The Great North American Tornado Season 2015

[Broomstick]

Tornadoes come to the American Midwest like daffodils coming up in the flower bed. Actually, slightly later than the daffodils (usually) and this year is no exception.

Tonight, there are tornadoes reported in Kansas, Oklahoma, and Nebraska. The Oklahoma one(s) are near the state capital of Oklahoma City and prompted evacuation of the Will Rogers airport. This is on top of seven tornadoes reported in Texas yesterday.

I don't know - are tornadoes in Tornado Alley news or not? They're sort of expected at certain seasons. And we never fail to get some, although we never know where exactly they'll show up until they're here.

Do we still want to post individual threads for each outbreak, or should we have one, on-going thread? Is anyone even interested? (Well, I'm interested from the standpoint I might one day have to hide under the bed or in the closet or other Safest Place in the House. Again.)

Interesting tidbit - while scanning the news on today's tornadoes I found out that Buetzow and Hamburg, Germany were apparently hit yesterday by a severe storm described as a "tornado". The weather guys are quibbling over whether or not it's an actual tornado or just a really bad-ass thunderstorm (to be fair, the former are almost always accompanied by the latter anyhow). So this doesn't have to be about JUST the US Midwest. Just because we get the most tornadoes anywhere doesn't mean we get ALL of them...

[Tribble]

Canada also experiences a fair number of tornadoes, I believe we get the 2nd most after the USA. The prairie provinces tend to get hit the most as they are at the northern border of Tornado alley, and with Southern Ontario and Quebec being next. Fortunately the tornadoes up here are usually weaker than their southern brethren and ones above EF-1 are rare (though severe tornadoes do touchdown from time to time).

[LaCroix]

In Europe, real tornados were extremely rare occurrencies, once or twice in a decade events for a country. Before the last decade, anyhow. Climate change has mixed up some things, and now they occasionally do form. Normally the funnel breaks down, almost instantly, and all we see is a very localized "out of nowhere" brutal thunderstorm. That's why the meteoroliars are in constant quarrel wether it was one or not.

List of ALL European tornados, ever

edit: corrected my post, accidentally wrote century where I meant decade...

[Broomstick]

Contrast that with the (according to NOAA) US average of one thousand per year, followed by Canada averaging 100 per year. According the wikipedia site Europe gets about 500 in a century, or about 5 a year averaged out, though they typically go a year or several between outbreaks.

Of course, it's the funnel clouds that attract the attention, but Oklahoma city also had large hail that caused damage and severe flooding which may have killed one person. Also, some tigers escaped from an exotic animal park. I can't imagine giant, wet cats wandering around town being a good thing. Tens of thousands of people without power.

Really, the associated thunderstorm can be as bad as the actual tornado. It may not cause the same sort of localized damage, but its area of effect is much larger.

[LadyTevar]

After the Derecho of 2013, I'd consider one thread for any major weather diaster would be a good idea.

Tornados can travel for miles and take out towns. The weather system that causes tornados often stretches over multiple states, with lesser winds that can knock down power lines, dump inches of heavy rainfall, and produce large hail. You don't hear as much about the 'lesser' damage because of the sheer destruction even a small tornado can leave behind overshadows it. A hail-damaged crop is nothing compared to a town wiped off the map.

Then you have the first Deracho to hit in living memory, that rolled from Ohio to Virginia in a straight line and shut down entire states for weeks in the middle of one of the hotter summers on record.

[madd0ct0r]

Also, some tigers escaped from an exotic animal park. I can't imagine giant, wet cats wandering around town being a good thing. Tens of thousands of people without power.

Really, the associated thunderstorm can be as bad as the actual tornado. It may not cause the same sort of localized damage, but its area of effect is much larger.

Pah, I see you and raise you a Typhoon flooded crocodile farm in Vietnam: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-p ... 090361.stm
The difference being, the locals were hunting them down with lassos for a $10 bounty

[Broomstick]

So... I expect all the crocs were accounted for within an afternoon?

[madd0ct0r]

there was about 5000. I think most were eaten in the end.

[Gaidin]

NWS and other counties' sevices tend to keep up as close as they can to real time with Skywarn. Does anyone tune into that to listen?

[SAMAS]

there was about 5000. I think most were eaten in the end.

That usually happens to livestock. Alligator is pretty good too.

[Broomstick]

More crazy weather - rain, floods, rain, hail, rain, tropical storms, rain, tornadoes, rain...

We have a LOT of water. No flooding in my immediate areas, but some of the freeways in the region shut down last night due to high water.

Tornado sirens in Chicago proper yesterday. Definite tornado to the west just past the city limits in the close-in suburbs. Lots of live shots on the news yesterday, including one where you could see a funnel form and reach downward during the report although that one never got all the way to the ground. Further complicated by scheduled sports games yesterday, one of which was canceled, but that meant lots of people out and about in the severe weather.

Really, though, it's the flooding causing the most damage. We're supposed to have a dry, cool day today so I hope to enjoy it as much as I can.

Hope I have good weather for my upcoming trip to Wisconsin, I dread traveling in shitty weather.