Severe Weather

[ides]

They only freak me out when they're CLOSE. Otherwise, not a big deal.

This.

Hearing rumors of a supercell coming my way. It's dark out but nothing on radar as of yet.

[SoonerTexan]

No, there isn't anything and probably wont be until early this afternoon. I'd keep your car parked under something though!

[SuzySunshine]

Growing up around tornadoes yes I'm scared of them as everyone should be of natural disasters but at the same time I'd rather have a tornado then an earthquake. At least there is usually some warning with tornadoes.

[diggitydot]

At least there is usually some warning with tornadoes.

Word. Not so much with earthquakes. They don't really freak me out either, though. Maybe growing up in the PNW around the time of Mt. St. Helens blowing up warped my sensitivity to dangerous natural disasters?

[scrub-jay]

I am ill-prepared for tornadoes, I need to fix that. Our house has a good basement though. I grew up w/earthquakes and those are second-nature to me. I'm much more scared of tornadoes.

ETA: There are subtle warnings for big earthquakes, you just have to know what to look for. For example: for hours before a big quake, my parents chicken/duck flock separate by species and group together in tight bundles. This is very abnormal behavior for chickens. Also, growing up in earthquake country, I still bolt everything to the wall and can't put heavy things up high (it's habit). My hometown sits directly on top of 3 major fault lines & several minor ones.

[poky]

Word. Not so much with earthquakes. They don't really freak me out either, though. Maybe growing up in the PNW around the time of Mt. St. Helens blowing up warped my sensitivity to dangerous natural disasters?

Yeah, I've been reading this thread and thinking the same thing.

[ides]

No, there isn't anything and probably wont be until early this afternoon. I'd keep your car parked under something though!

Dhs car is in the hospital garage. O and I have some errands then will park our car in our garage. I LOVE my garage!

[SuzySunshine]

ETA: There are subtle warnings for big earthquakes, you just have to know what to look for. For example: for hours before a big quake, my parents chicken/duck flock separate by species and group together in tight bundles. This is very abnormal behavior for chickens.

So in order to be safe for an earthquake you just need to get yourselves some chickens?!?!

[diggitydot]

So in order to be safe for an earthquake you just need to get yourselves some chickens?!?!

Or not live anywhere near a fault line or fracking...

[Thirteen]

So in order to be safe for an earthquake you just need to get yourselves some chickens?!?!

Or, you could just get some chickens anyway... *push push*

Golf to baseball-sized hail yesterday in Norman -- pretty nuts! If something like that hits your car (or your head), it doesn't just leave a ding. :/
Stay safe, all you Oklahomies.

[MrsK]

I am ill-prepared for tornadoes, I need to fix that. Our house has a good basement though. I grew up w/earthquakes and those are second-nature to me. I'm much more scared of tornadoes.

This is me too. I'm used to preparing for hurricanes for which you have lots of warning and that are often not as violent though they cover a much larger territory.

. . . Golf to baseball-sized hail yesterday in Norman -- pretty nuts! If something like that hits your car (or your head), it doesn't just leave a ding. :/

We had this yesterday. There were news crews in our neighborhood all afternoon/evening. We had a little damage. Today I noticed that in addition to the broken windows, some of the wood siding outside the house is damaged. Who knows what the roof looks like. Our landlord doesn't seem too concerned. He did not respond to my e-mail notwithstanding that he owns several houses in our neighborhood which was in the news. Some of our neighbors got it really bad. Driving around our complex, I've seen lots of broken windows, broken siding, dented cars. . . There were a lot of power poles/trees knocked down. I cannot find the video regarding my neighborhood but this is the written story from the network's website:

The ____ subdivision near ________Hospital is indicative of a lot of Wichita neighborhoods, where lot of windows were blasted out by the hail.

Homeowners were busy late Sunday afternoon after the storm passed, boarding up the holes left behind.

There were no reports of any injuries in this neighborhood, but there easily could have been with flying glass crashing into homes.

Olivia Newfarmer played it safe and smart. She took cover in her basement to ride out the storm.

"I heard hail hitting the side of the house--had no idea it was cracking the windows out. But it sounded like a tornado literally coming toward the house because that hail and that wind was just going so strong," Newfarmer says.

No doubt those in the window replacement business have a busy week ahead of them.

Lots of west-facing windows never stood a chance against the intense hail.

All of our damage was to the windows, screens, and siding on the west side of the house.

[scrub-jay]

So in order to be safe for an earthquake you just need to get yourselves some chickens?!?!

Yup! Either an earthquake or they sense a predator... In reality, most of the houses and buildings in CA are built to "move with" the earthquake, you won't really find any basements and you won't see heavy things stored unsecured (or up high). It wasn't uncommon to have several earthquakes a week, although most are really small. CA is overdue for a BIG one though. Even though they happen sporadically and without real warning (except for animals acting strangely) they are over very quickly...except for the aftershocks.

[scrub-jay]

This is me too. I'm used to preparing for hurricanes for which you have lots of warning and that are often not as violent though they cover a much larger territory.

I thought you'd be an expert by now, seems like you get hit pretty frequently. Didn't one go down your block a few years ago?

Okay weather folks... who is going to write/send me the need-to-know guide for tornadoes? I guess I could just text SS everytime...

[MrsK]

I thought you'd be an expert by now, seems like you get hit pretty frequently. Didn't one go down your block a few years ago?

Okay weather folks... who is going to write/send me the need-to-know guide for tornadoes? I guess I could just text SS everytime...

You'd think, right? I pretty much do the same as I do for a hurricane in terms of having supplies which I keep a closet under the stairs to our basement. The closet is otherwise empty to assure that there is enough room for DrK, the boys, and me. Last year we had one storm that had about 93 tornados in it including some that touched down very near to our house. DrK was a post call unreasonable zombie and I had to beg him to sit in the closet with me and the boys. The plan pretty much was to just lay on top of the boys if the radio said a tornado was in our neighborhood or if we heard anything coming. Still doesn't offer much protection if the house collapses in it takes 4 days to dig us out but I think that is pretty much the best you can do, right?

[MrsK]

And this is coming from someone who lost a home in Hurricane Andrew in August 1992. I think I really try to just block the thought of natural disasters from my mind.