Talk me through this. Tornadoes ALL around. In the Basement

[demtenjeep]

http://www.kansas.com/


Home alone with the animals


Sirens going full blast

still have electricity so far

[Ron Green]

1. You'll be fine in the basement. Good luck; my thoughts are with you.

[Vincardog]

2. Relax pet your animals and wait it out

[mike_c]

3. best wishes-- be safe!

:hug:

[malaise]

4. Stay safe

:grouphug:

[RKP5637]

5. Good luck!!! Hope you make out OK!!! Let us know!!!

[w8liftinglady]

6. you're doing the right thing

if you have a mattress,you might get under that.
flashlight and radio.

[Kookaburra]

7. That's frightening, but you're safe in the basement

If it makes you more nervous, then turn the radio off. Do you have a book to read or something to take your mind off the storms outside?

Here's a virtual :hug: . I hope it helps a little.

[hedgehog]

8. Just remember - once you have the ruby slippers, you don't need to go to OZ!

[tridim]

9. Well, if I still lived in KS I'd be out chasing them.

So take comfort in the fact that you're safe in your basement.

[The Straight Story]

10. Just look out for an old woman on a bike, and keep toto safe

:)

Let us know how it goes!

[liberal N proud]

12. Good one - Kansas, Tornado

Seriously - Keep it safe.

[Hissyspit]

11. The odd are absolutely in your favor.

Hang in there. :hug:

[Hissyspit]

73. "odds"

[FirstLight]

13. Hang in there

I'm all the way in CA, so I've never been in one of those. Earthquakes are faster and there's no 'buildup' of the sirens going off...but you may not get under somthing in time. At least you have a little window of warning.

Hope you have a lantern and all the supplies you need for a little basement time.Glad you have your animals with you.

:hug:

[DrDan]

14. used to live in Topeka - and understand what you are going through

stay safe . . . comfort the animals - they count on you

[demtenjeep]

18. I have all the animals with me. If I lose power, I lose computer

as I have no battery


getting things ready just in case

[DrDan]

22. focus on your animals . . . and getting prepared . . . and getting to a safe location

your things can be replaced - not so you animals or you

[LeftyFingerPop]

15. You'll be alright, you have good odds....

Get under something heavy if it gets hairy. Let us know when the coast is clear.

[cbdo2007]

16. Really the chances you'll be hit are very, very small. Just try to relax

and keep the weather on. It's heading our way right now in Missouri so I'm about to get on my way home!

[seabeyond]

17. the odds of anything happening are a zillion to one. you have a basement

ah spring

and you have you puter.

they only last so long and then you are done

i hate it too. inevitably it happens as i am cooking dinner.

[rhett o rick]

19. Best wishes. nm

[pitohui]

20. stay safe

i hate the freaking storms, we need weather control on this planet, we need good research to get our climate under control

glad you still have electric/internet, it's a link

let us know when it's over that you're OK

[demtenjeep]

21. I absolutely HATE tornadoes

and I hate it more when I am alone

[Dappleganger]

23. Has it gone through yet?

It's good your pets are with you, they're probably nervous too! They can feel the barometric pressure changes and it often causes anxiety.

Take care and keep hunkering down! (Floridian here)

[formercia]

24. Open the windows

It sounds counter-intuitive but the negative pressure differential cause by a close tornado can cause a building to come apart.

When I lived in Oklahoma, the apartment complex I lived in was hit. I woke up with 6 inches of water in my apartment. I would have slept through it but my next-door neighbor, an insurance adjuster woke me up to ask if I would go with him to check the damage to some of his clients.
I remember one gas station that completely disappeared, leaving nothing but a concrete slab.

He later told me a story about one old-timer who, hearing that a Tornado was going to hit his neighborhood, grabbed a 2x4 and started smashing out his windows. His neighbors thought he was crazy, but after the storm passed, his was the only house standing on his block.

[WillyT]

31. I've Heard That Too...

Stay safe all!

:grouphug:

[Goldom]

38. This has been disproven.

http://www.snopes.com/science/hurricane.asp
Headline is about hurricanes, but says the same for tornadoes in the body text.

[WeDidIt]

47. DO NOT FOLLOW THIS ADVISE!!!!!!!!

Open or closed makes no difference at all. Wind speeds in a tornado are simply too high to make a difference and stopping to open or close windows only wastes precious time!

[uppityperson]

50. This has been proven false, recommendation is do NOT do this.

Having an entry point for wind means more wind and debris can blow through, breaking the house apart. I was surprised to find this when researching tornadoes when the 50 yr anniversary of the F5 I was in as a child came around a couple yrs back. Anecdotes aside, here are links:

http://www.spc.noaa.gov/faq/tornado/safety.html
"Forget about the old notion of opening windows to equalize pressure; the tornado will blast open the windows for you!"

http://www.usatoday.com/weather/resources/askjack/watorsaf.htm

Q: Why are you supposed to dive into a ditch if you’re caught outside as a tornado approaches? How/why is this safe?

A: Most injuries and deaths in tornadoes are caused by flying debris — imagine getting hit by a small board traveling at 200 mph. If you're in a low, secure spot or caught outside and dive into a ditch, the flying debris will probably fly over you. If possible, just try to make sure it's a dry ditch, as more people are killed each year in floods than in tornadoes.



Q: We had a discussion over dinner tonight about tornado safety. Two opinions were expressed:

* Leave all windows open to prevent them from breaking
* Leave all windows closed to keep pressure from building against the roof of the structure.

Can you supply some information that would settle this discussion?

A: The second choice, leaving the windows closed, is the correct answer for the reason you give.

The first choice used to be the standard advice for tornadoes, but it was proven wrong years ago. (The reason for this old, wrong advice was not to keep the windows from being broken, but to "equalize the pressure" inside and outside the building.)

Last spring we published a story on how the 1979 Wichita Falls, Texas, tornado led to changes to tornado safety rules, including the one about opening windows as a twister approached. (Related story: 1979 Texas tornado led to safety changes)

The old theory was that the drop in air pressure as a tornado hit a building caused the higher pressure inside to push the walls out - to make the building "explode."

Instead, researchers who studied the Wichita Falls tornado damage realized that wind blowing into open, or broken, windows pushes up on the roof. At the same time, wind blowing over the roof is making it act like an airplane wing that generates a lifting force. If the roof lifts off, the walls can fall outward, making it look like the building exploded.

On the right side of the page with the Wichita Falls story you'll find links to a lot of information about tornadoes, including safety rules.

[Art_from_Ark]

68. I was always told to open the windows on the NE side of the house

but leave the ones on the SW and other sides closed, since most tornadoes, in Arkansas at least, seem to travel in a SW to NE path. The rationale behind that was that if the SW windows were open, but no others, it would allow the tornado to create a pressure vacuum in the house. Opening the windows on the opposite (NE) side of the approaching tornado would provide a pressure release. This is what was taught to us after the Springdale, Arkansas tornado of 1970.

[uppityperson]

69. Me too, but they have changed the recommendation

we would cross open/close windows so some air could get out, but they changed that about 1980 when they figured out that what "explodes" houses is the wind getting in and lifting the roof off and then letting the walls fall outwards, not the air pressure differential itself.

Fargo, ND 1956 F5 survivor here.


Also, do NOT go under an underpass to get away from a tornado. Some idiots managed to get under one of the few in the country that have enough of an alcove to survive it so now people actually drive to them to "be safe". Unfortunately, this gets people up higher and into higher winds (and more debris) as well as adding in the tunnel effect from the underpass itself.

I did a bunch of research a few yrs back and was amazed at finding the "don't open windows", why houses explode out stuff.

[Art_from_Ark]

76. Thank you for this update

I will relay it to family members who have had close encounters with tornadoes in the past few years

[intheflow]

77. Wow, you must have been very young in that Fargo tornado! n/t

[uppityperson]

80. I was.

It has been only the last few yrs that odd memories and Wind fears have pulled together to make sense. I had an older sib so have been able to ask "what about that soggy carpet", which to me was up to my ankles, to sib not so high. It was neighbor's living room after windows blew out, roof blew off, downpour happened during the storm. It explains why I always pictured a house a few houses away as a foundation with pipes sticking out of it, even after it was a house again. It explains why I panicked in LA after Katrina when I knew I was going to die while in a neighborhood full of debris.

Random things, but it makes sense, from a 3 yr old's perspective. We were lucky in that our house was backed by 2 garages that caught the brunt of the debris. Houses 300 ft away were down to their foundations.

[intheflow]

82. How scary!

But I wouldn't necessarily blame your 3-year-old's perspective. God knows I keep being hit with random bits and pieces of info at weird times that kind of flash me back to post-Katrina, and I was 42. It's amazing exactly how much I've forgotten, as I keep stumbling across bits and pieces of info about the work I did down there. Makes me think you probably experienced some form of PTSD, too. :hug:

[donco6]

57. OWT.

Just keep your head down and forget the windows. All you'll get is wet rugs.

[Warpy]

25. Hug the animals close and let us know you're safe

when the sirens stop blasting.

Or not, if you lose juice.

[blogslut]

You're in the best place you can be

And it sounds like you have good company.

Stay safe and let us know when the badness passes. :)

[demtenjeep]

26. tornado at Mid Continent Airport

just a few miles away from me

SSSHIT

[demtenjeep]

28. City Sirens going off

in basement

ready to put mattress over me if necessary

[scubadude]

27. I went through a direct hit.

Can't testify to the tornado's strength, other than that it took down 19 trees in our grove and blasted me about 4 feet into the air, inside the house as a tree limb came through the window and wall.

I remember creeping up the root celler stairs and looking through the window at a tree that was two and a half feet thick bowed over flapping in the breeze. The top of the tree was perhaps 20 feet from the ground, and that tree was about 45 feet tall. One strong tree, it made it through the storm.

The house ended up with some damage. It was completely covered by a huge willow, the one that came through the window. The tree completely covered the house, and it was a 7 bedroom over hundred year old farmhouse. Strong house indeed.

All in all we were very lucky. I wish you better luck than the very good luck we had that day.

Scuba

[lamp_shade]

29. Keep talking to us, ya hear?

[proud patriot]

30. I'm Visualizing a protective dome over you

:loveya:

[demtenjeep]

32. thanks

they just mentioned my area to be in shelter now

till 5:45

[nenagh]

33. Are you still ok??

Hope the protective thoughts of DU are helping...

[demtenjeep]

34. so far so good

but they keep popping up everywhere

funnel cloud over the airport

[CLANG]

37. Keep safe! Stay nimble!!

[tanyev]

35. I'm jealous of your basement.

We rode one out in a coat closet. Lost shingles, but otherwise OK. Say a prayer of thanks for your basement and I wish you all the best.

[muffin1]

48. Is it an interior coat closet?

If so, I'm jealous of that. We live in a very small, but quaint, house - 750 square feet. We don't have any interior rooms. :scared:

We do have a crawl space under the house. We would have to run underneath the house, and scurry into the space. There, we would share said space with SPIDERS. Again, :scared: Not to mention, I have no idea how we'd make it to that space with our four cats in tow.

Anyway, I'm glad you made it through as well as you did. Let's both hope this severe weather doesn't last too long!:hi:

[tanyev]

62. Yikes! That is bad.

We had one cat in the closet with us at the time, but I don't know if she'd ever let us do that again. She was not happy. We've since gotten a second cat who I fear would also be a dickens to catch in a panic situation. *stupid, adorable pets, mutter mutter*

[Soylent Brice]

36. (((good vibes)))

stay safe.

[demtenjeep]

40. This storm may be diminishing

The tornado warning for this cell may be allowed to expire soon

[uppityperson]

51. Yay! Glad you are getting through it, pets too.

I imagine you know this web page, but just in case, Storm Prediction Center, with links to warnings, and a usa map listing/showing tornadoes by day. Hover your cursor over the words right above the map and it will show you a different map by category. You can click on each to bring up more info:
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/

Here is map of tornadoes listed (so far) today

[MadHound]

39. You'll be alright, just stay in the basement

Keep your animals with you. If you want some more security, get some pillows and wrap up in them, protect your head and vital areas. Or get under something stout downstairs, a heavy table or such.

I've been through eight tornadoes, and while they do cause destruction, they rarely cause death.

If your electric is still on, its a good sign.

If you hear something that sounds like the mother of all trains coming your way, hit the deck.

Good luck, stay safe.

[Nightshade01]

41. Same Here

I'm in East Wichita, and it's quiet right now. Watching the talking heads on TV, you'd think Armageddon was in progress.

Warnings cancelled 30 seconds ago. We're good here.

[dems_rightnow]

44. In east Wichita, too.

Looking much better, but a TORRENTIAL rain falling here.

[demtenjeep]

49. tracking a new cell

lowering of clouds near Kellogg and seneca

[jaxx]

42. Hey.....I hope you're ok!!

hang in there

[demtenjeep]

43. I lived through the Andover Tornado

My best friend lost her home in the Andover tornado. She was lucky to get to shelter...she worked 3rd shift at a Philips 66 and was sleeping. someone saw her as they were running to shelter and woke her up

[WeDidIt]

45. Get someplace protected

Even basements are not completely safe. Under the steps is safer. Stay away from any windows. If there is any reinforced structure in the basement, go there.

[mahina]

46. "Cool head, main thing".

Please know others are thinking of you and seeing you safe and sound. Please write when you can and take good care.
Aloha.

[demtenjeep]

53. That storm is passed bu tnew storms are lining up

think I will take a potty break and then head back to the basement

[pipi_k]

52. Damn...I don't even know how people can live out there!

Only real tornado I ever saw was when I lived in Tennessee for a few months back in 1974.

I was terrified, home alone with two small kids and NO cellar/basement. I thought we were going to die, but it went the other way.

Since then, I have occasional nightmares.

For me, living in Tornado Alley would be torture.


In any event, stay hidden until it's safe to come out.

:)

[demtenjeep]

54. I HATE it

but my family is here

[annabanana]

55. looking at Wichita on weatherchannel.com . . damn!

Where are you, besides in the basement?

[demtenjeep]

56. North East

A new storm near wellington/Sed county line... maybe ready for a 2nd round

[elocs]

58. Take heart that you are already doing all that is in your control to do.

Be thankful that you have a basement. Although my city has never had a tornado touch down, I have no basement and I am clueless as to where I would go other than to jump into my car if there actually was a tornado touch down here.

[demtenjeep]

59. do NOT jump in your car...that is the worst thing to do

Go to an interior room/closet and put a matress over you

[elocs]

71. I live in a mobile home which really has no "interior" room. That won't work.

If push comes to shove and a tornado is coming from whatever direction I am going in the opposite one.

[demtenjeep]

60. Looks like ALL clear right now

more than 1/2 dozen tornados in the last 2 hours

[demtenjeep]

61. looks like I can leave the basement

Thanks all

[Beaverhausen]

63. yeah

I spent a few years in Kansas...I spent many an evening in the basement.

glad you are OK

[nenagh]

65. Well done.. :)

Glad you can leave the basement with all in one piece.. and all OK.. :)

[samplegirl]

64. Just stay in the basement until the warnings are lifted.

We just went through this......Friday night. It is scary especially if your all alone.
Hang in there and if you need someone to talk to pm me.

[berni_mccoy]

66. Stay safe!

[demtenjeep]

67. Thanks for the talking during the storm

you helped me stay calm!


still in a watch till 10, but should have family home soon

[southernyankeebelle]

70. May god protect you and your pets. Asked god and you shall receive.

[mzteris]

81. Dear god -

please stop with the f'ing tornadoes already.

[MissDeeds]

72. Just remember to click your ruby slippers

three times and repeat, "There's no place like home, there's no place like home...". Seriously, I feel your concern. I live in Northeastern Kansas and have been glued to the weather band radio all day. Take care and stay safe.

:hug: MissDeeds

[Hissyspit]

74. 4 Dead in Oklahoma Tornado Outbreak

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=4376046&mesg_id=4376046

[a la izquierda]

75. Crazy ass day here in Norman, OK

I actually got to see the storm forming. It was pretty cool.

Hope all you Okies and Kansans made it through unscathed.

[paparush]

78. By all means stay online!

Twitter your fears away!

[Echo In Light]

79. I've been through two twisters while in the car - one at night. Never any fun