornado in cars, the roads would get clogged and a lot of people die. We hear the sirens once a week for testing, and if you hear them during a storm it makes you start checking news outlets. I've had friends and family lose houses and cars from them, my friends dad lost his leg because of a tornado.
I live in the path of Mt Rainier and have a lahar siren (giant mudflow) and a traffic jam is the major thing I worry about. If the siren goes off then about 90,000 people living in the lahar hazard zone has between 30-45 minutes to get to high ground up to 100 feet (about 30 meters) from the valley floor. We get traffic jams when people are following the rules. I can't imagine what it will be like when everybody knows they have to escape and tries to drive in their car.
Every Wednesday at 11:00 here.
Interesting fact: the tornado sirens we use today were invented during the Cold War and were called 'Civil Defense' sirens. They were to warn people of incoming nuclear warheads. Some of the original sirens have been replaced with newer ones. Sirens are also used to warn people who are outside, not inside.
Some tornadoes have wind speeds of 300 mph or 480 kph, this is basically double the speed of very bad hurricanes.
Tornado sirens usually are old air raid sirens with a new purpose. Still heart stopping.
Like flash floods, it's not THAT the wind is blowing, it's WHAT the wind is blowing.
Nice ron white reference 😂
Exactly!
Not to mention they're extremely hard to predict, which makes the warning system all the more difficult to give ppl adequate time to get to safety.
Yes Tornados Have Happened In Germany The Most Recent Was Back On 21 December 2023. IF2/T4 tornado confirmed to drop in the Cologne district of Poll on thursday evening as hurricane/storm "Zoltan" passed over Germany. The tornado tracked for 16.7 km and measured as wide as 370m. It were rated IF2 based on damage assessment, snapping strong powerlines, and deroofing a house. 2 people sustained injuries.
the most recent one on Tornado Archive, I bet you mean. I'm sure there've been some in 2024 as well.
What is that, the equivalent of an EF1-EF2? The scale confuses me. Either way, I understand why Germany would have more tornados than the rest of Europe. Based on its geographical features. The Alps and the low flat farmland. That being said the strength and amount is both far weaker and much more infrequent(by a lot) than in the US.
Also, because of the way tornados are measured here in the US the strength doesn't matter much is almost all damage related. We have had countless tornados since 2013 that were strong enough to be an EF5 but they didn't hit the right things at the right time in the right way. There's also been times where it appears they have just refused to give an EF5 even though houses were tornados completely of their foundation. The entire system needs to be reevaluated in my personal opinion. In reality I believe we are downplaying just how much stronger these tornados are.
Also, good reaction... hope to see similar stuff in the future.
The Difference Between A EF-1 Tornado And A EF-2 Tornado Is The Amount Of Damage They Do.
there have been tornadoes in germany in the past few days
And now POSSIBLY including today
@@BodieB IF2 causes equivalent Damage to (E)F2.
Growing up in Indiana in the 1980s, a Tornado Warning on the TV was the scariest thing to ever happen.. What I was told was that if I heard the wind rushing "like a freight train", that I had thirty seconds to get into the underground tornado shelter.
Tornadoes are truly terrifying.
Yes. So he should stop smiling. 🙄🙄🙄 Damn, read the room!
Trust me the sound of a tornado siren is normally not that scary when you hear it during the day. In South Dakota it’s every first Tuesday of the month at 1 p.m., but when you here that siren at 7 at night on a Friday that siren is terrifying, you have to get all living things in your house to the basement then, in typical Midwest fashion, go out and see how bad it is. The scariest thing is when you’re outside on a hot humid day when it suddenly gets cold and dry very quickly. That is the quickest way to tell if a tornado is coming.
I remember being in a car being hit by a rain wrapped tornado, we didn't see it coming. We parked on the side of the road because we couldn't see then all of a sudden the rain went sideways, and then boom being hit by grass,branches dirt and the car shaking violently. We made it out shook but unharmed. Funny thing was we saw the storm it was in and thought it was just rain, after that day I don't bother driving if I see storm cells in the area
fun fact-I don't know if this was the most recent tornado in Germany but May 20 2022 there was a tornado in west Germany which swept thro many towns caused mass destruction
Its not. Statistically there are 30-60 Tornadoes in German per Year. 25 so far this year including one strong one.
I'm from Oklahoma. We're in the middle of tornado alley. I still live here because I love Oklahoma and wouldn't want to live anywhere else. Texas is the only other state I'd consider living in, and I'd only move there if I had to leave Oklahoma. Tornados happen here (and also in Texas), but they're not as common as movies like "Twister" would lead you to believe. I've had a few close calls in my lifetime, but thankfully a tornado has never directly hit my house. Closest call I ever had, a tornado was on the ground heading towards my town (at night, and rain wrapped), but it lifted a couple of miles before it reached us. Lots of buildings and houses in town were damaged because of the high winds, but it wasn't nearly as bad as it would have been if the tornado had stayed on the ground and made it into town.
As for getting in a closet, the best place you can be is a tornado shelter, or a basement. But if a closet is the best thing you have, it'll be better than being out in the open with all of the broken glass and debris that would be flying around if your house gets hit. If a tornado directly hits your house you're going to have a real bad time, but it's still possible that you could survive.
I'm loving your reactions and comments to (Tornados)😮
Tornadoes are all different speeds so it depends on the tornado!
@@LindaLittle-m7j Thanks!
@@LindaLittle-m7j Yeah, you're right. The smaller ones can still cause quite a bit of damage, but the really scary ones are F4 and F5.
I live in an area prone to hurricanes and tornadoes. Yay
Why we live there... in the US, it is more like "pick your poison" on what natural disaster you prefer. Out on the west coast, you might not have the tornado or hurricane risk, but earthquakes, landslides, and wildfires are common. In the Central US, wildfires and tornadoes are a higher risk. Also, flooding along the Mississippi River. On the East coast, tornadoes, hurricanes, and flooding are riskier. In most of the Northern US, blizzards are common.
Anywhere you go in the US, there is a natural disaster than is higher risk. So, you go to somewhere where you are most comfortable with that risk.
We hide in closets because the glass and even leaves can cut you in half. Basement is best.
There are images of a *plastic straw stuck through a cement brick.*
America & our fascination with Tornados is weird because half the city will go find shelter (as you should) while the other half will grab their phones & start recording.
They had to add “Tornado Emergency” to really make the point across
5:50 America specifically has the most suitable geography and weather for tornado formation, especially in tornado alley and the south. The land is rlly flat and cold air from Canada and the Rockies comes down and meets with warm air from the gulf which causes tornadoes. Thats why we can have multiple at once it’s just far more common there
The Midwest/ tornado alley is right in the center of where 4 air masses meet, maritime tropical, and continental polar. Basically hot and humid air along with cold and dry air
They blow the sirens when there is radar rotation in the clouds. Funny thing is most of us go outside to see if we can see a tornado. We had one hit my high school in 1992. Watched it come out from behind the barn across the road, then it lifted up and went towards the school. That year was a record year in Ohio for tornados. We just tied it a few weeks ago with like 62 tornados so far this year.
I was born and raised in Wichita, Kansas. When I explain to people the lifestyle of regular tornado season and having seen tornadoes, they always seem terrified. Even just the regular testing of the sirens.
Born and raised in Leawood, KS (KC suburb). Our sirens were tested first Wednesday of the month at 2pm. I only saw one tornado 'out in the wild,' but it was far away.
I live in Florida and the thunderstorms we get will sometimes spawn tornados and we were always taught to go into the most interior room of the house or in the bathroom in the bathtub because we don’t have basements here. In school we also had tornado drills and sometimes real ones where you went into the most interior hallway of the school and covered the back of your neck with your hands and put your head between your knees. When I was a kid we actually had a tornado take off part of our roof during Hurricane Ivan in Pensacola, Florida.
Quick question, does Orlando Florida have tornadoes as often as other places in Florida or not really?
@@Adrianaandchris1 anywhere in Florida can get them, but the most common area is the north western Panhandle area. I live in Tampa now and Orlando is a little over an hour and a half away and I’d say we roughly get the same amount of tornadoes each year as Orlando, maybe slightly more but they usually aren’t deadly and are more downed trees and property damage, not like the ones in this video that flatten whole neighborhoods.
@@mpdw3j thank you
Since Florida is the USA's leader in lightning deaths, in my area of Florida sirens sound when lightning is within about 7 miles
I wonder if they have them where you're at for golfers. I live in Florida and haven't heard of them except at golf courses. I'm glad you got them there.
Makes me think of the lightning strike that hit 2-3 people at the Traveler's Golf Tournament this year. We received a tornado warning during the tournament and the staff had to evacuate everyone. As soon as me and mom got in the car, all hell broke loose. It started off as a soft drizzle but then soon progress to an intense down pour. The poor folks who had yet get into their cars were being pelted by rain. Saw some lightning bolts crashing down around the area. I didn't witness the lightning strike that hit the people, but I would not be surprised if one of the lightning bolts I saw was that particular one. Thankfully the lightning struck the tree and not the people directly. Thankfully we were out in a middle of a field in a car, so it was the safest place to be when you're in those extreme weather events. PSA for those who are in situations like this. Stay away from trees during thunderstorms. They're natural lightning rods and have a higher likelihood of being struck than out in a middle of a field. Even better if you have a vehicle to take shelter in, since the rubber on the tires will keep you grounded in case it was struck by a bolt.
@@spinalobifida This is by a golf course
To answer your questions:
"When do the sirens go off?"
As early as 15-20 min ahead of time and as late as after the tornado is already halfway through town.
"Can you outrun a tornado in a car?"
Tornado wind speeds are in the hundreds of kilometers per hour but the tornado's windfield itself can move anywhere from 5 kph to over 100 kph so it really depends. What roads you have access to are a factor as you can only go certain directions while tornado can go any direction. It's often hard to tell which direction it's going and it can change directions suddenly and unpredictably. Combine that with panicked traffic, downed power lines and trees, and low visibility due to the storm and you're usually gonna have a hard time getting away in a car. You're just as likely to drive into it when it would have otherwise missed you unless you've got a lot of preparation and experience chasing tornadoes. You'll also need luck on your side.
Germany annually has 28 tornadoes ...I googled it 😃
They had 3 tornados in one storm system that injured 43 back in 2022. Not sure how that wasn't covered in the news for people...living there. Seemed severe for them!
@@emilyb5307 It was all over the News actually
30-60 usually are ported (Average is 47)
Germany and other countries in Europe have had tornadoes. According to the web the US gets tornadoes more often and they are more destructive.
"A tornado can put an egg clean through a barn door, two barn doors if one of em's open" - Dale Gribble.
8:38 Turning the lights off won't save you.
18:42 Most bathrooms in the US are located on the interior of buildings and they usually have fans that vent to the outside.
Tornadoes move with the parent storm, so they can can be nearly stationary, or can move at 85/90 kph.
The safety rules are to put as many walls between you and the tornado as possible. Bathrooms are a good choice, as plumbing often reinforces the walls.
The US has more tornadoes because of it's unique geography.
The British Isles have the most tornadoes per square mile, followed by a large area across France and Germany, with Italy and Spain having some memorable tornadoes in recent years.
Argentina and Uruguay, South Africa, Bengal, China, and Japan have all had significant storms in the last 20 years.
We don't have tornadoes where I live. Thank God we only have earthquakes, volcanoes and tsunami's.
.....where do you LIVE?
@@sianne79 Outside Tacoma Washington.
@@michaeltipton5500 Earthquakes and tsunamis I can see but the volcano bit caught me off guard. ..... but as soon as I read "washington" I remembered St. Helens. I was 8 months old at the time so by "remembering" I mean that people were still talking about it for years after. Actually I am learning all kinds of new things today, yay! Also this chart thingie says it erupted several more times; I'd still rather have a volcano than a tornado. A volcano isn't going to CHASE YOU DOWN
Tornado sirens are also tested regularly to ensure they work properly.
I'm from Kansas, and used to chase storms. It was a fun time. I was also blown off the road by one at night when I was NOT chasing storms at the time. It was not a fun time. Do I hear the tornado sirens, and have my TV show interrupted for tornado warnings? Yes, but the chances of actually getting hit by one is extremely small. The town I live in has had quite a few pass closely by, but hasn't had a direct hit in a good 120 years.
lol whereabouts in Kansas? I'm in Andover those damn things nailed us TWICE
@@sianne79 I'm in Hays. Just mostly close calls during my lifetime.
We use emergency warnings on TV for many types of disasters: tornado, earthquake, tsunami, theoretically being bombed..., major fires, etc.
These videos never truly convey how terrifyingly massive these tornados are in person. I've been relatively close to some smaller ones and even then they are otherworldy to witness in person. It's like if you lived in a small town your entire life and then you get to the top of a tall mountain, your brain almost struggles to comprehend the distance your eyes are witnessing. It's very jarring and scary to witness the first time.
Okay, I live in Nebraska and have been through quite a few of these, so here's the answer to some of your questions:
*Tornado watch. This means that conditions are favorable for storms to develop during the watch hours, and are often up to 12 hours in length. If you don't already have your weather alert notifications on, now's the time. Keep a radio or your cell phone with you. In the 1975 Omaha F4 tornado, the watch was issued around lunchtime and was set from about 2-8 pm. Just about everyone in town knew all day that something nasty was brewing, though. The timing was pretty much spot on, with the first of multiple twisters popping up just after two.
*If an actual tornado is spotted on radar or by trained spotters, (a "confirmed tornado") you get the TORNADO WARNING. There may be a warning issued for a "possible touchdown" or "probable tornado." This means take shelter. No stopping for a sandwich or to finish that video game. Do not try to pack up the family and outrun it. Head to the basement with your storm kit. (always have one packed with blankets, water, extra batteries and battery-operated radio. A whistle is a good addition, in case you need to alert searchers to your location.) That's when the sirens start going off.
*Wait until the all-clear sounds to come out.
*You asked how fast they move, and that's one of the unsettling things about them. Some pass through quickly, some crawl through so slowly that they just seem to sit overhead, wreaking maximum damage, but they average 10-20 mph. Some move much faster or slower, though.
Finally, why do we live/stay here? Some joke that it's because it's the only excitement we ever have. Others stay because it's home. Others stay because most of tornado alley is farm country, and farmers are a tough and resilient breed. Others because it's a good life, with stable communities and affordable living. In the end, everyone has their own answer.
I live in northern Indiana, and in 1998 a tornado skipped through our neighborhood and my family's backyard. We were lucky; it knocked over two trees, and took out the power lines, but no houses were damaged.
I didn't see the tornado itself. There was a heavy rain, but it was blowing horizontally. I did see one of the trees bending back and forth, and then snap.
Alerts are much better now; in the 1970s and '80s, warnings were too vague. Doppler radar now allows meteorologists to see wind rotation along with direction so there are fewer false alarms, and more accurate tracking of storms.
In theory you could outrun a tornado in a car, but it's a bad idea to try: their speed can be 32 to 98 kph, but their path can be erratic. There could be traffic, downed trees, poor conditions from rain, or just no road in the best direction away.
Was it one that had a really, really narrow path? I think I might remember that one.
@@mfinchina__117 Yes, it did. This was in Elkhart, but it may also have hit Edwardsburg.
As other people have pointed out, while going into your closet won't help you if your house is directly in the path of a tornado (though some of the smaller ones don't destroy the entire structure of the home so it's really just luck whether it does or not), it will help you if the winds of a nearby tornado/storm system throws debris at your home. I've lived in an area with dozens of tornadoes a year, and the only actual property damage we've experienced is from high winds knocking down a tree next to our garage, which ended up braking the window to the door of the garage. The tornadoes weren't even near us, but the storm systems they're apart of usually have extremely high winds and severe hail, so it's good idea to get away from any windows and outside facing walls. That's why trailer parks and other low-income areas are usually those most affected by tornadoes, because people living in trailers usually don't have any other option than to take cover in a closet or tub, and people living in low-income housing often don't have homeowner's insurance that will cover any damage from "acts of god".
Also, note that most buildings in places that regularly experience tornadoes (like the Midwest/Tornado Alley) are constructed with basements, and you're given ample warning through both the local news, tornado sirens, and text notifications (I attend classes at my local Uni, so I also get a text from their warning system) whenever there is a tornado warning in the county, even if it's nowhere near us. It sounds ridiculous to someone who lives somewhere that doesn't have tornadoes for locals to go outside and watch for tornadoes, but if you've lived somewhere with tornadoes long enough you get pretty used to them. It doesn't take much of an education in meteorology to be able to look at your local Doppler radar and have a pretty good idea of when you're actually in danger. So, especially if you live in a relatively open area like on a farm, where you can see quite far in every direction, then it's extremely common to just go outside and watch for tornadoes during a tornado warning. As long as the system isn't on top of you, and it's still daylight (night tornadoes are very dangerous since you most often can't visually see them coming), then you'll have plenty of time to seek shelter.
Most areas in the US are subject to some form of regular natural disasters. On the East and Southern coasts we have hurricanes several times during the Summer. The West coast has earthquakes. Tornadoes hit the plains states in the middle of the country. If everyone decided to move somewhere with no disasters we'd all be crowded in just a tiny portion of the country. Most of those "bad" regions have nice features that make people want to live there despite the danger. One of the things that originally attracted people to move to the tornado areas back in the 1800s and early 1900s was the rich agricultural land that was available. The Homestead Act allowed anyone who would move to these areas 160 acres of land for free if they would live and farm there for 5 years. Free land was very attractive especially to the thousands of European immigrants who were coming to the US at that time.
If you're really lucky you'll end up in an area that more than one of these. XD
I think we'd all be crowding in Alaska 😂 it seems like the safest state nature wise
@@KimberlyCaldwell-xb2if Alaska has earthquakes, tsunamis, and killer cold... There's no good option😅
We recently just had 14 tornados at night over Chicago and the suburbs in July. It was overhead but I remember opening the window to check the weather and felt a heat I never felt. I knew we were gonna get it that night. I called my sister to she if she was safe. I live a few blocks from the downtown area and I teased my sister telling her that the tornado was across the street from me. Then the warnings came and the alarms were loud and panicking. The next moment there was lighting that just wouldn't stop, and it just kept lighting and that scared the hell out of me. The heat and humidity was feeding the storm lots of pizza and ribs, then, before I knew it, the tornado was literally across the street from me. The wind was shaking our building, my windows were closed but I could feel the wind coming through. I live on the top floor of my building. The lights went out in seconds and I had to run to the hall outside my apartment. I was shaking and very much afraid. The whole apartment complex shook. I live across the street from a very busy highway and the tornado followed the freeway from the suburbs through the city down to the lake. I almost pissed my pants and I hope to never go through that again. Then, it ended just as soon as it started. But before the
visitors left they went downtown to see the beauty of it all. I didn't sleep that night, I was too excited. Thanks for your thoughts on this matter.
Dear Chris, we average 2 major storms each month. We are that large of a nation, with each area facing different storms. Tornados happen without much notice. Weather forecasters try to warn where it will occur, but honestly, they know when we know. We have "Tornado Alley" through the center of our nation. This area has our largest farms and where most of our oil comes from (excluding Alaska). Hurricanes strike along the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Coast. Most hurricanes create tornados too. The Pacific Coast deals with earthquakes. Then we have blizzards and ice storms. Tornados and earthquakes are the ones to fear because we never have enough notice. God's Blessings, Irish
Chris, thunderstorms do kill people indoors. The strike can follow along metal and wiring. You do not take a shower or use landline phones. God's Blessings, Irish
I was reminded by a friend that lightning is often hotter than the sun and starts fire.
A quick search showed that Germany usually gets 10-25 tornadoes per year, they just aren't usually very powerful. The UK usually gets about 30, but also not usually strong. The American Midwest is a wide open space, around 1500 miles wide between the Rockies and Appalachians, where hot air from the south and cold air from the north mix freely and get powered by strong wind currents.
I guess I’m going to be the first one to say this but, you comparing to sirens to wolves howling and doing an impression was super adorable. It reminded me of when we lived in North Carolina and whenever our dogs would hear any type of sirens they would type to harmonize with them.
The tornado sirens are to be taken very seriously. They sound when there is a tornado on the ground and heading towards you. I have been in two different tornadoes in two different states. The first one was the most frightening. We could definitely hear it coming. We hid in a closet that was just below ground level. The tornado bounced over our street and struck a small guard post killing three men. As I write this the siren is going off. It’s the first Wednesday of the month and they always test it on this day. I really enjoyed this video. I was an Army brat who was fortunate enough to live in Germany twice as a child. I absolutely loved my time there. It’s a truly beautiful, amazing, wonderful country. The German people are the best! Sending you blessings from Minnesota.
Tornados hit everywhere even though there are areas that get more than others. You just live somewhere and live with the fact you might encounter one. I grew up in the state of Indiana and we got them all the time. Like I live in Florida and we get tornadoes waterspouts hurricanes and even tremors from the earth moving. Wildfires too. You just enjoy your life and know how to be prepared and know where to go
I'm 64 and live in Michigan. I've been in close contact with 3 tornadoes in my lifetime. The first at the age of 14 when the school bus stopped and we all got under the bus as the tornado crossed the field about 150 yards away. The second was a tornado that tore down the street next to mine, ripping out most of the 1-foot tree trunk diameter trees for almost half a mile. A lot of siding and roof damage as well. The third was a tornado that I saw coming toward me while I was driving. I pulled under a bridge overpass as the tornado passed within 100 yards. Lots of hail but being under the bridge saved my car from any damage. But to answer your question... YES!!! They are scary and most certainly get your adrenalin pumping!!
Tornado sirens in the mid west is just a way to tell everybody to go outside. We don't believe it till we see it. Then we run like hell for the basement
Not if you're a Dad you don't. You stay outside gawking at it until it's peeling shingles off the roof and your wife is screaming words the kids have never heard before to get your GODDAMN ASS IN THE GODDAMN HOUSE AND DOWN THE GODDAMN BASEMENT YOU MANIAC Bonus points if you miss being beaned by a tree by four inches. And then I passed an entire flock of Dads in the parking lot watching and filming a different one. The thing was practically across the street. Why???
1:18 the primal fear those sirens give me is insane. I swear they make me want to cry and I barely ever cry.
A 4 month old baby was swept up by a tornado. They found the baby nestled asleep in a tree. Baby was unharmed. So I thank the Lord for his protection of this innocent child. Truly a miracle bc usually you're thrown back to the ground & end up dying. 🛐✝️
P S if you like the American military then you should watch The Fat Electrician, The Real Rambo, Roy Benavides. He's truly an American Hero. You won't believe what he had done. It's amazing & true to a word.
It's long so if you'd rather watch it & not post it. Well, I'd understand but please listen to his story. It shows true American grit. You'll be shocked.🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
We have had a record year this year with at least one hundred confirmed tornados this spring in Oklahoma. We raise cattle, wheat and families and have since leaving Germany in the mid 1800s this is why we are here. Many people here only see tornados on TV luckily. We got hit by a small one about a month ago, we lost our greenhouse and six trees but ourselves and home were not damaged.
If you hear the siren (and it's not 10 AM on the first Tuesday of the month when they are testing) then take cover. Once you're somewhere safe you can check your phone or radio or tv if you have one in your safe space to see where it is.
If you're inside when the warning comes, do not try to outdrive a tornado. Being in a car is not safe. You heard what he said about trailers, and cars are smaller.
Thank you for this. Where I live it's 2PM on the 3rd Wednesday of every month. Now I know if I travel somewhere, it may test on a different day and time
You never want to try to outrun in a tornado in a car. They can go very fast and change direction quickly. Your best bet is to get into an area that is safe and wait there till it passes.
We would stop and wait for the storm to pass under the highway underpass.
I heard the sirens lotrs of times growing up in Michigan, both when tested (the first Saturday of every month at 1300) and for real warnings. The sirens in each county are only activated when there has been an actual sighting of a tornado in that county. Yes, I was in the path of the tornado that went through Kalamazoo, Michigan, around 1610 on 13 May 1980. Our house had some damage, but the house across the street was left with its roof lying in the street, and the school directly behind our house was destroyed. It was after hours and no students were in it.
Yes, I was extremely scared, but we had a basement and I had time to get in it and under a heavy desk after I saw the tornado coming.
There are definitely tornadoes in Germany! Check out the video about European tornadoes on the same channel as this video and you'll see! :)
Yes, we do have tornado specific sirens. On Memorial Day this year, a tornado ripped across Rogers and Decatur which had neighbors that were completely destroyed. Up here in Bentonville; my house had pillars knocked down, and a basketball goal (A metal one at that) folded like a piece of paper, trees had their roots ripped out, and part of my church’s roof was collapsed in by just the rain and wind. Finally the rain caused a landslide in Bella Vista and gas leaks. FYI Bella Vista is three cities away from Decatur and Rogers which boor the brunt of the storm.
I don't think you understand the scale of tornadoes. An EF5 tornado will wipe an entire city of the map. They are horrifyingly powerful. I've lived in Colorado, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri, Iowa, Indiana and Louisiana. I've seen one tornado and have seen the aftermath of quite a few. Joplin, Missouri still gives me chills.
American residential bathrooms are required to have either a) a window or b) an extraction fan.
Tornado stories! 1) I worked at a Wendy's restaurant when I was in college. When the town's sirens sounded, we offered the customers two options: They could take shelter in the walk-in refrigerator with the staff, or leave the restaurant to find their own shelter. But no one could remain in the restaurant, unless they were in the cooler with us.
2) When I was a kid living in a small Kansas town, we had terrible storms for one whole week; the tornado sirens went off every night. For over an hour sometimes. Every night, we woke up, put the cats into their carriers, and went down to the basement. The entire town was sleep deprived, everybody looked and felt so tired! On the final night, the sirens started modulating their tone. I had never heard that before, and it was scary. Before, the sirens had just been an annoyance. The storm screamed and thundered, shaking the 100-year-old house. My dad told everyone to crawl under the workbenches he had built, as he had greatly overengineered them. And then the storm passed. There hadn't been a tornado, just the worst thunderstorm I have ever experienced.
The thing with tornados is that they can change direction and travelling speed at any point, so the sirens could go off two minutes or ten minutes before it arrives, or it might never arrive. Warnings are issued when rotation is detected or a tornado is reported on the ground, watches are issued when the conditions are right to create rotation. A tornado is a wind vortex. Tornados can even "jump." Fascinating and terrifying natural events.
I've been in 3 tornadoes. None were direct hits. Just had one recently. Couldn't see it coming because we had so many trees. There are so many trees down,now, it doesn't look like the same place. We will be able to see one coming now. We have a lot of sky after that tornado. All the trees that came down in our yard, fell away from the house. We had no damage! Some of our neighbors weren't so lucky. There were trees down on many houses and the wind blew some houses off their foundation a bit. The neighborhood about 1- 2 blocks away lost houses. When the weather is HOT is when you start looking for them, especially when it is humid and rain is expected.🌪
I live in Oklahoma. I feel like most of us live here because our families are from here. I have been in the storm shelter more times than I can count. I lived in a small town that was mostly destroyed in May 1999. Trees fell on top of our shelter and we were trapped for hours until someone with a chainsaw came through and cut us out. All roads were blocked by emergency services, some of my family couldn't get in to make sure we were alive. They walked miles up dark country roads to find a way to us. Their emotional breakdown upon finally seeing us standing in the yard...... burned into my memory.
I’ve experienced a tornado twice. Once was when I was 6 and it right by house and my dad went outside to watch it! He said it just nearly missed our house and neighborhood. The second time was when I was 13 and freaking out cause the tornado came when we were on vacation in DECEMBER! We got to our hotel nearly in time! Then everyone was rushed to a tornado shelter in the hotel and luckily it passed us. The third time was at camp and we at my camp chapel. My camp doesn’t have a shelter. First was the phones tornado watch in the middle of the preacher’s speech. We confirmed it was a watch so I went to bathroom. Right as I was going to get out the sirens went off! So I rushed out. I love watching storm chasers so I wasn’t afraid anymore and I was 15. Everyone is freaking out and we’re told to walk down to our mess hall. As we are walking someone screamed “ RUN!” So everyone ran. We get to safety and wait out the storm until midnight. Short story short everyone is safe!
“You have sirens just for tornados”
YOU DONT!?!?!!?😱
19:26 answer: Sometimes you have 10 minutes; sometimes the sirens are late or don't happen at all where you are. Tornadoes walk the line between predictable and unpredictable. They typically move in the ENE direction, but they can go any direction and even make u turns and loops. They typically travel at around 25-30 mph (40-48 km/h); however, they can be as fast as 89 mph (143 km/h) [so far]. At night or when rain-wrapped, they're basically invisible. Add in that other people had the same idea, and that it's likely for driving conditions to already be poor due to prior rain and/or hail. At last, the prospect of driving away from a tornado-warned area is a gamble. Sheltering in place is more often recommended. In the case of tornado emergencies, evacuation has been recommended before. I've experienced a few tornadoes far off and one close that I only heard from inside shelter (no noticeable damage - missed us but was loud).
Oklahoman here. I've been luck enough to see 3 tornadoes in person. And often played Gary England drinking game. Tornadoes have an interesting culture here.
Been through a tornado sideswiping my neighborhood. It really feels like nature herself is out to get you when a tornado comes calling and you're reminded that you're absolutely powerless to do anything but pray you'll survive.
0:58
US viewer here. I happen to live in a state whose geographic profile does not favor severe thunderstorms capable of producing tornadoes. The last one to do so struck my hometown of Salt Lake City, Utah in 1999, and it peaked at only an F2. However, almost no warning was ever issued for it, catching nearly everyone in the Salt Lake Valley off guard, injuring dozens and killing one. On the other hand, my area does get its share of thunderstorms capable of requiring severe thunderstorm warnings each summer.
I was born and raised in southern Minnesota (the northern end of Tornado Alley) in the 1960s and I remember maybe twice having to shelter in that time. In the 70s I went to college/uni in Iowa, and experienced a couple then. One touched down about half a mile away from me. I got stationed in Omaha in 1984 while in the Air Force, and have lived here ever since. I have had tornadoes nearby nearly every year since then. (Nearby being a very loose term.) Once I even had one "bounce" over the building I was sheltering in. But I wouldn't live anywhere else. For one thing, all the other natural disasters I can think of will affect large areas / take out whole cities. Tornadoes, while very violent, are *very* localized. They may cut a swath through town, but if you are not directly in the path, you will likely survive, possibly with little or no injury. This spring (April, 2024) we had a tornado outbreak in Eastern Nebraska and Western Iowa. One caused some damage in Elkhorn, on the west side of Omaha. Another destroyed a commercial hangar at the Omaha airport. Another hit the town my daughter-in-law and grandkids live in. Their church, a couple blocks away, was destroyed. The neighbor's house had the roof ripped off, and their she driven across my DiL's back yard. She just had a window broken in her back door, where the shed hit it. Her folk's home, a half mile away, was untouched.
I’ve been through a few tornadoes as well as watched a few tornadoes go through our farm. Keep in mind these tornadoes were smaller tornadoes, nothing compared to tornado valley’s tornadoes..!
My first experience with a tornado was by far my worse one yet, as it went right through our house with us in it. It slammed a tree through the wall, almost hitting my mother and I, and obliterated our deck. That’s not mentioning all the trees we had to remove that had fallen on our roads and the public roads in order to leave!
But that, sorta like I mentioned, is just here in Grenada, Mississippi. I have watched on the television ‘monster tornadoes’ plow through Oklahoma residences with no resistance.
I remember recently, however, a tornado came through some towns southwest of us, completely destroying them. Look up the Rolling Fork Mississippi tornado (I think it was called…) it brought pieces of house, jewelry, cars, and whatnot all the way to my city of Grenada, which is more than 165 kilometers (~102.6 miles) away from us!
Oh and the closets will protect you from the glass and splinters that might be flung at you.
Sirens are typically 3-10minutes ahead of the storm, if the area even has them. I've been in quite a few through the years and you just get used to their existence. Our county actually decommissioned their sirens. The storm itself can move anywhere from 0 to 75mph. You can't necessarily outrun them because of traffic, but you can side step them pretty easy. What makes them so dangerous is a lack of awareness and the speed with which they move. Most fatalities are at night because most bedrooms are on an exterior wall and the residents are unaware the storm is approaching. Winds in a tornado can span anywhere from 70mph to 300mph. They have been known to embed straw silverware etc into trees and buildings. Part of my training class actually includes pictures from the Tuscaloosa AL tornade where a 2"x4" board was sent like a spear through the exterior wall, the inerior wall and clean through the refrigerator in the kitchen where it stopped. They are capable of hurling 80ton trucks through the air and reducing an entire structure to its foundation. Many places have implemented building codes that require steel saferooms anchored to the foundation for safety. Hope this helps a little.
Been lucky enough to not ever experience a tornado, but those rare warning alerts are enough to make my blood run cold. The only natural disaster that has given me nightmares.
I've recently moved from the Midwest USA to southern Germany. I arrived in Germany in May. The weather notifications are pretty frequent for Germany, however my experience so far is this. I get a notification that a severe storm is coming, rain moves through with a little rumble and a little lightning. By comparison to a similar warning from US weather service when we get a thunderstorm warning the storms are much more powerful and potentially dangerous winds, and lightning that you do need to be concerned about and potential flooding if you live in a low lying area. Also, heat warnings are a weather alert in Germany but it sends out the warning for as low a temperature as 85 degrees fahrenheit. Comparing to the US Midwest weather service they only send out heat warnings if it's well over 90 degrees, and it's expected to last for several days. I also used to live in Tucson, Arizona so for me high heat isn't that intimidating as long as you use some basic precautions like not being highly physically active in the worst part of the day, staying well hydrated etc. So far the worst storm I've experienced here in Germany by comparison is a light thunderstorm by Midwest standards. Maybe this year's season has just been pretty calm for where i am.
I live in Omaha, Nebraska; this year has been crazy for tornados. We've had MASSIVE storms this yer like none other. I was stuck inside a tea shop (inside a boys bathroom) on my lunch break for over 3 hours across the street from my job in May due to them literally popping up all around Omaha. Two blocks from my house was destroyed. My friends house was completely leveled. It's been so wild. My brother and I were attending an outdoor concert a few days later in Kansas and had to sit in our car for 2 hours and hope for the best during another damn storm with tornados and hail!
I love your channel! ❤️ I took 4 years of German in school and was in the National German Honors Society upon graduation. 😊
1:14 the sirens we use for tornados were originally installed as part of our cold war prep to warn people to seek shelter in the even of nuclear war. Now days we use them to warn people to seek shelter from tornados.
67 yr old lifelong Alabamian here. Ive only seen one tornado up close and personal when I was about 6 yrs old. It wasnt a big one but I can remember watching it come right by the house and taking the roof off our barn and sending it into the woods like a rocket launch. As an adult Ive seen the aftermath of tornado's many times working for the US Dept of Agriculture. I always had to go out and collect damage data after the fact, and Ive volunteered in many cleanups. Just last year an F3 came within a mile of my house and killed one man in a trailer. Europeans ask why would you live in a "tornado alley"? Well its not like these "alleys" are individual place that can be avoided. We're talking huge areas prone to tornado development. Its like asking why do you live in Europe?
I am a total tornado veteran. Cheyenne,Wy in the 70's had tornados on the ground, in town several times a summer. We had a place in the basement under a pool table with pillows, blankets and a radio.
I have been within a mile of a tornado touching down in Wy, Wa, Ia, SD, and Ne. The green erie feeling between 5 and 7pm should never be ignored. We have some awesome photos of a tornado dancing through the cemetary knocking over gravestones.
I grew up in the Texas Panhandle, in Amarillo. Lubbock, that he mentioned in the first part of that video is 100 miles south of Amarillo. I was down there after that happened, scary stuff. I've seen a tornado on the ground, we were driving from Clovis New Mexico home and there was a small on in the field to the left of our car. I was just transfixed, my parents then noticed it and freaked out, my dad floored it to get away. I've had a couple go over houses I have been in, but they weren't on the ground yet. One hit about 4 miles from my house, tore up a shopping center and a few homes (EF-1 or 2). And then, when we moved to Houston, we were having one hell of a storm and all of a sudden my husband said "uh....this isn't good. Both of us had our ears pop (from the lower barometric pressure) and he heard it go over us. That hit about a mile and a half from our house, tore up a store and a couple homes.
My husband used to chase tornadoes. He grew up in southeast Oklahoma, in a little town called Antlers that got almost completely flattened by a tornado in 1945, (9 years before he was born). He remembers having tornadoes every spring around there. He went to the University of Oklahoma for a chemistry degree. But he also signed up to help calibrate the Doppler radar (back in 1974, when it was newer). He was given a pair of binoculars, a CB radio,, and a map and told to go watch for tornadoes. He did see one and reported it, he loved doing it and misses it now. Me? Yeah, I've had enough tornadoes that I'm not happy with them but I'm not sitting in closets now that I have at least gotten a bit more calm about them. When we first married, I was terrified of storms. Now, I'm nervous but enjoy watching the weather with my husband.
To answer a couple of your questions: The warning time for the sirens has gone up considerably in recent years. They will typically sound giving as much notice as possible when there's a radar indicated or observed tornado threat. The actual time will vary depending on the situation.
As for how fast do these storms move, that also can vary but it is not uncommon to see the cell moving anywhere from 30 mph to 60 mph. Can you out-drive them? It is possible, but not a recommended activity.
This is also not an indicator of wind speeds. Those can be anything from 60 to (if memory serves me...) the maximum on record of 300 mph.
Tornados are amazingly fascinating, horrifying, yet spectacular phenomena. We are still learning how to predict them, and what actually is happening inside these things. Storm chasers all over have dedicated their life's work and their time to researching, chasing, documenting and exploring these.
I live in Marble Falls, Texas, near Austin. When we have a strong thunderstorm system going through, the local TV stations go to continuous coverage of weather. The Doppler radar will find all the incipient tornadoes, with a large number of what amount to false positives, EF 0 or EF1 tornadoes.