I myself have lived in Tornado Alley my whole life. You may ask just what Tornado Alley is. It is an area in the United States that has a significant outbreak of tornadoes in that area every year. Most of them occur in area covered from Texas north to the Dakotas and east to the Appalachian Mountains. The states usually included in this area include Texas (due to its shear size), Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, Iowa, Ohio, southern Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Arkansas, northern Alabama, and the western halves of Kentucky and Tennessee. Below is a copy of a map from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tornado_Alley in which it shows the prevalence of tornado activity in the U.S.

Recently, my part of Texas has been experiencing the development of many supercell thunderstorms. These are the storms that spawn many of the tornadoes seen throughout the U.S. This is largely due to the area of the midwest sitting between two mountain ranges, the Rocky Mountains in the west and the Appalachian Mountains in the east. Warm, moist, sub-tropical air comes flowing up through Mexico and Texas and clashes with cold, polar air flowing down from Canada. When these collide, they form rolling thunderstorms, usually along a dry-line. A dry-line is the boundary between a warm, dry air mass and a warm, moist, sub-tropical air mass.

I overheard a young lady recently mention being afraid of all of these storms. She was not from here. I am not scared of these storms, but I do respect them. A favorite quote I like is from the movie, “Reign of Fire.” The quote is, “What do we do when we are awake? Keep two eyes on the sky. What do we do when we sleep? Keep one eye on the sky.” This is typically true of people from this area of the U.S., and as long as one pays attention, harm to oneself can usually be avoided. In fact, once a month, usually on Wednesdays, they test the sirens. 

What sirens are you talking about you may ask. Well, if you remember watching old movies about World War II, particularly that took place in Europe/Great Britain, in the background of air raids, you would hear a siren. This is pretty much the exact same sound because that is WHAT we use to warn the public of imminent danger from tornadoes. It means to take cover immediately, and that usually a funnel cloud has been spotted. A funnel cloud is the precursor to a tornado..it is basically a tornado that has not reached the ground YET, and if you’re lucky it never will.

The ideal storm shelter is in an underground concrete bunker, which many homes in the countryside have. But if that is not available, to take cover, you should take it in an interior bathroom or interior closet. These smaller, interior spaces tend to stay protected and intact if a tornado actually strikes. And although building codes in the alley area are more stringent than other parts of the U.S., 100+ mph winds can still force shrapnel through exterior walls and make windows deadly, leathel objects. Make sure to curl yourself in a ball, close to the ground, and protect your head and neck as best as possible. If out on the open road, seek shelter in a drainage ditch. Do NOT stay in you vehicle! The flatter and lower to the ground you are, the less likely for you to incur injuries from debris flying through the air. I wish my own family members had known this 44 years ago. My dad’s sister, brother-in-law, and 3 kids were all traveling in a car when a tornado struck. It picked their car up and slammed it like a toy into an oncoming pickup truck. My uncle and the 2 people in the other vehicle were barely injured at all, but my aunt and her 3 children were instantly killed. You cannot outrun a tornado, so please do not try. Being in a vehicle is one of the most dangerous places to be when a tornado is striking. Plus, don’t forget, it can go back up into the cloud, and drop back out at ANY other point as well. So running away may turn into running INTO the tornado.

Also, there are myths out there that should never be done. Such as opening a window to equalize the air pressure in your home. Duh, you just created a vacuum with suction doing this. Plus, if a tornado is hitting your home, it will probably break all the windows regardless of being opened or closed. Don’t waste your time on this, instead use it to protect you, your loved ones and your pets if you can get to them in time. Believe it or not, animal nature will tell most pets to seek shelter if it is available. Also, do NOT seek shelter under overpasses. Yes, a few lucky people have survived doing this, but many more have been killed than the media has let everyone know. Most people are sucked out from underneath those overpasses and DROPPED miles away, usually causing death or serious injury. Also, most tornadoes travel southwest to northeast thanks to the weather air currents, so seeking shelter in a basement is a good idea, just NOT the southwest corner of it. For more on myths or misconceptions, see http://www.tornadoproject.com/myths/myths.htm .

I suppose another reason people these days don’t fear them as much is due to the National Weather Service being able to issue warnings and hopefully give ample time to seek shelter. Also, in schools in these areas, tornado drills are frequently performed, teaching from a very young age what to do to be prepared. For us, it is a normal, everyday part of life..probably as much as earthquakes are to those on the west coast and hurricanes for those on the east. And yes, hurricanes do spawn tornadoes, but they are usually more in the form of water spouts and usually a lot less powerful. That means Florida also gets a lot of tornadoes, but a different kind.

A funnel cloud trying to form…

Above is a picture of a wall cloud that I took. Usually, the place where the strongest tornadoes form.

I don’t want people to fear tornadoes, but to simply respect them and be well informed. Fear causes people to act on rash thoughts and ideas in times of crisis. Keeping a cool, well prepared stance is what is best and needed when it is time to “keep both eyes on the sky.”