With tornadoes, we know the conditions that can produce them, but we can't ever tell when or exactly how a tornado is going to hit a certain area. We do know that the "tornado belt" in the midwest is most likely to produce a tornado, and that it's based on pressure fronts, but there's still no exact science as to when or how significantly a tornado is going to touch ground.
The best we can do is identify conditions which have previously produced tornadoes in the past, and posting warnings from this. Supercells are a big indicator of possible tornado activity, but one never knows. A supercell isn't even necessary for a tornado, although, history indicates that it certainly helps.
I am certainly devastated for the Oklahoma victims of this violent storm, but I'd like to be able to chase and discern more precise patterns for the storms, to better predict where they're going to hit, and, ideally, when. I have observed two tornadoes in my life, one in NC (an F0) and one in rural KY (an EF1) but have been fascinated as long as I can imagine.
If there was something I could do to make it more predictable, less traumatic and sudden for people in affected communities, I'd do it in a heartbeat.
Last summer, there was a severe tornado in West Liberty, KY, and my best friend has family there. They were all okay physically, but all of them lost property and peace of mind. I'd like to find a way to - not prevent property damage, because that is inevitable - but predict the storm, the path of the storm, and make it so people could go to safety or evacuate in a timely manner.
We personally had a durecho, and I seriously thought I was going to die. I was at my mom's, and she lives in a double-wide, with my, at the time, fourteen-year-old sister. She was crying and freaking out, and the trailer was shaking, but I stayed calm, directed her to the bathroom with no windows, and said, "I promise, we're fine in here. We just don't want glass to hit us if the windows shatter, but nothing is going to happen to us in here."
I got both of the dogs and all three of the cats in there as well, but I really thought we were going to die. The trailer was tipping, and I was convinced it was a tornado. I just knew I had to stay calm to reassure her, so that she wouldn't be in a panic. I'm an agnostic, but personally was praying to God, Abraham, Alllah, Cthulu, and any other deity that popped into my head.
Our power was knocked out, and the temperature dropped over thirty degrees in fifteen minutes. I was convinced we were dead at that point.
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It's a hand-me-down, the thoughts are broken
Perhaps they're better left unsung
Last edited by ThePhanastasio; 05-22-2013 at 03:11 AM.
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