It's nearly tornado season. Any DU'ers ever live through one?

[BlackVelvetElvis]

If you did, tell us about it.

[YellowRubberDuckie]

1. Um...Sweetie? It IS tornado season.

A few weeks before Spring is the start. ANYWAY, I've lived through several, being in Oklahoma and all. Hell, the last funnel cloud we had, we were standing outside when it went over. It of course never touched down or anything.
Duckie

[BlackVelvetElvis]

2. I stand corrected!

[xultar]

3. Good question, never been in one but wanna be! I'd go on one of those

storm chasing vacations!

[YellowRubberDuckie]

8. Don't do that...

It's needlessly dangerous, and you're not even guarenteed a tornado. Just buy a little spot at a lake here in Oklahoma and move in a trailer or something...Then spend the weekends here. At least one weekend between now and June should guarentee some rumbles...Gary's saying this is going to be an active season.
Duckie

[xultar]

14. kute kitty! I need chainmail to give my cat a bath. n/t

[liberal72]

16. It should be an active season.

Here in AL we get tornadoes a lot during the spring as well, maybe not as much as OK an Kansas, but still many. Last spring it was REALLY quiet down here. Since things usually balance out I expect this spring to be really busy.

[MuseRider]

10. They are very

exciting. The pressure changes do something very strange to people. I do not know why but they do. You can feel them (those kinds of storms) coming, sometimes all day long. They are cool to watch. I remember several times being out running for shelter with rocks and stuff blowing around and hardly being able to stand up in the wind. It is scary but I still find them exciting.

[ProudGerman]

4. One danced around my house when I lived in Georgia

Knocked 13 trees down, and wrapped the branches of one completely around itself. Neighbors had to cut us out, as trees blocked all exits to the house, front, side, rear, and garage door. In total, 6 trees had branches that just touched the house.

I didn't know it was a tornado until it was all over. I just thought it was a bad thunderstorm, and since I lived through many of those, I thought nohting of it. But afterwards, it was obvious that the tornado touched down a few times in our fron and back yard.

[MuseRider]

5. Many but I live in Kansas

so it is expected. Here is the biggest I have seen, was estimated an F5 I think. I was in Junior High and was standing outside as it went by. http://www.cjonline.com/indepth/66tornado/

[BlackVelvetElvis]

11. Unbelievable!

[solinvictus]

6. Yep

About 20 miles north of Birmingham, AL in 1974. I was 4 years old and a large one hit within a mile of our home. It was a single wide mobile home, so the wind picked it up twice and set it back down on the blocks. We could see it out the windows tearing up a swath of trees and slinging debris everywhere.

[VelmaD]

7. I've lived through several.

The scariest was in Ada, Oklahoma. I was visiting my grandparents there. I got woke up in the middle of the night and drug across the street to the shelter in teh basement of an elementary school. My momma had been trapped in a storm cellar as a child when a tree fell over the door so she was scared of being trapped in a shelter and she wouldn't stay down there with us. She kept going up top to look around and I was terrified. The tornado passed about a half mile from where we were.

The otehr really scary one was in 7th grade. I was in the middle school band hall for lunch when the lights went out. The band hall was under ground so the teacher had us stay there with her. After about an hour my mom showed up out of the blue. She knew I was terrified and wanted me at home so she braved the weather and came and got me. The tornado passed less than a mile from the school but nobody was hurt.

There were several other close calls during my childhood but those are the two I really remember.

[Fenris]

9. Only once, when I lived in Broken Arrow, OK

I was young. I remember being in the bathtub with my mom and sister waiting for it to pass. It was not a pleasant experience.

[Gman]

12. We were under a Tornado Warning today

here in San Antonio. I think the season's well under way.

[amandae]

13. Good link for tornado information ....

http://www.tornadoproject.com

I live in Kansas also ... tornado season is April, May and June. I've found that May is usually the worst (although I've only been here 4 years). Tornado season is one of the primary reasons I can't wait to move back up north!!!

:hi:

[chrisesq]

15. The one in Xenia, OH in 1974 touched down roughly 3 miles

from where we lived. I don't know if that counts as "living through one."

[AngryAmish]

17. In small one in Oak Brook, IL in 82 or 83

You know how they say they sound like freight trains? They ain't kidding. Knocked down a lot of trees over 3 feet in diameter.

[jburton]

18. Yup

Not close enough to touch our house, but we had to get a new roof because of all the crap that fell on it.

[SoCalDem]

19. Being a Kansas native.. Of course

I got a new paintjob for my car thanks to one.. We lost part of a roof once..
mostly just huddled under dusty furniture in the basement..in the dark..with whining kids, panting dogs, yowling cats.. for HOURS at a time..

I'll take earthquakes any day...just so they are not under MY house :)

[Kazak]

20. I live about 15 miles from the spot where...

the largest tornado on record went through a few years back, does that count? It looked like it was heading right for us before it curved and followed the river. Poor Moore...don't move there!

[TrogL]

21. A big one hit Edmonton

I was on the far side of town and helped with security afterwards.

The gas station across the street was hit by lightning. Sounded like a bomb going off. The attendant ran out the door and ran for the hills.

I saw the funnel in the distance.

It tore up a trainyard and killed two people there. Then it danced up a highway for awhile tearing down huge power transmission towers and then went through a trailer park, killing some more people. I was on security detail for the trailer park and saw blood. During the search I found a cat and a cache of firearms.

[Nikia]

22. Just funnel clouds and brief touchdowns nearby

I never had to deal with the damage of a tornado, but I've seen the funnel clouds and weird colors in the sky. I've felt the pressure changes. I've felt the terror of: "The tornado is right above us. Everyone has to get down now!" (I am sure that's the fastest everyone responded to a tornado alert at my high school.)

[Champ]

23. Never lived in one and never seen one

I definately don't want to either. I'm not easily scared but something about a tornado just scares me, I am afraid to look at them on TV. Now go ahead call me a wimp! :D

[RebelOne]

24. Never been in one, but they have come darn close to me.

One hit a subdivision about 2 blocks from my house and blasted those homes all to hell.