In Tornado Alley in Tornado Season

[Acheron2010]

I must have a Dorothy complex, cause here I am in the Oklahoma City KOA, judging the distance to the 6-person/no pets tornado shelter.
Too late to run. The Weather Channel has this big red blob from Amarillo to Arkansas and up above Kansas, with tornado and heavy rain/flooding for the rest of the week. (Cue Martha Reeves and the Vandellas).
And yet the camp is full. Everyone seems to be kicking back, la-de-da, so I am a bit confused.
I've opted to just stay put for the week and not travel in the middle of the rainstorms. Friday I can make Dallas or head straight east to get out of the Zone for what must come next. I can be in Tennessee in two days.
What do you veterans do? Is it wise to tour the Dallas area this time of year?
Just let it go, or are you all up in Canada hiding right now?

[Countryboy59]

The big red blob is not a tornado. Watch radar for specifics.

[HHPJ]

There’s no place like home.

[PKI]

Maybe Dallas. But while I do not remember many tornado events in Texas, the data by month has a better memory. So, roll East. Pat

http://www.ustornadoes.com/2016/04/0...united-states/

[OTRA15]

I don't see much weather activity in Texas or Dallas right now:

https://www.accuweather.com/en/us/we...r-radar?play=1
https://www.accuweather.com/en/us/da...r-radar?play=1

These links should open up radar-in-motion windows. If not hit "Play" at the top left. There are very few green spots [clouds] in motion, let alone orange or red spots which could spawn a tornado.

Stay safe.

Peter

PS -- Nice map there, Pat, thanks.

[mimiandrews]

While thunderstorms are common, tornadoes are relatively rare. Remember that people live and work in tornado alley and generally get on with their lives. I've lived in tornado alley most of my 76 years and have never even seen one. However, my granddaughter saw one from her school bus a few days ago. They are truly a hit and miss phenomenon.

When the big red blob on the radar gets close to you, start paying attention to the local TV weatherman. If the station cancels all other programming and gives the weatherman full time, it's getting serious. When the weatherman points out an area and tells people there to take shelter, it's time. Get in the smallest, lowest interior room in the sturdiest structure you can find. Avoid non-reinforced masonry structures.

Tornado watches and warnings are issued by county. So, when you stop ask which county you're in.

Know the difference between a watch and a warning. Watch just means the conditions might be right to form a tornado. Warning means someone has seen one, if only on the radar. Tornado on the ground means what it says.

Tour the Dallas/Ft. Worth area and enjoy.

[Lily&Me]

If we spent our time trying to evade serious storms we wouldn’t get much else done certain times of the year.

Get a good weather app, like “NOAA Hi-Def Radar Pro, Storm Tracker and Forecasts”, which I have had for years, and rely on.

Its little locator beacon pinpoints exactly where you are relative to storm systems and danger.

As said earlier, the big red blob is not a tornado, just a weather system passin’ thru.

Maggie

[Acheron2010]

Originally Posted by OTRA15

I don't see much weather activity in Texas or Dallas right now:

https://www.accuweather.com/en/us/we...r-radar?play=1
https://www.accuweather.com/en/us/da...r-radar?play=1

These links should open up radar-in-motion windows. If not hit "Play" at the top left. There are very few green spots [clouds] in motion, let alone orange or red spots which could spawn a tornado.

Stay safe.

Peter

PS -- Nice map there, Pat, thanks.

Yes, nice map. If you scroll down the same page, you come to this:

https://www.accuweather.com/en/weath...-week/70008122

[Popsnkiki]

I agree, tornados are less prevalent than just plain ol’ bad T-storms. But DO NOT underplay the importance of being weather aware. Find a good local channel and monitor them during potential bad weather. Weather Channel is good, but locals know the area and issues that’ll impact the storm’s development.

Also, be sure to get a weather radio and use it. Get the Midland. You will have to tune it to the local transmission frequencies when you move, but that’s simple. The ppl who sell them can usually help you set them up, or go to YouTube. Speaking of YouTube, there is a video on setting up an external antenna for your rig. NO DRILLING and virtually no tools required (small set of pliers maybe). All for less than $20 for the antenna. Here is the video link. We’ve been awoken a dozen times or more to bad weather, even winter storm warnings, hail and flood.

Be safe out there! We’ll Catch You Down The Road!

Kelly & Kathy
“Away We Go 2.0!”

https://youtu.be/04hA6HnuLm4

[JamuJoe]

Originally Posted by Acheron2010

I must have a Dorothy complex, cause here I am in the Oklahoma City KOA, judging the distance to the 6-person/no pets tornado shelter.

Too late to run. The Weather Channel has this big red blob from Amarillo to Arkansas and up above Kansas, with tornado and heavy rain/flooding for the rest of the week. (Cue Martha Reeves and the Vandellas).

And yet the camp is full. Everyone seems to be kicking back, la-de-da, so I am a bit confused.

I've opted to just stay put for the week and not travel in the middle of the rainstorms. Friday I can make Dallas or head straight east to get out of the Zone for what must come next. I can be in Tennessee in two days.

What do you veterans do? Is it wise to tour the Dallas area this time of year?

Just let it go, or are you all up in Canada hiding right now?

We even had tornado warnings in MS during our recent return from Key Largo to Durango. I’ll take dodging tornadoes to towing thru Dallas traffic any day, however.
Good to think through the options if you do find yourself in really severe weather on the road. Not many options if you’re on I-40 miles from the next exit. I use In-Route app for weather/route integrated plotting and Weather Underground STORM with location tracking active for current alerts.

[eubank]

It seems that "tornado alley" may be shifting a bit towards the east and southeast.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/weath...st/1660803002/

[OTRA15]

An echo of Post #5 that you can watch weather radar live if a tornado is heading your way. From these maps you can zoom out or in to get to your local map.

Stay safe.

Peter

Originally Posted by OTRA15

. . .
https://www.accuweather.com/en/us/we...r-radar?play=1
https://www.accuweather.com/en/us/da...r-radar?play=1

These links should open up radar-in-motion windows. If not hit "Play" at the top left.
. . .

[AtomicNo13]

And then there is hail!

We saw grapefruit sized hail in South Dakota 3 years ago....
That was the biggest holy crap moment of my life!

Just saying....

[jdalrymple]

I have lived in Oklahoma all my life.

Running from Oklahoma because of tornados is like staying out of California because of earthquakes, out of the ocean because of sharks, or out of the woods because of Big Foot.

Yes, they can be as destructive as any natural disaster but they happen in Dallas and Tennessee, too.


I suggest you spend a little time learning about the radar tracking of thunderstorms, don't get caught up in the news media hype and enjoy your stay.


The folks around you obviously have.


The folks that built the RV park you are in assumably don't have a death wish, right???





Regards,

JD

[DebFlack]

We were there too! Actually gone during the daytime but we saw the storm shelter. We were in the 20 ft Argosy near the office and the showers. We were there for a week and left on the 29 th!

[choctawmel]

Damn you should of come north about 9 miles and stayed al my house. No I don't have a storm cellar. I generally go up on the roof of my shop and watch for the tornado to come to me. Back in my kid days we went to the root cellar every time the sky got black. Now we have weathermen on crack or something that go nuts every time it rains. Round here they have a drinking game and every time David Pain (loco weather guy) says 'baseball size hail' we take a shot.

[uncle_bob]

Hi

Last fall we more or less outran Michael as it roared through the eastern US. Over the last few weeks we got a closeup look at just how much damage landfall caused (and that is still un-repaired). I've also done tornado cleanup from time to time.

Tornados tend to be relatively narrow path events (not always, but mostly). This area a couple of blocks wide and a few miles long is a goner. A block outside that area ... not a lot of damage. Bottom line - you can be in this or that "zone" and have it miss you. You very much do *not* want to fool around if one is coming, even if it probably will miss.

Hurricanes .... errr .... that big blob thing ... that's the disaster area. You don't want to be within an hour's drive of there. Get out while you can.

No matter where you are or when, there *is* weather that can get you in a trailer. There are a lot of phone apps that you can use to keep up. There also are local TV stations ( and even *radio* stations ) you can tune in to. NOAA weather radio will give you a lot of detail in terms of warnings. In tornado county it tends to blab on and on for days on end. That kind of reduces it's value ....

So indeed be aware. That's different than freaking out. Balance is important in this case.

Bob

[jdalrymple]

Originally Posted by choctawmel

Damn you should of come north about 9 miles and stayed al my house. No I don't have a storm cellar. I generally go up on the roof of my shop and watch for the tornado to come to me. Back in my kid days we went to the root cellar every time the sky got black. Now we have weathermen on crack or something that go nuts every time it rains. Round here they have a drinking game and every time David Pain (loco weather guy) says 'baseball size hail' we take a shot.

So true!

Cheers.



Regards,

JD

[Acheron2010]

So I ran. Currently in Nashville, headed for the Kentucky hills. A bit of rain, but no hail warnings or those twisty things. Paste chicken feathers on the trailer, but I will visit Texas another time.

[Lily&Me]

Ya gotta know when to get the hell out of Dodge, and that varies for each individual person.

Good for you.

Harpeth River Bridge is a very pretty little COE campground west of Nashville just a bit...


Maggie