Tornadoes

BlueGrass

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I recently saw my first tornado cloud which was a bit nerve wrecking! In all my years of living I had never seen one because it's rare in my area but I saw one and I don't think I want to see another. Have you ever had any experiences with a tornado?
 

173abn

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Back in 1966 one f5 went through my hometown of Topeka,Ks.will never forget that one.Had another one close by where I live now drop hail stones as big as softballs only with spikes on them that destroyed my house and barn roof and most of my windows.Another one hit again in Topeka and dropped insulation in my yard in JF county approx. 20m. from where it hit.Theres been others but those stand out. russ
 

beesnroses32

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I was in one that hit a town about two hours north of here. Very very scary. Everyone in that town has a special cement room built into their houses because tornadoes hit about once every ten years.
 

rfl

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I recently saw my first tornado cloud which was a bit nerve wrecking! In all my years of living I had never seen one because it's rare in my area but I saw one and I don't think I want to see another. Have you ever had any experiences with a tornado?

My mother and father in-law survived the Greensburg, Kansas tornado. They have since moved to Pratt but when we go back to see how the town is progressing, nothing is the same. My wife was born and raised there and we can't even tell where we are at in town anymore. The entire landscape was changed. I was from Ashland, Kansas and saw many storms gowing up but never went through one. The F-5 that hit Greensburg was horrible but at least they had a lot of warning.
 

Hershey

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I've never seen one and don't want to. My mother was raised in Oklahoma and she saw her share of them. The last time she and her sister who had MS were both there. My mom, the proverbial weakling, had so much adrenaline going that she picked up my aunt and carried her to the shelter. Unreal but true.
 

BlueGrass

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I've seen specials about the Greensburg tornadoes. They showed the pictures and it's unreal that anyone could survive a storm that destructive. I don't have a basement or a shelter to go to so I have no idea where I would even go to take cover. I live on a slab foundation and all of my rooms have windows in them.
 

Stevie-Ray

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I've survived one, seen one, and seen the aftermath of many. The one I survived was in 1956 when I was only days old. It hit my city and neighboring cities and caused extreme damage. Naturally, I don't remember it, but I was told about it by many eye-witnesses. The wife and I saw one long around 1979 or so, while coming back from vacation up north. It crossed over I-75 somewhere around Roscommon about a mile or 2 ahead of us. Personally, I wanted to stop and just watch it go, but I noticed most around me hit the gas and went like a bat out of hell toward it. Must've been locals fearing for their houses, etc. The "Derecho of 1980" is the most vivid in memory for me. The same storm had just decimated areas of Wisconsin the previous day. I sat in an unemployment office in Taylor, MI and watched what looked like the city of Taylor go down Eureka road in an eerie green hue. No traffic, just debris including whole trees, parts of rooftops, etc. When power finally came back on and I left with my check, I was presented with what looked like a warzone. A tornado had blown railcars off tracks in Allen Park. Lincoln Park and Wyandotte had huge trees uprooted and car and house damage galore. Power was quickly restored in Wyandotte, about 6 hours down, but Lincoln Park was out for over a week. Just a few weeks ago, the wife and I were driving during a tornado warning and had to pull into a parking lot to let it pass. The huge rotating wall cloud just west of us was so close to the ground, we couldn't tell through the horizontal rain and hail whether it was just a wall cloud or a mile away F5. Definitely the most intense storm I've been in since 1980. I have a basement now, unfortunately my new house has none. But the area where I am moving has had only one tornado in it's history.
 

Ross

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I was born in Indiana and now live in New Mexico and I have never seen one. Hearing people describe them makes me not want to either.
 

VRman

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Only one came close to my home back when I was a kid. Was so close it warped some doors and cracked some windows. I've seen a few since then. They are awe inspiring and exciting, from a safe distance.
I don't think there is anything else that can instill that mind numbing, churning pit of your stomach, I could die fear, like a tornado. Of course, it gives that rush of being alive like nothing else too. :rolleyes:
 
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