I've lived in the midwest now for three and a half years after having lived in California the rest of my life. Last night was my first experience with tornados--or at least tornadic winds.
Firstly, no one I know of was hurt.
Secondly, the damage was significant, but not disastrous. There are a lot of snapped tree limbs, including a couple in my front yard. And they are very thick sections of limbs, too. One neighbor has an eight-foot section of tree in his back yard. He said he doesn't have a tree of that type, nor does a close neighbor, so he doesn't know where it came from. The neighbor across the street had a tree in his backyard uprooted and it is now in his pool. I have to park my truck outside, but luckily no flying debris appears to have hit it. We also had a very small section of shingle come off our roof. I also heard there's a power pole ripped in half down the street by the fire station, but that the power lines are all still attached.
Thirdly, I have to say I'm disappointed. Obviously, we were all down in the basement as the storm went by. But being down there, it didn't seem like anything was happening at all. I'd been looking forward to a tornado since I moved out here. But it was very anticlimactic. It doesn't even compare to the excitment of an earthquake.
Fourthly, the above paragraph is me kidding around. I'm very happy I didn't experience the winds up close and personal. I also don't mean to offend if you've been seriously affected by a tornado or tornadic-type storm.
EDIT:
The good news: no deaths in my area.
The bad news: There were at least five people killed down in Oklahoma. Also a friend from work is homeless and without a car. Her car flooded and she had broken windows and a bunch of power poles down, with one through part of the roof. One section of town took a lot of damage. The trailer park (surprise) in that neighborhood is just gone.
Overall, things turned out well, considering. As far as I know, no actual tornado touched down in my general area, but the winds were enough that that doesn't matter.
Firstly, no one I know of was hurt.
Secondly, the damage was significant, but not disastrous. There are a lot of snapped tree limbs, including a couple in my front yard. And they are very thick sections of limbs, too. One neighbor has an eight-foot section of tree in his back yard. He said he doesn't have a tree of that type, nor does a close neighbor, so he doesn't know where it came from. The neighbor across the street had a tree in his backyard uprooted and it is now in his pool. I have to park my truck outside, but luckily no flying debris appears to have hit it. We also had a very small section of shingle come off our roof. I also heard there's a power pole ripped in half down the street by the fire station, but that the power lines are all still attached.
Thirdly, I have to say I'm disappointed. Obviously, we were all down in the basement as the storm went by. But being down there, it didn't seem like anything was happening at all. I'd been looking forward to a tornado since I moved out here. But it was very anticlimactic. It doesn't even compare to the excitment of an earthquake.
Fourthly, the above paragraph is me kidding around. I'm very happy I didn't experience the winds up close and personal. I also don't mean to offend if you've been seriously affected by a tornado or tornadic-type storm.
EDIT:
The good news: no deaths in my area.
The bad news: There were at least five people killed down in Oklahoma. Also a friend from work is homeless and without a car. Her car flooded and she had broken windows and a bunch of power poles down, with one through part of the roof. One section of town took a lot of damage. The trailer park (surprise) in that neighborhood is just gone.
Overall, things turned out well, considering. As far as I know, no actual tornado touched down in my general area, but the winds were enough that that doesn't matter.
*MySmiley*
I play air tambourine. Competitively.
I play air tambourine. Competitively.
This message last edited by Palatine on 17/04/2012 at 03:10:23 PM
NSSP: Tornadic winds. Now with Edit!
- 15/04/2012 04:47:09 PM
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