Who's Witnessed a Tornado?

[countyroad1330]

I'm sitting her watching (on tv) multiple tornados touch down near Henessey, OK and Bison, OK. Tornado number 4 now. My prayers are with them.

I remember seeing the May 3rd tornado out the back window of my parents' car, but I did not realize what I was looking at. I've lived in Oklahoma my entire life, and the that is the only one I've seen, thank you God.

Has anyone else witnessed a tornado first hand?

 

[holliewould]

I see em all the time. Especially water spouts. I have lived with hurricanes all my life, and they do spawn tornadoes. One thing I will say, I would rather deal with a hurricane anytime. At least you know their coming at ya with their tornadoes, wind, hail and all. You have time to make a decision. Not like them tornadoes.

 

[Chirpy]

Years ago, I was on the 23rd floor of a skyrise office building in downtown Denver and watched a tornado coming directly up the street toward us. Now, the tornado turned while it was still several miles away but it was an awesome sight to watch buildings being torn apart and flying through the air. There's no place to go to in those tall buildings except a small, inner room. We were very thankful that it turned directions and didn't continue to the downtown area.

While Colorado has many small tornadoes (Weld County has more sightings than any other county in the US!!), they almost always hit out on the plains or don't 'land' and do no damage. Yesterday we had a F2/F3 hit several of our towns and destroyed them. One man was killed, it was only God's hand that protected so many people. Many, many people had their homes totally destroyed. Thankfully, this is rare in Colorado. (There was one last year in southern Colorado that killed two people and destroyed most of a small town, Holly.)

My prayers are with all those who were hit yesterday and especially to the family of the man who was killed.

 

[d.k]

*I've seen 3 funnels at come all the way down, just get within grounding and then each went back up just like they'd changed their minds!! ONE of those was in SAN JOSE in Cali!!

 

[farmgirlie1031]

There was one in Kansas City about five years ago. I was outside watching it as it destroyed several homes just a few miles away. I was in the basement but had the basement door open watching the site not realizing it was so bad. Thankfully nobody died in that one but several homes were destroyed and to think I could have been hurt. I'll never stand outside when there is a torando warning in the area again.

 

[CarriBrown]

I'm sorry... people can't believe us Californians with the earthquakes, but I would drop dead if I saw a tornado.
I just can't believe what they leave behind.

So sad.

 

[CityGirlintheCountry]

I was in a building in Nashville when it hit downtown. It went right over/through our building. I couldn't see it but I certainly heard it. There is no mistaking the sound. When we were finally cleared to go outside it looked like a bomb had gone off. All of the building windows had been destroyed and insulation and whatnot were hanging off the buildings. It was an amazing site.

 

[Buster]

I was in a couple of tornadoes in Del City, Oklahoma when I was 7 and 8 years old. The first one I remember we huddled in a bathtub in a mobile home with a babysitter who was freaked out of her mind. The second I actually saw with my eyes down the road from me before my mother came out and screamed for me to come inside.

 

[Farmer Kitty]

We had one here a number of years ago. I was in the barn milking and it was storming. No warnings or anything were out but as DH got home things started picking up. When he got to the house our outside dog pushed past him and headed for the basement stairs. She never bothered about coming in the house before that or after but, she wasn't being left out that night. It took the neighbors small old garden shed and some trees but, that was all. Thankfully after the neighbors it was field, pasture, and woods.

 

[Davaroo]

I have.

'Seen tops ripped off building as I watched, whole plots of woodland leveled and of course Redneck Riviera's demolished to shards and insulation fluff. Oddly enough, I live in SC

I remember dodging into the cellar when I lived in MN years ago as twisters would come roaring in. MN was pretty wide open then, no bedroom communities. I never once saw more than a barn or windmill get blasted up there.
The poor folks in this country's heartland have all my sympathies - I admire their courage immensely.

The most terrifying thing, to me, is that tornados are inexorable. You can evacuate before a hurricane and an earthquake comes unannounced.

But cyclones come at you from far off, looming ever closer, closer and all you can do is watch, transfixed. You know they're coming, you can see them coming and you dont know where they're going to turn next. You just know they're barrleing down on you and you better do something - anything.

The worst feeling is that it's anybody's guess as to just where you SHOULD go.