Didn't know id wake up to run from a tornado this afternoon.

[ft_tklr007]

I woke up at 3:45 this afternoon to discover a tornado was on a dead path towards were i live. I immediately threw on some clothes and drove away from the tornado. The good thing is once i made it to town the tornado had veered of to another area. What would any of you had done. Stayed or run?
Me i value life too much to have stayed. It just did miss my house and property.

 

[isabeau]

hmm if it were making a direct path to me...i would of course run off..if there is time..glad you made it safe...we once were under a tornado warning..it got dark as night..hubby was taking things down to the basement..i said i'd rather face a tornado than that sump pump...i went out on the back porch..the sirens were going..in order for a tornado however to actually hit us since we are under a hill so to speak..it would probably have to form there..

 

[Mz Chaos]

I would have stayed. Not out of any sense of bravery... more of stupidity and that "it'll never happen to me cuz it always happens to someone else" mentality.

Not to mention that with my luck, I'd have probably made a wrong turn and driven right into the damned thing if I were to leave.

And the way I look at it, if that tornado hit... a visit to Oz wouldn't be so bad... I could ask the wizard for a brain or a pair of those ruby slippers to help me get back home.

'Tis cool it missed your house though. That would have really sucked. Glad to hear you're in once piece and are okay.

 

[pinkgirl23]

running is the worst thing to do. find a sturdy room to find shelter in

 

[kered]

Living in tornado alley I would whole heartedly agree with Pinkgirl and Samamigo. If the tornado is a particularly strong one it could jump to you or run you down due to the fact that the air pressure drops giving your car less air for accelleration. The best thing to do is (if you have time) get to the lowest or sturdiest place available such as an inner closet or basement in a house or a drainage ditch if you are outside. Then cover your head and do a little praying. The weakest tornado can completely flatten a house and drive a piece of straw through a brick.

 

[johnttickle]

Fly a kite!

No seriously, I would get whoever didn’t have a car or couldn’t run, into my car. Also I would grab my important papers, like birth certificate, SS card, and other important documents which I keep together, and get in the car and gooooooooo.

Even if some people don’t think you could out run a tornado, I sure would try.

Here it would be tsunamis’, hurricanes and volcanoes. Tsunamis are the top killer here, but Mauna Loa’s lava river, in 1984 got within 5 miles of where I live now. And in 1992, Kilauea volcano took out the town of Kalapana.

Aloha, John

 

[aurora5150]

i would hide in a closet or something and pray. and i might possibly soil myself.

 

[steph]

TMI aurora!

And 007, I'd have run too. Staying's for the stupid. Except for the pets and a few photo albums, all that shit can be replaced~it's just stuff and it's why we pay thru the nose for homeowner's, yes?
XOXO

 

[Sultrybrunette]

Well I live in a mobile home and we all know they have a thing for them...so I would get my kids in my car and literally go around the block to where I work which is a big strong building. I keep telling my kids, I have been here 48 years and never seen one. I don't panic unless I know its directly in the area.

 

[aurora5150]

TMI aurora!

And 007, I'd have run too. Staying's for the stupid. Except for the pets and a few photo albums, all that shit can be replaced~it's just stuff and it's why we pay thru the nose for homeowner's, yes?
XOXO

sorry bout that luv. but i would freeze up and go fro my best hiding place. also just to illisturate an idea....i kinda think of tornados like lightening. if you run it just may go after you insteat of it's original path. i was always told that if you are outside in a lightening storm to get in a house or car and just stay where you are. i think the same might be true of tornados. but i don't live in major tornado land either. but it's interesting to hear people's reasons for staying or going.

 

[steph]

LOL! Girl, what the heck to DO with you!

I remember a fire, years ago that threatened my mom's house~she's up on 5 gorgeous acres in the mountains. I was livid to hear that despite firefighter's requests to leave premises, she insisted on staying behind. Folks, she's 75. Up on the roof, hosing down her 2-story roof while the firefighters backburned. They stopped the fire, literally, a few yards from her home. It's SO not worth the risk IMHO.
XOXO

sorry bout that luv. but i would freeze up and go fro my best hiding place. also just to illisturate an idea....i kinda think of tornados like lightening. if you run it just may go after you insteat of it's original path. i was always told that if you are outside in a lightening storm to get in a house or car and just stay where you are. i think the same might be true of tornados. but i don't live in major tornado land either. but it's interesting to hear people's reasons for staying or going.

 

[hootus]

Having lived in central Oklahoma since 1981, I can tell you from experience;
Stay out of cars, get out of moblie homes, don't try and out run it, get underground if possible. Like we had to during that big one that hit Oklahoma Cuty on my birthday of 1999. Believe me the human body is no match for 318 mph winds!

Hootus

 

[kered]

I'm with Steph on this. So long as you have enough time to put some distance between you and the path of the tornado, grab the pets and things that are important to you and hit the road. A house can be replaced.

That is if you have enough time. Tornados can appear without warning and are often accompanied by extremely large hail and rain so hard you can't see ten feet on front of you. The flying debris can rip through a stone wall. I was lucky to live through the Palm Sunday tornados and saw the aftermath of the sheer destructive power of a tornado who's path was over a half mile wide at the earth's surface. Most of the people killed around here were in cars or hit by objects flying at over 150 mph. If you have the slightest warning of an approaching tornado get in your basement or the lowest place you can find.

 

[Sultrybrunette]

LOL! Girl, what the heck to DO with you!

I remember a fire, years ago that threatened my mom's house~she's up on 5 gorgeous acres in the mountains. I was livid to hear that despite firefighter's requests to leave premises, she insisted on staying behind. Folks, she's 75. Up on the roof, hosing down her 2-story roof while the firefighters backburned. They stopped the fire, literally, a few yards from her home. It's SO not worth the risk IMHO.
XOXO

I think alot of staying is instinct. Like a mother who will do whatever she can to protect her young.....your property, and everything in it, is a representation of your life. Everything that you have worked for. Its natural that your going to want to save your life, both physically and metaphorically (if thats a word lol). I actually can understand why people would want to stay. Granted, it probably wasn't a smart thing to do going up on the roof, but hey, I don't know alot of 75 yr olds that could actually get UP on the roof. Kudos to her. That instinct kicking in.

*Pops in the movie Twister and sits on the couch with some popcorn*

 

[tickledgirl]

The "Stays" are right...for a tornado anyway. Fire's a whole different matter. You can't outrun a tornado if it's coming straight for you, your odds are pretty good if you stay put, and even if you do manage to dodge the tornado, running (trying to drive at high speeds) through a severe thunderstorm is pretty bad idea too.

Mobile homes are a different matter though. If you live in one in tornado country, you need to have quick access to a solid permanent structure, like sultry's escape plan.