Last night a tornado touched down less then a 1/4 mile from my house. It brought down 4 telephone poles, 4 large trees and lots of medium and small ones including large tree limbs. One of the telephone poles fell on some guy's pick-up truck as he happened to be driving by- A bit of a freaky, wrong-place-at-the-wrong-time thing, but he was ok. The pole apparently landed on the truck body and not the cab.
Fortunately, that is pretty much all of the land damage the tornado did, as it died out over the lake, but people who witnessed it were treated to an awesome-looking 'water-spout'. Oddly, as close to my house as it was, all Mr. S and I experienced was some hail, lightning, a heavy downpour and a bit of wind. We had no idea it had been much of anything, until we started to notice cars going down the rd. only to turn back, and then a county cop, an ambulance (for the guy in the truck) a firetruck, and a power company vehicle go by.
It's been verbally confirmed to my neighbor by the national weather service located in S. Maine to have been an "F0, bordering on an F1". I guess no big deal to folks who live in areas that get tornadoes frequently, but for us, it was a bit of an interesting curiosity, (once we knew no one had been injured of course).
I heard chainsaws going at times throughout the night and power was promptly restored within 11 hours. That is really good for around here. We very commonly have power outages of that length and longer for inexplicable reasons.
Anyway- sorry to have gone on and on about something that may be little to nothing for some folks here... Plus, Mass. and NH apparently saw a lot more action then us, and sadly there were 4 fatalities there (in Mass), and probably many more injuries. I hope our DFP friends and their family members from those areas are ok. http://bangordailynews.com/2011/06/01/ne...ostReadBox
I watched a lot of the videos of East Coast tornadoes from yesterday. Ya'll were very lucky those storms weren't bigger. They went through some heavily populated areas.
One of the videos I saw made me want to jump through the screen and grab the guy with the video camera and slam him to the ground. He would have been dead had the twister he was filming been stronger than it was. And the thing is, you can't genuinely tell how strong they are just by looking when you're that close, especially when they're newly formed. Sometimes the rotation is taking place on the ground without much to make it visible ... except the cow that flies past your nose.
But seriously, this guy just stood there while all kinds of debris was swirling, and it ripped a road sign out of the ground and threw it. That's the stuff that kills you.
Like I said, lucky. Terrifying regardless.
Glad you're okay.
“The first thing I do in the morning is brush my teeth and sharpen my tongue.” -- Dorothy Parker
(06-02-2011 08:30 AM)RoyGBiv Wrote: I watched a lot of the videos of East Coast tornadoes from yesterday. Ya'll were very lucky those storms weren't bigger. They went through some heavily populated areas.
One of the videos I saw made me want to jump through the screen and grab the guy with the video camera and slam him to the ground. He would have been dead had the twister he was filming been stronger than it was. And the thing is, you can't genuinely tell how strong they are just by looking when you're that close, especially when they're newly formed. Sometimes the rotation is taking place on the ground without much to make it visible ... except the cow that flies past your nose.
But seriously, this guy just stood there while all kinds of debris was swirling, and it ripped a road sign out of the ground and threw it. That's the stuff that kills you.
Like I said, lucky. Terrifying regardless.
Glad you're okay.
Thanks Roy. And yeah, it sounds as if the guy you describe was a bit naive (at best ). After having watched (and heard)-there was a terrifying, mostly audio video taken by a guy in a small store in Joplin, Missouri- I knew that when my local tv station said to take cover at around 6pm last night that it wasn't something to be taken lightly. Bottom line, as you seem to be saying, nothing to screw around with. This guy was clearly ignorant of what he was dealing with.
It sounds as if you may be very familiar w/situations like this.
But this was just an F0!!! I took the dog for a walk there this am and, imho, it's pretty bad. We just happen to be very rural, but I bet if some dwellings were in place through that small swath of area, it could have been much worse.
People in the so-called "tornado alley" have my full respect for their courage! I whine about our bitter cold, heavy snow and long winters, but out-of-the-blue scary stuff like this, is far worse imho. At least we know what to expect. This was so random. Yikes!
(06-02-2011 09:07 AM)Sugarloaf Wrote: It sounds as if you may be very familiar w/situations like this.
When I was younger and more of an adrenaline junky, I was a storm spotter for the county civil defense/emergency management. Spotter, not chaser. Storm chasers are insane, and most of them are stupid.
As a part of the training I learned how to "work" a tornado, which is to say how to spot and follow without getting in the way. Even then it's not a 100% guarantee because some of them just don't act the way they're "supposed" to. One of the ones that hit near me a couple weeks back formed in a storm that was moving northeast, which is standard, but the funnel itself moved southeast, which isn't.
I blame the movie Twister. The people who made that movie knew nothing about tornadoes, much less chasing them. I and my driver accompanied one of their film crews when they were in OK trying to get footage, and those guys were totally ignorant. Worse, they didn't actually want to know anything. They had this idea in their heads they were going to set up a camera and film one from beginning to end.
Just had to shake my head.
Anyway, after that movie came out is when the popularity of "chasing" got so high, and with the Internet and the crazy people who do manage to get cool video and somehow not get killed, everyone sees it and wants to go do it. There are even people who make money off it by leading storm chasing tours. Funny they never tell you about the guys who get slammed in the head with a flying 2x4.
It's an issue with me. People put both themselves and others in danger when they go out trying to get the cool video so they can have their 15 minutes. And I've seen too many times what it can do to people. It's not fun. Shortly before I quit spotting, I was out and there were these people in a car who were following us around. I finally figured out they were thrill seekers, and we stopped at one of our spotting locations and went up to talk to them to tell them to cut it out. It was some guy with his kids in the car out having fun. I wanted to beat him.
Called in a sheriff to come chase him off, and then later, after some storms went through, my partner and I were driving toward some damage to do traffic control, and we found the guy off the side of the road in a ditch. He got stuck in a hail storm, couldn't see, and drove into into it. No one was hurt, thankfully, but it made the urge to beat him come back with a vengeance.
“The first thing I do in the morning is brush my teeth and sharpen my tongue.” -- Dorothy Parker
(06-02-2011 09:07 AM)Sugarloaf Wrote: It sounds as if you may be very familiar w/situations like this.
When I was younger and more of an adrenaline junky, I was a storm spotter for the county civil defense/emergency management. Spotter, not chaser. Storm chasers are insane, and most of them are stupid.
As a part of the training I learned how to "work" a tornado, which is to say how to spot and follow without getting in the way. Even then it's not a 100% guarantee because some of them just don't act the way they're "supposed" to. One of the ones that hit near me a couple weeks back formed in a storm that was moving northeast, which is standard, but the funnel itself moved southeast, which isn't.
I blame the movie Twister. The people who made that movie knew nothing about tornadoes, much less chasing them. I and my driver accompanied one of their film crews when they were in OK trying to get footage, and those guys were totally ignorant. Worse, they didn't actually want to know anything. They had this idea in their heads they were going to set up a camera and film one from beginning to end.
Just had to shake my head.
Anyway, after that movie came out is when the popularity of "chasing" got so high, and with the Internet and the crazy people who do manage to get cool video and somehow not get killed, everyone sees it and wants to go do it. There are even people who make money off it by leading storm chasing tours. Funny they never tell you about the guys who get slammed in the head with a flying 2x4.
It's an issue with me. People put both themselves and others in danger when they go out trying to get the cool video so they can have their 15 minutes. And I've seen too many times what it can do to people. It's not fun. Shortly before I quit spotting, I was out and there were these people in a car who were following us around. I finally figured out they were thrill seekers, and we stopped at one of our spotting locations and went up to talk to them to tell them to cut it out. It was some guy with his kids in the car out having fun. I wanted to beat him.
Called in a sheriff to come chase him off, and then later, after some storms went through, my partner and I were driving toward some damage to do traffic control, and we found the guy off the side of the road in a ditch. He got stuck in a hail storm, couldn't see, and drove into into it. No one was hurt, thankfully, but it made the urge to beat him come back with a vengeance.
"Storm chasers are insane" That is probably the only thing I got out of that movie too (lol). Sadly it appears others got something entirely different. In fact, since I still don't have my cable tv back yet, I went to the 'weather channel online' and they were talking about people like this. They've apparently come from all over the US and other countries and pay some guy w/a Van to take them out to these areas. So off they go into the storms and if *lucky* people get to see tornadoes up close. Some of them acted as if it was some sort of religious experience. WTF?
There was a guy in that same short news spot who more or less said the same thing you are saying about what that movie has wrought. On the bright side, I suppose, it could help the regional economy to have people who otherwise might not have visited.
Too bad some people don't have the common sense to remove themselves and their families from such a dangerous situation. I commend you for doing what you did by notifying the authorities. Some people seem to have a lifetime 'it won't happen to me' attitude.
That must have been very interesting work though! I just hope for your sake that it was in rural spots like mine so that you saw no human toll.
When I lived in New Jersey we had one streak through Westfield one day. Here on long island we've seen a few little ones over the years.
Tiny little things with only a small path of destruction, but still kinda scary. Can't imagine what the real ones in the Midwest are like.
Waterspouts way offshore are the worst, though. No boat or ship, no matter how big, is safe and if you see one, there is no where to go or way to outrun it. You just become very religious all of a sudden and pray it goes the other way.
(06-02-2011 09:07 AM)Dimwitted Fool Wrote: When I lived in New Jersey we had one streak through Westfield one day. Here on long island we've seen a few little ones over the years.
Tiny little things with only a small path of destruction, but still kinda scary. Can't imagine what the real ones in the Midwest are like.
Waterspouts way offshore are the worst, though. No boat or ship, no matter how big, is safe and if you see one, there is no where to go or way to outrun it. You just become very religious all of a sudden and pray it goes the other way.
Yeah, it's the randomness and unpredictability of it that gets me. Seeing the damage of an F0 truly makes me wonder about the poor folks in the path of something much larger!
Oh my, and to be out on a boat in it? How awful! Speaking of which, this lake that I live by has been a beehive of activity since Memorial Day when all of the wealthy out-of-state people traditionally come up and put their boats in. It's entirely possible that some might have been on the lake when this happened, though I've heard nothing horrible, thankfully.
(06-02-2011 12:53 PM)Sugarloaf Wrote: Yikes, there is no way, I'd want to be in a car! If that was you in the Vid, you were very brave. I think I'd be screaming like a 7 yr old girl!
No, that was not me. If that had been me, I would have been out of that car in a ditch long, long, long before it got to the point I could have yelled something about it being so cool. Cars are one of the worst places to be in a tornado.
That was apparently taken somewhere in MA yesterday.
“The first thing I do in the morning is brush my teeth and sharpen my tongue.” -- Dorothy Parker
06-02-2011, 04:23 PM (This post was last modified: 06-02-2011 04:48 PM by Sugarloaf.)
(06-02-2011 12:53 PM)Sugarloaf Wrote: Yikes, there is no way, I'd want to be in a car! If that was you in the Vid, you were very brave. I think I'd be screaming like a 7 yr old girl!
No, that was not me. If that had been me, I would have been out of that car in a ditch long, long, long before it got to the point I could have yelled something about it being so cool. Cars are one of the worst places to be in a tornado.
That was apparently taken somewhere in MA yesterday.
Ha, I should've known that some of my fellow New Englanders got caught up in such a situation. (God Love Em) That said, it IS true that we know little about how to deal with something so out of the ordinary. We never grew up learning what to do... Other then the common sense cellar thing. But even then, I wouldn't know if I was to go to a particular corner- Or whatever. Still don't.
Time to learn I guess, because today I read something about the myths and facts regarding tornadoes and one of the biggest things that stood out to me is that they (even F4rs an F5's) can happen anywhere. I always assumed that it had something to do w/the topography-that it had to happen in flat places w/little or no trees and/or (blush) very small human structures to "slow it down"
But that apparently is not the case at all, according to what I have read. It's all about wind shear and a rotation of warm and cold fronts. It just happens that our entire continent and the midwestern states in particular are more prone to these 'perfect' conditions.
If i can go back and find the link, just in case anyone else is interested, I will. BRB (hopefully-if I don't get sidetracked again and again as usual)
I live in Western/Central MA and work in Western MA.
Yeah.
I got trapped at work last night due to the fact that trees had been literally RIPPED out of the ground and thrown across every friggin' access road out of Hampden (where my workplace is located). I ended up sleeping last night at the CEO's house--I work for Rediker Software, and the CEO, Rich Rediker, lives only a few minutes away--where there was no power (but at least comfortable beds). I was finally able to get out this morning, and I got the day off gratis after getting home, showering, shaving, and eating something.
What a goddamn night.
Monson and a lot of Springfield were utterly destroyed--I have never, ever, EVER in my 26 years of life seen a storm do what this one did last night. I have never been so scared, either.
(06-02-2011 12:07 PM)Arkana Wrote: I live in Western/Central MA and work in Western MA.
Yeah.
I got trapped at work last night due to the fact that trees had been literally RIPPED out of the ground and thrown across every friggin' access road out of Hampden (where my workplace is located). I ended up sleeping last night at the CEO's house--I work for Rediker Software, and the CEO, Rich Rediker, lives only a few minutes away--where there was no power (but at least comfortable beds). I was finally able to get out this morning, and I got the day off gratis after getting home, showering, shaving, and eating something.
What a goddamn night.
Monson and a lot of Springfield were utterly destroyed--I have never, ever, EVER in my 26 years of life seen a storm do what this one did last night. I have never been so scared, either.
Wow, you guys were horribly hit. Our news has picked up the Springfield thing and I bet there is/will be more info as time moves on. I don't know that city at all, but I remember the gas station off of 95 there. Surrounded by rocks.
Thankfully I have a computer otherwise I'd be totally in the dark. Cable tv is still out. The wind is blowing like a bastahd and we are building a new fire in the woodstove cause it's only about 50 degrees right now. Back to the chill after being too hot. Nuts!!!
Anyway, I'm glad you are ok Arkana. I hope all is well now after that ordeal.
The ones you are noticing are more terrified than anything else. They are lashing out because they are comfortable; and to acknowledge what is happening is a threat to that comfort. Ignore them, for they are not the voices that will rise in the coming days, months and years. They are not the voices of our collected humanity. They are the old voices of fear and impotence. - Anonymous
(06-02-2011 04:57 PM)Arkana Wrote: All I could think was "This isn't supposed to happen here. We get ice and ten feet of snow--that, we're prepared for. But this? This is madness."
LOL, True, my friend.
Sometimes, on -15 degree days (for the 5th or 6th day in a row) when the damn car won't start, and the pipes have frozen despite all our best efforts, it's hard to say we NE'rs have not paid our dues to whatever deity is supposed be controlling this crap.
And now He/She gives us this? wtf?
LOL, I guess It's a "learning moment" as Oprah would say.... NOT
Post: #1
![[*]](images/twilight/ndxdragns.gif)
). After having watched (and heard)-there was a terrifying, mostly audio video taken by a guy in a small store in Joplin, Missouri- I knew that when my local tv station said to take cover at around 6pm last night that it wasn't something to be taken lightly. Bottom line, as you seem to be saying, nothing to screw around with. This guy was clearly ignorant of what he was dealing with. 
people get to see tornadoes up close. Some of them acted as if it was some sort of religious experience. WTF?
