Summer Weather and Tornado Safety

 This is what was left of our 70' trailer home which was inside a 80x170 indoor riding arena - also gone in Brainerd, MN.  We never found the appliances, furnace, etc -  but our blue toilet was found intact  several miles away. Fencing &  building in the background were put in after the storm. This tornado hit June 13, 2001 around 8:15 PM and we are still picking up the pieces and cutting up the trees.  It was very fast and very devastating and yet, while we did lose horses and possessions, no human lives were lost.  It certainly could have been worse! 86 Homes were destroyed and our riding stable and a farm with cattle. We are back in tornado season and I want to give you information that may WELL SAVE YOUR LIFE.

Tornadoes are nature’s most violent storms. Spawned from powerful thunderstorms, tornadoes can cause fatalities and devastate a neighborhood in seconds. A tornado appears as a rotating, funnel-shaped cloud that extends from a thunderstorm to the ground with whirling winds that can reach 300 miles per hour. Damage paths can be in excess of one mile wide and 50 miles long. Every state is at some risk from this hazard.

Some tornadoes are clearly visible, while rain or nearby low-hanging clouds obscure others. Occasionally, tornadoes develop so rapidly that little, if any, advance warning is possible. That was the case with ours.  The warning sirens in town went off after we came out to view the damage.

Before a tornado hits, the wind may die down and the air may become very still. A cloud of debris can mark the location of a tornado even if a funnel is not visible. Tornadoes generally occur near the trailing edge of a thunderstorm. It is not uncommon to see clear, sunlit skies behind a tornado.

The following are facts about tornadoes:

• They may strike quickly, with little or no warning.
• They may appear nearly transparent until dust and debris are picked up or a cloud forms in the funnel.
• The average tornado moves Southwest to Northeast, but tornadoes have been known to move in any direction.
• The average forward speed of a tornado is 30 MPH, but may vary from stationary to 70 MPH.
• Tornadoes can accompany tropical storms and hurricanes as they move onto land.
• Waterspouts are tornadoes that form over water.
• Tornadoes are most frequently reported east of the Rocky Mountains during spring and summer months.
• Peak tornado season in the southern states is March through May; in the northern states, it is late spring through early summer.
• Tornadoes are most likely to occur between 3 p.m. and 9 p.m., but can occur at any time.