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Wade Lippman
07-14-2014, 4:24 PM
We don't have tornadoes around here, so i don't know much about them.

I just got a warning on my cellphone that there was a high chance of a tornado in the next 15 minutes and I should take shelter immediately.
There absolutely no wind. It is overcast and I wouldn't be surprised to see some rain showers come up.

So, is a tornado in the next 15 minutes even possible? I don't know, but I expected it would be really windy with big black clouds just before a tornado. Was the warning a malfunction?

David Weaver
07-14-2014, 4:29 PM
Not all tornadoes happen when there is a huge amount of nasty weather around.

Based on what the weather looks like up there today, there are small cells of extremely fast moving storms. When you get a warning like that, it means that at the very least, there is a radar signature that is suggestive of a tornado or very likely to form one. You can sit outside and wait to see if you see anything, might look interesting at least. I would want to be somewhere that I could get shelter.

I see a meso designation on intellicast for one of the storms in upstate NY, but no tornado signature designation. Things can change fast, though.

(on another one of the forums I read, a dairy farmer I don't know that well had their barn removed by a tornado last week or a couple of weeks ago. That was upstate NY. This must be an unusual year for you guys).

Brett Robson
07-14-2014, 4:31 PM
Usually when we get those warnings here it's a county wide, or multi-county alert based on the storm location and direction of travel. I see them all the time here where I'm getting an alert, or hear one on the radio but the storm is on the other end of the county, like a hour drive east of my home or more.

I generally don't give them much notice unless the sky's black and the tornado sirens are going off.

Val Kosmider
07-14-2014, 4:32 PM
What part of Upstate? Just the other day parts of Madison County....East of Syracuse, got shredded pretty good.

"It can't happen here" until it does. Watch the sky; get ready to dart into the basement --under the stairs or other "safe" harbor.

Wade Lippman
07-14-2014, 5:01 PM
I am in Canandaigua.
It gets weirder. On the news they showed a funnel cloud 5 miles from me, and said the storm cell was moving at 55mph. My clouds aren't moving at all; literally not at all.

Now they say the cell has moved away. I feel a bit silly for having taken in all the plants and outdoor furniture.

But of course... 15 years ago 110mph winds put 5 trees on my house, while my neighbors had no damage. It wasn't a tornado because it didn't show up on radar. Further down the road it snapped a 4' diameter beech tree in half; but it wasn't a tornado.

Larry Browning
07-14-2014, 5:25 PM
Here in tornado alley we get those quite often. And almost always either the tornado never forms or it does form but stays in the clouds, or touches down in a un inhabited area. Notice I said almost. These things should never be taken lightly. You should never feel "silly" about preparing for or taking shelter for a possible tornado. These thing are dangerous and deadly.
You also might want to learn a little more about what to do the next time you get one of those warnings. I'm thinking bringing in the plants and lawn furniture might not be the first thing to do:eek:

Stan Calow
07-14-2014, 5:58 PM
The terms are pretty specific here. Tornado WATCH, means conditions are ripe for formation of tornadoes. Tornado WARNING means that one has been spotted and/or touched down. I thought those were universal terms. Had one go through subdivision three blocks from me about 10 years ago. By time we heard sirens it was too late.

Ryan Mooney
07-14-2014, 6:01 PM
But of course... 15 years ago 110mph winds put 5 trees on my house, while my neighbors had no damage. It wasn't a tornado because it didn't show up on radar. Further down the road it snapped a 4' diameter beech tree in half; but it wasn't a tornado.

Quite possibly: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Downburst
they were fairly common in the Phx area when I lived there a friend lost his roof to one of those.

Shawn Pixley
07-14-2014, 6:40 PM
So, is a tornado in the next 15 minutes even possible? I don't know, but I expected it would be really windy with big black clouds just before a tornado. Was the warning a malfunction?

I live in California now, but grew up with tornados. I've seen it be very calm right bedore the tornados, so be carefull.

Myk Rian
07-14-2014, 6:49 PM
I've seen it be very calm right bedore the tornados, so be carefull.
Yep. Watch the weather. Look for rotating clouds. Hail happens also. Have a windowless room in the center or downstairs of the house.
We had a warning at 2:30am last week. Spent an hour watching the weather, and went back to bed. Tornado warnings come quite often here.

Charlie Velasquez
07-14-2014, 8:45 PM
So, is a tornado in the next 15 minutes even possible? I don't know, but I expected it would be really windy with big black clouds just before a tornado. Was the warning a malfunction? One of the worst tornado events I've experienced, April 1974: On campus in Muncie, Ind., Beautiful sunny skies as I walked into the industrial arts building. From the time it took to go from the entrance to the shop area clouds started to roll in. Ten minutes later there was NO sun anywhere, only black clouds; winds blowing everything in the shop around. One of the worst tornado outbreaks in US history.

Wade Lippman
07-14-2014, 11:04 PM
You also might want to learn a little more about what to do the next time you get one of those warnings. I'm thinking bringing in the plants and lawn furniture might not be the first thing to do:eek:

That's what they said to do on television.
Yeah, they also said to go to a windowless room in the basement, but I figured we could always do that later if it got windy; which it never did.

Lee Ludden
07-15-2014, 12:23 AM
My sister had a tornado pass about 2miles from her house last week. It was dead calm at her house and not all that cloudy. The one she had the week prior was loud and dark. They are pretty strange things.

Larry Frank
07-15-2014, 8:05 PM
I grew up in Nebraska and saw my share of tornadoes. I listen to the weather but am better at watching the clouds and approaching storms. If the storm looks bad enough, it is time to head to shelter as even if there is not a tornado, you can have high winds, straight line winds and other dangerous stuff.

I was actually in a house that was hit by a tornado and it tore off the top of the house while we were in the basement. I have heard all kinds of stories about what they sound like but for me all I could hear was my heart beating and being scared. Afterward, it was a strange silence and time for a prayer.

Justin Ludwig
07-15-2014, 11:04 PM
I live in California now, but grew up with tornados. I've seen it be very calm right bedore the tornados, so be carefull.

Yup. I remember as a kid my parents were having a party. Weather was nice. Then all of a sudden it got dark and ominous. We watched a funnel cloud form on the horizon, touch the ground, then disappear and the clouds moved on. All happened in 5 minutes or less. Crazy fast

Joe Tilson
07-18-2014, 10:41 AM
Are you guys talking about your grandchildren coming over?