Intense Weather 2012 Tornadoes

[Celtaur]

This woman prays as a major tornado forms in front of her.

[nventr]

Grace will calm any storm, interior or exterior.

[Meems]

Oh dear. As someone who sees the damage these storms can create as well as being a storm spotter I am horrified this woman is outside -as well as others when this is just over her head and can drop in a second. Pray underground!

[Celtaur]

I would have been out of there so fast! I've heard a lot of people don't have basements in those areas, especially homes that are trailers. That's so dangerous. I would try to at least have a small storm shelter to go into, or create some kind of solid, concrete room somehow. It must be terrifying. I was told as well trailers often are made so cheaply, the wood beams are not even 2X4's or 2X6's, they are 2X2's. Wow! I think it's going to be a crazy season.

[Meems]

What you heard is correct. There are not many basements in these areas. I was actually shocked when I moved here. I assumed everyone had one.

People do buy storm shelters, which are built either in their homes/garage or in their yard but you almost have to keep them secret because they could be filled with your neighbors before you have a chance to get in yourself. How awful we can become during these times! I have always hidden in closets - but after the storm in Tuscaloosa last year I stopped. A lot of the people who died were doing just what I would have been doing. A closet will not protect you from a killer storm. The public shelters aren't fun but I feel safe. My best friend also built one this last year and she is my go to in the worst case scenario.

I think it will be a bad year too - but it seems like the target area has moved east. Not sure why.

[Celtaur]

There must be something people could build to put around their bath tubs that would offer safety. I would think most bath tubs would be impenetrable so would offer a solid base, then have something that could seal one within it. Although it's a small space, at least it could be something as the storm goes through.

There's a lot of video's about this storm, it's really intense. Terrifying. I'd freak out!

[Meems]

Where I grew up we would all climb into the bathtubs and cover it with a mattress. Most deaths occur due to flying or falling debris. Most trailer parks in the area have a common underground shelter. Trailers and cars are the worst places to be.

They can certainly be frightening storms to live through. Just a reminder of how small we are.

[veeds]

I live in upstate New York, we dont get many tornados, if at all. We get a microburst here and there. There was this one time though, I do recall a funnel forming over the restaurant I was working at, latching chairs down (there was a warning about a possible tornado.) I looked out over the lake and saw it form, dissipate and the cloud moved right over us. Although I wasn't scared, I was excited. Don't ask me why. Foolish child I was

[Grannywizard]

I live not far from Joplin so we have helped with cleanup there. We are also only about 20 min. from Branson, MO and are currently helping with cleanup there.

I grew up in Nebraska where I witnessed my share of tornadoes. I've seen tornadoes pluck live chickens but not kill them, stick feathers in trees as if they were spears, among other weird things. When I was just a kid, we ran to the cellar during a tornado. When we came up to inspect the damage we saw that a tree had went through one wall of our house and the end of it stuck into the interior wall of my bedroom. Before the end of the tree branch went into the inside wall it dipped into a glass jar of trinkets and hooked a little emblem that we had won a few nights before at the fair. It broke everything in that room except the glass jar that the trinkets were in and 2 very fragile globe kerosene lanterns that were in that room. When we cut into the wall to get the tree limb out we found the trinket on the very end of the branch. The trinket said two words in big black bold letters: DEAD END


My heart and prayers go out to all of those that are digging through the rubble of what used to be their lives. I truly do understand.