Tornados

For anyone that knows - how is it possible to be warned of oncoming tornados and what are the preparations for it?


Thanks

Warning? Buy a weather radio.

If the funnel cloud forms right overtop of you then there is no warning.

One option is a NOAA Weather Alert Radio.. In the event of severe weather (or other threat) NOAA sends out a special tone which automatically turns these radio on. They then broadcast a warning as to what the threat is.

Tornadoes can pop up faster than the warnings can go out, but the radio might help.

-Blast

Being here in Oklahoma for the last few years has allowed me to brush up on my meteorology a bit. I have found two websites provide really current weather: intellicast.com and wunderground.com (Weather Underground). Also, spend considerable time watching "Old People's MTV", the Weather Channel. You can learn a ton about them. I like tracking the storms on the Internet sites I mentioned. I agree with Blast about getting a weather radio. You may not be able to understand the voices sometimes but at least the fact that it went off should be a clue that something is up.

Just my thoughts

Some local TV stations can let you sign up for free cell phone text message alerts regarding weather alerts. I got several Tornado watch alerts last night.

A SAME weather radio (if you live in the US) is better to ensure that you receive only the alerts applicable to wear you live.

A woman I used to know who lived in Oklahoma for just a year had this advice about tornadoes:

"Forget the house -- just sleep in the tornado shelter all the time."

Sue

I have read that tornadoes produce a large amount of noise across the AM band. The claim was an AM radio tuned to white noise between stations whines and sings when a tornado is in the area and it gets louder and more distinct as it gets closer.

I don't know. Sounds like a good experiment for one of the many storm chaser crews out there. They could carry a battery powered Am radio or simply use the AM function on their car radio.

It would be an interesting experiment to try. But in the mean time a standard weather radio may be your best bet.

Another option to look into would be to talk to the local police or emergency services departments. Some have reverse 911 operations and a few are said to include weather emergencies. The operation of these systems is that when an alert is issues and localized it cross references the location of the emergency with a reverse phone directory. The computer then dials the phone numbers associated with each house in the area and delivers a pre-recorded warning message.

In one case my local police had the system call everyone a half mile down-wind of a industrial fire. The local system dials a couple score numbers at a time. So it is pretty fast. It isn't perfect but it seems to have alerted most of the people and worked well enough that it has become a regularly used tool for emergency services.

Some of these systems require that you contact the emergency services or police department and register your address to the phone number that will be used. This is increasingly important as more people every day are using cell phones as their only tele-communications link. Couldn't hurt to ask if they have such a system. Maybe ask why not if they don't.

There are also several pager companies out here who claim to keep abreast of disasters in your area and for a fee they will send you a warning. Sounds good if they are as good as their advertising claims. One I looked at said they operated at the county level. I wasn't in the right area. They were a SW outfit.

Preps for a tornado that I took were

1. Build concrete shelter down in my basement
2. Stock it with alternate heat,cooking and lighting and frig.
3. Stock food, water ( I have a well ), porta potty, TP of course
4. Tools to dig out
5. Let someone know your going down there in case you can't dig
your way out.
6. Personal items as well as games and books
7. Bunk beds, with bedding
8. Weather Radio
9. Hand held Ham Radio
10.Extra batteries

Just a few basics, I have other supplies not listed, it's not just for tornado's

The only thing I haven't done yet is add a air filtration system to it. I also want to get my Ham License and a good base unit.

A good Weather Radio is top priority.

Hmm, that sounds reasonable. With wind moving that fast, there's bound to be a significant amount of static precipitation build up. Even with a heavy rain, I doubt it would dissipate the static fast enough to counteract the propagation.

I know there's some static precip during a sandstorm, enough to detect by similar means, so it makes sense, although I would think that it would be physically obvious the tornado is approaching your pos before you could discern the threat on the radio.

Learn to read the clouds too, looking especially for the cumulonimbus , your regular old everyday thunderbumper producer, and the more dangerous offshoot, the cumulonimbusmammatus , which is the one tornados,funnel clouds, and waterspouts come from...

Sometimes "thunderstorm warning" really means "tornado warning."

From a sobering experience, I learned that it is not always obvious to know when a tornado is approaching.

In our situation, conditions went from light rain and windy to tornado in an instant. No tornado watches or warnings were issued. But, a small tornado touched down across the road < 1,000' from our house, taking out a full-size billboard, 4 mature trees in my front yard, 6 mature trees in my backyard, and continued to make a path of damage, for a few miles

Amazingly and thankfully, the funnel literally skipped over our house, causing only minor damage. If the tornado had been a few feet closer to the ground, DW and I would have been Dorothy'd without knowing what hit us.

The warnings finally came when the tornado was into the next town.

The lessons I brought away from the experience is to pay much closer attention to the weather. Conditions can change in an instant.

Don't rely on technology 100%. Thunderstorm warning means pay close attention. You need to keep an eye to the sky.

Get a weather radio with SAME (Specific Area Messaging Equipment(?)) technology. Set the SAME code(s) for your home areas(s). They are not too expensive, so get several. They also make great gifts. The National Weather Service issues tornado warnings almost entirely based on doppler radar returns, which typically gives 10+ minutes of of warning. (You'll note that the warning will say something like "...doppler radar indicated a possible tornado 10 miles southwest of yourtown moving northeast at 60 miles an hour...")

JimJr

I wonder about how much visual warning people are getting. People reporting that they became aware of it with just enough time to scoop up the kids and hide in the bathtub seems to be a pretty common theme.

A lot of houses don't have clear sight lines to the horizon. There is always the chance of a tornado at night. Or it might form right on top of you. Would wind shear produce RF noise as it forms a tornado a couple of miles up?

If a simple AM radio could give them a little more warning and some clue as to presence and range, even just for the comfort of an earlier, but not premature, 'all-clear' it sounds like something to look into.

Still wouldn't replace a good weather radio but something to consider. I will have to ask around and see if I can't get more details from the experts.

Yep, there are variables. I am thinking about out in the wide open in west Texas or Oklahoma, where you can see it coming in the daytime. Nighttime or obstructed view pretty much negates the early visual warning.

Static precip is going to be hard for the layman to discern from background interference. AM radios can be susceptible to computer noise, monitor noise (if its old CRT that is), DSL noise, phone noise, in fact a lot of different radiation sources can simulate what you might mistake for an incoming tornado, plus the fact that most folks probably don't get the chance to really listen to such an event that often.

All in all, I would prefer a good doppler radar system as a suitable EWD. Sooner or later there's going to be a real time internet link for folks to dial into that will have a doppler feed and graphics and even alert cues telling you what and how the system is developing. I would subscribe. Wouldn't it be nice to find out what the storm is doing 30 seconds before the general alarm is activated?

Until that day, I created my own page with feeds from several sources. It is close to real time information.

http://www.godtw.com/weather/meters.htm.

Ok GarlyDog, just how do you do that?

"Until that day, I created my own page with feeds from several sources. It is close to real time information."

I love that!

Sue

You're close. When I was a kid, and we had black and white TV's with dials, we would dial in channel 13 and tune it until it was just blacked out, then dial in channel 2. You can actually watch lightning strikes as white flashes, and when a tornado touches down, the whole screen turns white. Yes, it really works.

I did the same as GarlyDog, and created my own page. I also have my own weather station (Davis Vantage Pro), and it sends info to www.wunderground.com also. I've also got the Boltek Lightning detector, but it isn't "online".

http://users.decaturwb.com/96cobra/

Roger

Normally, by the hour.