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Waiting for the sky to fall (Catch all tornado thread)


Royalfan5

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9 minutes ago, Al_4_ISU said:

How come no one south of I-40 has basements?  Soil types?

I'll admit that they're mostly a hassle up here and are prone to flooding and all kinds of issues, but I definitely get some peace of mind knowing that there's a convenient place to hide from naders.

https://www.texasmonthly.com/being-texan/texanist-dont-texas-houses-basements/

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24 minutes ago, Al_4_ISU said:

How come no one south of I-40 has basements?  Soil types?

I'll admit that they're mostly a hassle up here and are prone to flooding and all kinds of issues, but I definitely get some peace of mind knowing that there's a convenient place to hide from naders.

I've never been in a residential basement in my life. TV does make them seem cool though.

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On 4/26/2024 at 5:11 PM, Royalfan5 said:

My wife teaches history in a preserved 1 room school house in a park, and had to ride it out with a bunch of 4th graders in the city parks reptile center where they let the kids pet the snakes to keep them calm. 

IMG_2135.jpeg.b2c52f6dda5340a9dda80f3f0f534903.jpeg

That did not work for me… the snake did not calm down at all.

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3 hours ago, SimonBolivar said:

I've gotten a $7,500 quote on a small 3-person shelter bolted to the slab in the garage, but it's such an irrational purchase statistically.

Depends on how many cheerleaders they hold.  If the storm shelter industry is anything like the camping/tent industry, take the number of people you want it to comfortably hold and double it.

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1 hour ago, SimonBolivar said:

I've never been in a residential basement in my life. TV does make them seem cool though.

They’re cool, both literally and figuratively.  Had one for a few years as a kid. If we end up moving up north once the kids are older, I won’t look at a house that doesn’t have one.

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Interesting read.

Around here basements aren’t about saving space - they’re for hiding from storms and people just kinda figured if they had this space they’d use it.

If I ever build a house from scratch, I’ll just have a fortified internal room with concrete walls. Basements are mostly a headache in my experience.
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1 hour ago, SimonBolivar said:

I've never been in a residential basement in my life. TV does make them seem cool though.

This is mind blowing to me.

They CAN be cool, but you have to spend a lot on drainage or build on a hillside to have a walk out.

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33 minutes ago, Al_4_ISU said:


Interesting read.

Around here basements aren’t about saving space - they’re for hiding from storms and people just kinda figured if they had this space they’d use it.

If I ever build a house from scratch, I’ll just have a fortified internal room with concrete walls. Basements are mostly a headache in my experience.

Yeah, that one seemed a stretch. To be honest, his points about the freeze line, the type of soil, and/or the lack of topsoil seemed more relevant.

I do also wonder if there's something to be said about when most of the housing stock was constructed. I'd guess that well over half of the homes in Texas were built after 1980, and it seems that most of those houses were built by big corporate homebuilders who are mostly motivated by maximizing the bottom line. And, as you rightly point out, adding basements adds to construction costs.

I grew up in West Texas in the 1970s and '80s and only had one buddy whose house had a full basement. I can't think of any others, but the area was kind of hilly, so there were a lot of those split-level homes, though.

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24 minutes ago, atomheartbevo said:

Holy shit, at 3:34, they end up picking up a family from one of the houses that got nailed.  Apparently the kid was hurt or something.

They said something about a head injury and a broken hand. Those folks were both very lucky and, at the same time, very unlucky. 

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On 4/30/2024 at 6:47 PM, Txangel9910 said:

These folks did mine in 2021...retrofitted closet under the stairs for $3500, if I remember correctly.   And got a discount on homeowners Insurance.

 

https://www.lonestarsaferooms.com/

you could potentially dutch oven your entire family in one of those, and no windows to roll down. That alone is worth $3500. 

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On 5/3/2024 at 10:59 AM, Pimphand said:

Man when Reed Timmer says "I have never seen anything like this" you know it's a wild time.  Horrible devastation towards the end :(

Pretty amazing footage but the guy seems like an adrenaline junkie who is going to eventually self select out of existence. He almost did in 2013 but apparently didn't learn his lesson despite what happened to his TWISTEX comrades.

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56 minutes ago, Braff Zacklin said:

Pretty amazing footage but the guy seems like an adrenaline junkie who is going to eventually self select out of existence. He almost did in 2013 but apparently didn't learn his lesson despite what happened to his TWISTEX comrades.

He’s driving a Subaru now so he’s good.

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1 hour ago, Chooky said:

That's a great picture.

Thanks.   That was some serpentarium in South Florida back in the day. if the picture does not tell you I was scared shitless, you are misreading it.

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1 hour ago, Braff Zacklin said:

Pretty amazing footage but the guy seems like an adrenaline junkie who is going to eventually self select out of existence. He almost did in 2013 but apparently didn't learn his lesson despite what happened to his TWISTEX comrades.

Oh no doubt. I'm not defending his past actions just pointing out that when that nutter says he hasn't seen something it is probably worth seeing.

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27 minutes ago, Gatorubet said:

That was some serpentarium in South Florida back in the day.

Reptile World Serpentarium, in St Cloud (near Orlando)? That's the only Serpentarium that I know about.

Is that an indigo snek? Hard to tell from the B&W photo.

 

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10 minutes ago, pantone159 said:

Reptile World Serpentarium, in St Cloud (near Orlando)? That's the only Serpentarium that I know about.

Is that an indigo snek? Hard to tell from the B&W photo.

 

I have no clue.   I’m guessing this was around 1965.   I was living in Fort Lauderdale at the time, but my folks were always throwing us in the station wagon and driving around for a weekend so we could’ve been anywhere really.  

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1 hour ago, Gatorubet said:

Holy shit!  that large building just disappeared in three seconds. I hope they had a reinforced basement where anyone in it was hiding

The most amazing thing to me is the localized ferocity of such phenomena, i.e., how a steel-framed building can completely disintegrate yet cars parked only yards away remain in place.

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1 hour ago, jimmyjazz said:

Tornadoes terrify me.  I've never even seen one, just a funnel cloud, but I want none of that shit.

I’ve seen 4, and it’s among the most exhilarating experiences of my life.  The one I linked up thread was the closest I’ve been (it actually lifted and passed over the car I was in at one point) and it was just straight fucking adrenaline.

In 2021 there was one on the ground headed straight for the town I live in.  It veered north about a mile from town and missed us, but we were hunkered down in the basement and THAT was terrifying.

It’s one thing to be a neutral observer.  It’s another thing for your home to be in the path.

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Motion to rename thread title, because....today is going to be interesting.

https://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/outlook/day1otlk.html

 

 A regional outbreak of severe weather with multiple strong,
   long-tracked tornadoes, as well as very large hail and severe
   thunderstorm gusts, is expected over parts of the south-central
   Plains from this afternoon through evening.

 

OK, Southern KS, Red River region...
   Thunderstorms are expected to develop by mid/late afternoon along
   and ahead of the dryline, near the eastern TX Panhandle/western OK
   line or 100W longitude into southern KS, then strengthen quickly to
   severe levels as they move eastward.  Given the already very
   favorable parameter space by late afternoon, and increasingly so
   into early/mid evening, the concern is high for at least a few
   cyclic, tornadic supercells producing multiple significant tornadoes
   along potentially long paths.  The threat for such tornadoes, as
   well as very large/destructive hail, will be maintained well into
   the late evening, and may even increase as hodographs further
   enlarge beneath the LLJ.  Some uncertainty lingers as to how many
   such supercells will track across the outlook area, but given the
   unusually favorable environment and increasing confidence, a "high
   risk" outlook is warranted for areas between roughly the I-40
   corridor in OK and the US-54/500 corridor in southern KS.

 

Screenshot2024-05-06080157.thumb.png.ccf80e5c22b3495745ff63bed45faf8e.png

 

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I don't think I've ever seen a warning like this before, and I have 55 years here.  To have the supercells to be more serious after dark is really unusual, and dangerous.

The event will probably be a dud.  At least I hope it is.

 

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Adding this article for good measure:

 

Rare, Highest-Level Tornado Risk Issued for Oklahoma and Kansas
Severe thunderstorms could bring large hail, damaging winds and powerful tornadoes to the Southern and Central Plains on Monday, forecasters said.

NOTE TO BIG COUNTRY & EDWARDS PLATEAU SURLYITES: Yellow area extends down to Brownwood, Brady, Junction, Sonora, San Angelo, Ballinger, Coleman, and Sweetwater.

image.thumb.png.2b510748d21b5ef274812bb9d2feb815.png

Forecasters have issued a rare, high-level risk warning for tornadoes this afternoon and evening across central Oklahoma, including Oklahoma City and portions of Kansas. Multiple strong, long-tracked tornadoes, as well as very large and destructive hail, are expected, according to the Storm Prediction Center.

“The biggest area of concern is definitely Oklahoma and portions of south-central Kansas,” Kelly Butler, a meteorologist in the Wichita office of the National Weather Service, said on Sunday.

The Storm Prediction Center, which is part of the Weather Service, predicted its highest risk level for the first time since March 31, 2023. On that day, 131 tornadoes formed across 11 states from the Midwest to the South.

The last high-risk level for Oklahoma was May 20, 2019, when 35 tornadoes spawned across five states, mainly in the Plains.

Here’s what to know about the storms:

  • There is a chance for “strong to potentially long-track tornadoes, including large to giant hail, baseball-and softball-size,” according to Ms. Butler.
  • Storms should begin to form in Kansas from early to midafternoon.
  • Later in the day, storms will begin in Western Oklahoma and push east well into the evening and overnight.
  • There is some possibility of tornadoes, although less than in the high-risk area, in Arkansas, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota and Texas. Forecasters in Oklahoma City warned that any storm that forms could produce a dangerous tornado.

Forecasters raised the risk level Monday morning as the conditions across the Plains evolved, increasing their confidence that multiple significant tornadoes along potentially long paths will occur.

“Anybody in the affected areas should have a safety plan,” Ms. Butler said.

The Weather Service described the environment in southern Kansas and into Oklahoma as being “similar to some past higher-end, and even historic, severe weather and tornado events.”

A possible flood risk could also occur, as heavy rain increases over parts of eastern Kansas and Nebraska, as well as western Iowa and Missouri as a front moves out of the Rockies, according to the Weather Prediction Center.

The Weather Prediction Center warned of a slight risk of excessive rainfall over parts of the Central Plains and Middle Mississippi Valley from Monday into Tuesday morning. The heavy rain could produce flash flooding in urban areas, roads, small streams and low-lying areas.

The severe weather risk comes a week after more than two dozen tornadoes were reported and at least five people were killed in Oklahoma and Iowa, including an infant, the authorities said.

The current threat will not end Monday. More storms are forecast for the next couple of days, primarily on Wednesday, from Texas to Ohio.

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I don’t know why anyone would live in OK during the month of May. They should just close the state down and pick up where the left off in June.

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Posted (edited)
On 5/5/2024 at 2:09 PM, jimmyjazz said:

Tornadoes terrify me.  I've never even seen one, just a funnel cloud, but I want none of that shit.

I've only ever experienced one and it was back in May of 1983 when I was 6 years old.  It came at night too and thankfully it hadn't quite made land fall as it passed over our house but it did wind up touching down in the NE corner of Louetta & Stuebner Airline (diagonally across from Klein High School).  Even though it didn't make landfall it still managed to uproot/snap 3 trees and collapse them into our house and as bad as that was it was nothing compared to what happened to the Bass & Meineke which was where it made landfall.  I'll never forget the debris field that is something that will be burned into my memory forever.

Here was the news report from back then...
 

 

Edited by Pimphand
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5 minutes ago, Francisco 2.0 said:

 

 

 

At the risk of derailing things the Katrina bulletin from the NWS will always go down as the worst.

 

Quote

000

WWUS74 KLIX 281550 NPWLIX

URGENT — WEATHER MESSAGE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEW ORLEANS LA 1011 AM CDT SUN AUG 28, 2005

...DEVASTATING DAMAGE EXPECTED...

HURRICANE KATRINA...A MOST POWERFUL HURRICANE WITH UNPRECEDENTED STRENGTH... RIVALING THE INTENSITY OF HURRICANE CAMILLE OF 1969.

MOST OF THE AREA WILL BE UNINHABITABLE FOR WEEKS...PERHAPS LONGER. AT LEAST ONE HALF OF WELL CONSTRUCTED HOMES WILL HAVE ROOF AND WALL FAILURE. ALL GABLED ROOFS WILL FAIL...LEAVING THOSE HOMES SEVERELY DAMAGED OR DESTROYED.

THE MAJORITY OF INDUSTRIAL BUILDINGS WILL BECOME NON FUNCTIONAL. PARTIAL TO COMPLETE WALL AND ROOF FAILURE IS EXPECTED. ALL WOOD FRAMED LOW RISING APARTMENT BUILDINGS WILL BE DESTROYED. CONCRETE BLOCK LOW RISE APARTMENTS WILL SUSTAIN MAJOR DAMAGE...INCLUDING SOME WALL AND ROOF FAILURE.

HIGH RISE OFFICE AND APARTMENT BUILDINGS WILL SWAY DANGEROUSLY...A FEW TO THE POINT OF TOTAL COLLAPSE. ALL WINDOWS WILL BLOW OUT.

AIRBORNE DEBRIS WILL BE WIDESPREAD...AND MAY INCLUDE HEAVY ITEMS SUCH AS HOUSEHOLD APPLIANCES AND EVEN LIGHT VEHICLES. SPORT UTILITY VEHICLES AND LIGHT TRUCKS WILL BE MOVED. THE BLOWN DEBRIS WILL CREATE ADDITIONAL DESTRUCTION. PERSONS...PETS...AND LIVESTOCK EXPOSED TO THE WINDS WILL FACE CERTAIN DEATH IF STRUCK.

POWER OUTAGES WILL LAST FOR WEEKS...AS MOST POWER POLES WILL BE DOWN AND TRANSFORMERS DESTROYED. WATER SHORTAGES WILL MAKE HUMAN SUFFERING INCREDIBLE BY MODERN STANDARDS.

THE VAST MAJORITY OF NATIVE TREES WILL BE SNAPPED OR UPROOTED. ONLY THE HEARTIEST WILL REMAIN STANDING...BUT BE TOTALLY DEFOLIATED. FEW CROPS WILL REMAIN. LIVESTOCK LEFT EXPOSED TO THE WINDS WILL BE KILLED.

AN INLAND HURRICANE WIND WARNING IS ISSUED WHEN SUSTAINED WINDS NEAR HURRICANE FORCE...OR FREQUENT GUSTS AT OR ABOVE HURRICANE FORCE...ARE CERTAIN WITHIN THE NEXT 12 TO 24 HOURS.

ONCE TROPICAL STORM AND HURRICANE FORCE WINDS ONSET...DO NOT VENTURE OUTSIDE!

 

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32 minutes ago, SimonBolivar said:

This kid is fun to watch. He's a meterology student in Denton and takes it very seriously. He'll stream all night tonight.

Yeah, I've been watching him since last week. does a great job (did they ever adopt that black dog?).  Also, (train nerd alert), Virtual Railfan has cams in both OKC and Wichita, if the shit hits the fan might get some good footage.  They actually have lots of cams in the midwest (Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, etc) that are in the danger zone at one time or another...

https://www.youtube.com/@VirtualRailfan/streams

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