Horrible Tornado Season in USA

Chimpie said:
Okay, it's been years since I've seen Twister so I don't recall which weather center was featured in the movie. I want to say it was Norman, OK, but can't say for sure. Where ever it was, I still have to disagree with, "The warning was not sounded until after all this had happened. In fact this system was not expected to have a tornado in it, at first it was called a micro burst but that has been changed." Tornado, microburst, whatever it was, severe weather WAS predicted for that day.
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But people don't go to shelters if it is only going to be a thunderstorm and it was late night. The tornado warnings did go off but not until winds where down to normal. It was not a very big storm, it came and was gone in a very short span of time.
 
Chimpie said:
Also, keep in mind that sirens are/were designed to warn those that are OUTSIDE that severe weather is approaching. They were never designed to warn those who are inside.
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That makes no sense since most people are inside during bad weather.
 
Peggy said:
That makes no sense since most people are inside during bad weather.
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Tornado sirens first came about during World War 2, as air raid sirens. As the threat for war/bombings went away, they turned around and started using them for severe weather warnings. (pin this)

The radar technology that you see today, NEXRAD technology, wasn't mainstream till 1988. That's when the NWS starting installing the radars still used today (WSR-88D). So before 1988, the NWS used regular doppler radars and were definitely not networked. So besides telephone and teletype, an area to the east didn't really know what was happening in the west. (pin this)

Tornadoes form when the right combination of cold and warm weather combine. If you look up archived copies of the severe weather in late May you will see the storm lines form, what appears to be, out of nowhere, and then move east. (pin this)

So you have storms that form out of nowhere and radar technology that 'couldn't see them coming' and you have severe weather that wasn't predictable. With your time living in Florida and the midwest, I'm sure you've seen storms pop up 'out of nowhere'. People would experience severe weather, call a local warning point, and they would activate the sirens, so that those who are outside and unaware that severe weather is approaching.
 
Peggy said:
It's almost impossible to prepare for a tornado. You have very little warning. 10 - 15 minutes tops, sometimes not even that much. You grab your kids and run for a bathroom or basement, and hope for the best.
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Most country houses in the south (Texas, Oklahoma, Etc) have tornado shelters that will protrect them and usually are in your backyard, but cities on the other hand, very few, random houses have them, most people take cover in a hallway, school, or anywhere they can find. For me it's my aunts house, my mom and I live in an upstairs apartment, not the safest place for a tornado, and we usually have to take a 3 minute drive to my aunts house to take shelter.
 
TheRevTastic said:
Most country houses in the south (Texas, Oklahoma, Etc) have tornado shelters that will protrect them and usually are in your backyard, but cities on the other hand, very few, random houses have them, most people take cover in a hallway, school, or anywhere they can find. For me it's my aunts house, my mom and I live in an upstairs apartment, not the safest place for a tornado, and we usually have to take a 3 minute drive to my aunts house to take shelter.
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We don't have shelters, basements or storm cellars in North Texas. The black clay we have here makes it impossible.
 
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