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For those unfamiliar with the potential power of Tornados...

Tony C.
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prokudin
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Yes, it is quite terrifying. Tornados do exhibit a lot of power: high speed winds, together with the associated low pressure do make a lot of damage. Even if the buildings are not in the direct path of the tornado, debris flying at high speeds can easily penetrate walls and cause severe damage. Tornados also move very quickly and are difficult to predict. Driving away from the path, sheltering in cellars or concrete tornado shelters is the best. Having said that, notice that houses crumbled very easily, it is related to how houses are built in the USA. They are not particularly solid constructions. Brick or concrete walls would be better, but even this would not prevent de-roofing due to the gradient of the air pressure. I believe Tornado Alley is a tricky place to live and be used to these catastrophic events, maybe members from there can share their experiences.
 
Tony C.
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prokudin prokudin
notice that houses crumbled very easily, it is related to how houses are built in the USA.

There may well be some truth to that, but when tractor-trailers are thrown around like dinky toys, I'm not confident that reasonably well-constructed houses would be safe.
 
Tuna Cowboy
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When I was a kid we lived in Missouri for a couple of years and having been through tornado season its really luck as to what's still standing when it's all done. It's especially terrifying not having a cellar to shelter in!
 
prokudin
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Tony C. Tony C.
There may well be some truth to that, but when tractor-trailers are thrown around like dinky toys, I'm not confident that reasonably well-constructed houses would be safe.

It is a slightly different mechanism for a tractor-tailer and a house. Even a big tractor trailer is significantly lighter compared to a building, it is not anchored to the ground either. High speed wind would turn over and drug the trailer. For the house there are two factors: it would be torn due to shear forces and would "explode" due to the gradient of the air pressure (fast moving air has lower pressure compared to the air that is not moving inside of the house). Sure enough there will be limit to any construction integrity due to the force of the wind. I am not a civil engineer, but a professor of physics, so take my assessment with a grain of salt.
 
BlackTalon
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prokudin prokudin
and would "explode" due to the gradient of the air pressure (fast moving air has lower pressure compared to the air that is not moving inside of the house). Sure enough there will be limit to any construction integrity due to the force of the wind. I am not a civil engineer, but a professor of physics, so take my assessment with a grain of salt.
The worst case is if windows break or are open, or if doors are open. Also, it attic spaces are vented. Then you potentially have positive pressure building up on the inside and negative pressure on at least one side of the roof structure. Until the last couple of decades stud-framed walls were not strapped to foundations, and roof trusses were not strapped to walls like they do now to resist hurricane-force winds, so not as much resistance to high uplift forces.
 
gbesq
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My daughter lives smack in the middle of Tornado Alley - rural Kansas. Tornados are a fact of life there. You either accept the risk or move to an area that is less prone to severe weather. That being said, there are many Kansans who have never experienced nor even seen a tornado, my daughter among them. She has lived there since 2007 and in all that time there has been one tornado that touched down in her area - and she was out of town at the time. The greater and more common risk are severe thunderstorms with dangerous lightning, large hail and straight line winds that can easily reach 100 mph - these are much more frequent, especially in the spring and summer and can cause significant damage. The best protection from tornados starts with a weather radio and a cell phone to receive alerts - and then a basement with a concrete reinforced storm shelter. Perhaps the scariest aspect of tornados is not only their power - which can literally be beyond human comprehension - but their sporadic nature. They can develop very quickly and disappear nearly as fast. To get an idea of what a mile wide EF-5 tornado can really do, look at this YouTube video of the aftermath of the storm that hit Greensburg, Kansas on May 4, 2007. 95% of the town was leveled in a matter of minutes.
Video Credit: UltimateChase.com
Edited:
 
sheepdoll
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While I am a California girl born and bread my dad's family comes from Oklahoma and South eastern Kansas. I visited there a few times as a child. For me there is nothing more relaxing than a massive thunderstorm. I seem to sleep through the good ones.

I did however spend 10 months in Kentucky working on a player piano project. Went through 5 tornado warnings with one touching down less than a 1/4 mile from where I was staying. Was told got get into the bathtub with a mattress over the head.

Another time I was in a truck stop diner. they moved everyone away from the windows.

Ironically there was a small earthquake while I was there. I guess it is a lack of warning what makes some fear the latter. On the other hand it seems that those who live close to the danger, grow complacent about it.

The Kentucky storm destroyed a loading dock. And a router I was waiting for. This was in 2002, that set some of the project back a few weeks till we got a replacement. Things like that are totally unheard of in the silicon valley. Such delays can cause loss of momentum. Ironically this area has perfect weather. (Most of the time.) We have two types. Wet and dry. Sometimes we get windy.

Most local tornadoes in California happen in the less populated parts of the central valley. One did touch down in Sunnyvale. I missed it as I was in Vienna. Did make the world papers. Mostly as it damaged a mobile home park and a church.

A few weeks back I drove through a leaf devil (for lack of better description) That ripped the skid plate from under the car. I though one of the plastic bags was caught on the aerial or something. The noise only happened when I drove above 40Mph. The mechanic said it looked like I hit a rock. So even the little ones can move more than plastic garbage bags.

As for earthquakes. Only the 1989 one caused everything to shut down for one day. The destruction is more widespread and the effects can last decades. Even cause permanent changes. They hung a net up in the opera house to catch loose plaster. I was watching an opera when an aftershock happened. The opera was Mozart's Idomeno. The sets were done as a fallen temple. Still the aftershock mostly got a nervous laugh due to the irony.

I also have an obsession with volcanoes. Wasted much of 2020 and 2021 watching Iceland and the Canary islands. It becomes about the anticipation for something interesting to happen. Was sort of fun to watch the lava cover the web cam live. Mostly it gets repetitive. The US volcanoes are copyrighted by the storm chasers, so access to live videos are tightly controlled.
 
Walrus
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We had one a couple years back the national weather service pinpointed one starting a mile from my home. I did get warning but not a lot I was standing in my kitchen it was bright and sunny, went pitch black felt like a train was going through my house about 5-10 minutes later it was bright and sunny again, had a tree on my car and my neighbors deck in my yard. It was a baby tornado compared to what people face in tornado alley. One side of my street had severe damage the other side (mine) mostly just downed trees and parts of people homes from across the street. How quickly and violently they hit is amazing. I remember calling out of work because I had a tree on my car from the tornado and my job at first thought I was crazy as their area didn’t get so much as rain, as the news cameras came out people began to understand. I will never forget how quickly they hit and how midday turned to midnight for 5 minutes. Really bizarre.
 
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