Tornado sirens went off

[Twofingerlou]

About a hour and a half ago. I grabbed my SHTF bag, flipped on the news and made my move to get the dogs down in the basement. My tornado alley folks will know the struggle, I think they might have spotted some rotation on the radar but I’m not sure how accurate the radar is for such detection.

Was a wild ride for a minute Thunder and rain wise But they said the storm was moving fast which it did. Regardless not my first rodeo but I always kinda get a adrenalin dump when this happens, all is well now.


A few years ago we had a F4 touch down about 15-20 miles from me during the evening. Sirens went off for a while then stopped, then the rain stopped for a bit and I thought the smoke had cleared. I poked my head out the door and I’ll never forget that sound in the sky. It sounded like a hundred F16 fighter jets roaring over the house. I’ve never seen one in person but hearing it that close was enough for me.

Point of this post? We all live in different climatic areas, different weather disaster potentials. That said I advise to get you a SHTF bag and stock it with some essentials….

First aid kit, some quality flashlights and battery operated lanterns and not cheap Walmart clearance stuff. Extra battery’s for said devices.

A can opener and some canned goods with a decent shelf life. Some snacks like granola bars ect and obviously store some water where you might have to retreat. Check and rotate your perishable items when needed. If you have pets I always keep a extra bag of dog food on hand because you never know.

 

[StoneH]

I wish I had a basement. My storm cellar is the proverbial "Interior Room of Your House".

 

[Twofingerlou]

I wish I had a basement. My storm cellar is the proverbial "Interior Room of Your House".

I hear yea and have been there, gotta do the best with what you have. They say your bathroom is your best bet unless there’s a window in it.

 

[Midgetje94]

About a hour and a half ago. I grabbed my SHTF bag, flipped on the news and made my move to get the dogs down in the basement. My tornado alley folks will know the struggle, I think they might have spotted some rotation on the radar but I’m not sure how accurate the radar is for such detection.

Was a wild ride for a minute Thunder and rain wise But they said the storm was moving fast which it did. Regardless not my first rodeo but I always kinda get a adrenalin dump when this happens, all is well now.


A few years ago we had a F4 touch down about 15-20 miles from me during the evening. Sirens went off for a while then stopped, then the rain stopped for a bit and I thought the smoke had cleared. I poked my head out the door and I’ll never forget that sound in the sky. It sounded like a hundred F16 fighter jets roaring over the house. I’ve never seen one in person but hearing it that close was enough for me.

Point of this post? We all live in different climatic areas, different weather disaster potentials. That said I advise to get you a SHTF bag and stock it with some essentials….

First aid kit, some quality flashlights and battery operated lanterns and not cheap Walmart clearance stuff. Extra battery’s for said devices.

A can opener and some canned goods with a decent shelf life. Some snacks like granola bars ect and obviously store some water where you might have to retreat. Check and rotate your perishable items when needed. If you have pets I always keep a extra bag of dog food on hand because you never know.

As a veteran I am very particular with my “load out” bags. I say all the time. Flashlights are the big ticket item. Don’t skimp. My go do I believe was $80 I have a back up that is $65. The main one is rechargeable. Or has a sleeve to use batteries. I keep both. But do have a external battery charger I keep charge just for my light (another couple for phones).

And food is one many over look. Don’t have to dooms day prep. But I like to keep 3 days worth (for your household) be it canned food, hunting/camping instant meals (account for extra water use)

 

[Twofingerlou]

As a veteran I am very particular with my “load out” bags. I say all the time. Flashlights are the big ticket item. Don’t skimp. My go do I believe was $80 I have a back up that is $65. The main one is rechargeable. Or has a sleeve to use batteries. I keep both. But do have a external battery charger I keep charge just for my light (another couple for phones).

And food is one many over look. Don’t have to dooms day prep. But I like to keep 3 days worth (for your household) be it canned food, hunting/camping instant meals (account for extra water use)

I’m with ya bud although I’m not a veteran I’m a flashlight junkie! My go to is Streamlight, they make a solid product for the price and haven’t had one let me down yet and that includes the one I accidentally ran over with my truck years ago. With anything you gotta pay to play. They make plenty of AA Option’s without the often heftier specialty battery price tag and yet they blow the cheap junk out of the water. My theory is I’d hate to be stuck in my basement for a few days, I’d hate it even more in the dark.

 

[Telecastoff1]

We're well-prepared here too! Shelves of food, snacks, cases of water and many flashlights and battery wall-mounted lights as well on every wall in our basement. It's only 36 degrees here right now, but we just had a fast moving storm go thru an hour ago with strong wind, lightning, hail and torrential rain.

 

[getbent]

great post. stay safe. we are rootin for you.

 

[Killing Floor]

Glad you’re ok.

 

[trapdoor2]

I almost miss the tornado sirens. We swapped them for hurricane season...

 

[jays0n]

Man, yeow!!! Hang in there and we are all hoping nothing happens. Thanks for the warning too. In SF we are always like a minute away from THE BIG ONE, and have a supply of stuff but .. my get the heck outta dodge bag is not very great. We gotta get prepared.

Best wishes to you and yours!

BTW make sure and put your Tele in that bug out bag, just the #1, it is an emergency so only essentials!

 

[StoneH]

Flashlights are the big ticket item.

"Two is one and one is none" . . . Other important items share this characteristic.

 

[Recce]

I wish I had a basement. My storm cellar is the proverbial "Interior Room of Your House".

Mine too. We have a bathroom with no outside walls. My wife and I and both dogs have been in there a couple times.

 

[Willie Johnson]

Tornadoes are freaky; had a big one touch down about a mile and a half away from our place last year. Tore up that neighborhood pretty badly, but some houses just south of the area struck were completely untouched--one house on the north side of one street was all messed up, and the house across from it still had pinwheels decorating the potted plants.

 

[BB]

As one who has never (thank you LOrd!) experienced anything other than some very bad wind storms, I can't imagine the fear and dread of a tornado.

The only movie my wife had been to in 30 years of marriage, was Twister when it first came out. That movie freaked me out. What really freaks me out though is seeing the absolute devastation they cause when touching down.

Great advice and hope everything works out for everyone in harms way. Stay safe!!!

 

[stratisfied]

I was just outside St. Louis on I55 a few years back and saw the rotation starting in the clouds followed by torrential rain and wind. I pulled off under an overpass and watched a semi blow over about 100 yards ahead. It was pretty intense.

 

[Nightclub Dwight]

Great reminders. You guys stay safe.

And if the shtf here in Pittsburgh, come by my place. We'll need help eating down our freezer, so it will be one heck of a grill/bbq party.

 

[sloppychops]

Well, I'm screwed. I'm on the second floor of a condo with just a ground level garage below. There is no "safe" place to go.

I do need to get a bugout bag together just in case I have to hightail it somewhere. Thanks for the reminder about being prepared, which I'm obviously not.

 

[johnny k]

Is there a difference between an air raid siren and a tornado siren ?

 

[teleplayr]

Went through an F5 tornado in '99, I lived in an upstairs apartment with no place to go and the tornado was less than a mile away from me. I looked out my window (it was dark outside) and saw the rain going sideways!

The tornado jumped to a neighboring town (Moore, OK) and wiped out a neighborhood.

A lady I worked with lived in Moore. She and her two boys jumped into a closet, and when it was over she opened the door to the closet they were in and the whole house had been destroyed, only the closet they were in survived.

It was a miracle they survived it !

 

[Tarkus60]

I watched one a couple of weeks ago. I watched it form and touchdown....then ran to the basement. We have to go to the kids house about 5 minutes away. We do not have a basement.