April 3, 1974
My very, very first conscious memory came on April 3, 1974. That was the day that the United States experienced its most deadly series of tornadoes in history. From Michigan to the Gulf Coast, from the Midwest to New York state, the number of tornadoes that touched down was immense: at least 148. Many lives were lost; there was much damage.
Based on my memories, imprinted when I was some 34 months old, my mother, my brother and I were at home. It must have been around 4pm or 5pm in the day. Otherwise, I suspect my mother would have been at work and my brother would have been at school. But we were at home.
Many safety rules came from that day. Before that day, there were many myths about what to do when faced by a tornado. Clearly, we were not of the enlightned group, but Providence intervened.
My mother had decided that we were not safe at our home. In retrospect, it was one of the safer places we could have been that day. While we had no basement, we were protected by features of nature that left us in a "holler" of sorts where we could find cover from the tornado, if not the rains and such that came with it. But we could not leave because my mother couldn't find the car keys. She kept looking and kept looking. By the time they turned up, the clouds of death had moved on. I remember watching with my brother an actual funnel cloud far in the distance of where we were. We didn't know it at the time, but we learned later that the funnel cloud had become a tornado not far away and had taken the life of a neighbor lady.
Driving through the countryside in the days that followed, people saw all kinds of debris strewn in trees and on top of cars and even lodged in structures. We truly were blessed by the amazing disappearance of the car keys. I remember that the car was a Chevy Vega stationwagon. Momma called her "Betsy."
Just telling you about my limited memory would do a great disservice. As well, I take this opportunity to correct some common beliefs and misconceptions. And just educate in general.
1. Don't worry about opening your windows. The reason this is done is to equalize the pressure between indoors and outdoors. Doesn't matter. If a tornado has enough of a pressure variance to cause your dwelling to explode from the change in pressure, the tornado will be powerful enough to destroy your dwelling regardless.
2. It's not a tornado until it contacts the earth's surface. Before that, it is just a funnel cloud.
3. People who report seeing flocks of birds flying into or out of the tornado are really seeing debris being sucked into and blown out of the funnel cloud.
4. If you are in a car, try to outrun the storm. If you can't outrun it, because of traffic or other challenges, get as far away from highways as you can. Try to get into a culvert or the lowest place you can find. A basement or cellar is best, but that might be difficult to find. Real cars become like matchbox toys in a major storm.
5. Statistically, the "trailer homes" that many call "tornado magnets" are those homes that are not anchored to earth. It requires more than removing the wheels and slapping on a mailbox to make a trailer home secure, regardless of weather phenomena. But this is still not the best place to be.
6. Stay away from windows and doors, if you are inside a structure.
7. The best place to survive a tornado is in a cellar or basement. Always has been, always will be. Just ask Dorothy and her little doggie.
8. If you survive a serious tornado, rule number one is never, NEVER, try to light a candle or turn on a light switch. NEVER. While tornadoes have struck every hour of the day, they still are most common during daylight hours. You can make it without artificial light.
9. Tornadoes have struck every month of the year. They can again.
10. If a funnel cloud looks like it is standing still, that is a reliable sign that it is coming toward you. Take cover. This is not a hard-and-fast rule, but statistically reliable.
While the nation's worst storm in history came in the month of April, many states experience the most killer storms in May. Since we are now in the month of May, just over 25 years past the anniversary of the worst storm in history, it is a good time to prepare yourself. Don't just take my word for it. Check the experts' websites. May you never suffer the horror of watching a tornado take a life.
Based on my memories, imprinted when I was some 34 months old, my mother, my brother and I were at home. It must have been around 4pm or 5pm in the day. Otherwise, I suspect my mother would have been at work and my brother would have been at school. But we were at home.
Many safety rules came from that day. Before that day, there were many myths about what to do when faced by a tornado. Clearly, we were not of the enlightned group, but Providence intervened.
My mother had decided that we were not safe at our home. In retrospect, it was one of the safer places we could have been that day. While we had no basement, we were protected by features of nature that left us in a "holler" of sorts where we could find cover from the tornado, if not the rains and such that came with it. But we could not leave because my mother couldn't find the car keys. She kept looking and kept looking. By the time they turned up, the clouds of death had moved on. I remember watching with my brother an actual funnel cloud far in the distance of where we were. We didn't know it at the time, but we learned later that the funnel cloud had become a tornado not far away and had taken the life of a neighbor lady.
Driving through the countryside in the days that followed, people saw all kinds of debris strewn in trees and on top of cars and even lodged in structures. We truly were blessed by the amazing disappearance of the car keys. I remember that the car was a Chevy Vega stationwagon. Momma called her "Betsy."
Just telling you about my limited memory would do a great disservice. As well, I take this opportunity to correct some common beliefs and misconceptions. And just educate in general.
1. Don't worry about opening your windows. The reason this is done is to equalize the pressure between indoors and outdoors. Doesn't matter. If a tornado has enough of a pressure variance to cause your dwelling to explode from the change in pressure, the tornado will be powerful enough to destroy your dwelling regardless.
2. It's not a tornado until it contacts the earth's surface. Before that, it is just a funnel cloud.
3. People who report seeing flocks of birds flying into or out of the tornado are really seeing debris being sucked into and blown out of the funnel cloud.
4. If you are in a car, try to outrun the storm. If you can't outrun it, because of traffic or other challenges, get as far away from highways as you can. Try to get into a culvert or the lowest place you can find. A basement or cellar is best, but that might be difficult to find. Real cars become like matchbox toys in a major storm.
5. Statistically, the "trailer homes" that many call "tornado magnets" are those homes that are not anchored to earth. It requires more than removing the wheels and slapping on a mailbox to make a trailer home secure, regardless of weather phenomena. But this is still not the best place to be.
6. Stay away from windows and doors, if you are inside a structure.
7. The best place to survive a tornado is in a cellar or basement. Always has been, always will be. Just ask Dorothy and her little doggie.
8. If you survive a serious tornado, rule number one is never, NEVER, try to light a candle or turn on a light switch. NEVER. While tornadoes have struck every hour of the day, they still are most common during daylight hours. You can make it without artificial light.
9. Tornadoes have struck every month of the year. They can again.
10. If a funnel cloud looks like it is standing still, that is a reliable sign that it is coming toward you. Take cover. This is not a hard-and-fast rule, but statistically reliable.
While the nation's worst storm in history came in the month of April, many states experience the most killer storms in May. Since we are now in the month of May, just over 25 years past the anniversary of the worst storm in history, it is a good time to prepare yourself. Don't just take my word for it. Check the experts' websites. May you never suffer the horror of watching a tornado take a life.
posted by Michael Vernon at Saturday, May 02, 2009
1 Comments:
Well, the worst storms really are the hairy-canes. :) Still, I must admit to a fascination with tornadoes. But I must take issue with one thing you wrote: if the tornado looks like it's not moving, that may not mean a thing. I saw one just the other day, and it didn't look like it was moving. Even so, it never came anywhere near here. For that matter, I changed channels briefly, and when I went back to the channel it was on, it was still right there until they went to the commercial break.
Seriously, I've never seen one in person, although my Kansas-boy husband has seen a number of them. (And for some reason, he thinks my idea of a tornado-chasing trip is a bad idea!) I've seen heavy weather that produced tornadoes a town or so away, but I never saw one of God's vacuum cleaners live and in person!
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