flowerbug
Garden Master
the small tornado that came near us here some years ago i was busy making this batch of freezer jam:
you notice how dark that room is for 3pm?
i didn't really think anything of it, because i'd checked the radar earlier and while there were some pop-up storms coming our way they weren't large cells.
at the time of the tornado the rain was pretty heavy and the wind was coming from all directions but i didn't notice the sudden pressure change that often happens when a tornado or strong storm with down and updrafts goes over.
the only damage here was a plaque hanging on the wall by the back door of the garage fell off and that was only sitting on a nail.
the damage down the road and around the corner in the other direction was more significant. the neighbor's place out back had some of their roof blown off and some windows blown in. they'd just gotten down in the basement when it came by. the other neighbors had their small garage blown away and their house shifted a bit on the foundation. other people had trees taken down or other damage (2x4s going through their walls of the kitchen or through the garage door). luckily nobody was hurt. the surprise for me was looking out the window after the rain calmed down a bit and noticing the neighbor's garage was gone - then the sirens kicked in and the power went out as it took down the lines over to the NE.
our house is built like a hexagon with a very strong central core fireplace. i think it would take a direct hit by a bigger tornado to damage the core structure. the side room here and the garage might get peeled away first before the rest of the house would fail. plus we have a thick stone wall along the S-SW facing surface, that will take a lot of abuse before it comes down. and the walls are six inches thick instead of four.
the interior utility room and safe room i would go into in case of a tornado heading towards us directly is right next to the central fireplace. it is a small room. i'd just sit in the shower with a blanket wrapped around me and hope for the best. the shower has some glass panels but i doubt that would be an issue since if anything were strong enough to damage all those walls and fireplace it would probably be pretty big tornado.
you notice how dark that room is for 3pm?
i didn't really think anything of it, because i'd checked the radar earlier and while there were some pop-up storms coming our way they weren't large cells.
at the time of the tornado the rain was pretty heavy and the wind was coming from all directions but i didn't notice the sudden pressure change that often happens when a tornado or strong storm with down and updrafts goes over.
the only damage here was a plaque hanging on the wall by the back door of the garage fell off and that was only sitting on a nail.
the damage down the road and around the corner in the other direction was more significant. the neighbor's place out back had some of their roof blown off and some windows blown in. they'd just gotten down in the basement when it came by. the other neighbors had their small garage blown away and their house shifted a bit on the foundation. other people had trees taken down or other damage (2x4s going through their walls of the kitchen or through the garage door). luckily nobody was hurt. the surprise for me was looking out the window after the rain calmed down a bit and noticing the neighbor's garage was gone - then the sirens kicked in and the power went out as it took down the lines over to the NE.
our house is built like a hexagon with a very strong central core fireplace. i think it would take a direct hit by a bigger tornado to damage the core structure. the side room here and the garage might get peeled away first before the rest of the house would fail. plus we have a thick stone wall along the S-SW facing surface, that will take a lot of abuse before it comes down. and the walls are six inches thick instead of four.
the interior utility room and safe room i would go into in case of a tornado heading towards us directly is right next to the central fireplace. it is a small room. i'd just sit in the shower with a blanket wrapped around me and hope for the best. the shower has some glass panels but i doubt that would be an issue since if anything were strong enough to damage all those walls and fireplace it would probably be pretty big tornado.
