Was in my first tornado last night.
Apr 24th 2011, 3:35 pm
#31
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Joined: Feb 2004
Location: South Florida
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Re: Was in my first tornado last night.
I always thought that to be the safest place, well if you weren't in a shelter. I wonder why.... I mean I've seen a program where they were under an overpass (they got out of their vehicle and were up as far as they could go under the overpass. It seemed much safer than being out in open. 
Apr 24th 2011, 6:32 pm
#32
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Nov 2007
Location: Bay Area, CA
Posts: 13,111
Re: Was in my first tornado last night.
I'd guess if the tornado hit the bridge or very nearby, flying debris from the collapsing bridge would be a problem as would the compressed air under the bridge causing a faster airflow. A sort of "venturi effect" taking place. Think of air pushed ahead of an arriving train in the metro.
Here's a better explanation:
http://grassrootscontemplations.word...-usual-advice/
Excerpt: "The first building I ever crawled inside of was a school in Mexico City during the 1985 earthquake. Every child was under its desk. Every child was crushed to the thickness of their bones. They could have survived by lying down next to their desks in the aisles. It was obscene — unnecessary.
Simply stated, when buildings collapse, the weight of the ceilings falling upon the objects or furniture inside crushes these objects, leaving a space or void next to them – NOT under them. This space is what I call the ‘triangle of life’."
Apr 24th 2011, 10:50 pm
#33
BE Enthusiast
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 572
Re: Was in my first tornado last night.
ABY, I'm so glad that you all came through this OK, and trust that there are no lasting traumatizing effects for any of you. I have been through 4 tornados, and they always sounded like a freight train coming through, with fatalities occuring in 2 of them. Having been involved in rescue afterwards, and seeing the devastation in St. Louis, I am simply amazed that nobody seems to have been killed there.
Apr 25th 2011, 12:59 am
#34
Professional Cat herder
Joined: Apr 2007
Location: TORONTO- yay!!!
Posts: 5,707
Re: Was in my first tornado last night.
Steer pike , I'm pretty certain that advice has been discredited. I'll see if I can find the link
Here you are http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/household/triangle.asp
Here you are http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/household/triangle.asp
Last edited by Zoe Bell; Apr 25th 2011 at 1:01 am. Reason: Link added
Apr 25th 2011, 4:03 pm
#35
Sleepless In Chicago
Joined: Sep 2008
Location: Chicago.
Posts: 3,601
Re: Was in my first tornado last night.
You lived in the St Louis area how long and never got close to one???
I've lost count of how many times my mother in law has been in her basement this year due to tornadoes in the area, they're just over the IL border in Edwardsville.
I've lost count of how many times my mother in law has been in her basement this year due to tornadoes in the area, they're just over the IL border in Edwardsville.
Last edited by MrEmjoy; Apr 25th 2011 at 4:06 pm. Reason: Added a D
Apr 25th 2011, 4:07 pm
#36
Sleepless In Chicago
Joined: Sep 2008
Location: Chicago.
Posts: 3,601
Re: Was in my first tornado last night.
No shit. We spent Tuesday night in a hotel because of the incoming storms. The fact that our entire mo-bile estate shakes when the washing machine agitates doesn't really encourage a restful night when the sirens are going off. I dunno what we're going to do about that though, can't afford to drop $70 bucks every time a storm comes in.
Apr 25th 2011, 6:45 pm
#37
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Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 4,059
Re: Was in my first tornado last night.
Odd how things work out. Driving from Kentucky to Kansas City and collide with a tornado in St. Louis. Timing, fate, luck... I don't know.
The family and I were driving west on I-70, we were along side the St. Louis international airport. It was raining hard, then all of a sudden the streetlights all went out, transformers were blowing up, the wind increased to a level I have not experienced. My wife was driving, and we happened to be coming up to an overpass. We pulled under it and all hell broke loose. The truck started shaking, the wind noise increased to a roar, we couldn't see anything out of the windows, it looked like being in a carwash x1000. I had the kids get on the floor and put their pillows over their heads, my wife was driving so I had her lay on the seat and I layed over the top of her. Debri was hitting the truck, the impacts sounded like we were being hit by large rocks fired from a cannon. All this happened in the space of 30 seconds. And then it was over.
My truck... the windshield is cracked all over, there are numerous dents, the passenger side is ripped open like a sardine can, headlight busted out, a piece of metal of some kind ripped my front tire... but that can all be fixed. I'm just glad we we're OK.
We were stuck on I-70 from 8pm until 1am when the power lines that were down in front of and behind us were cleared and enough debri cleaned off the road that traffic could resume.
All in all, as far as life experiences go, one tornado is enough for me.
I'll post pics of the truck when I can.
The family and I were driving west on I-70, we were along side the St. Louis international airport. It was raining hard, then all of a sudden the streetlights all went out, transformers were blowing up, the wind increased to a level I have not experienced. My wife was driving, and we happened to be coming up to an overpass. We pulled under it and all hell broke loose. The truck started shaking, the wind noise increased to a roar, we couldn't see anything out of the windows, it looked like being in a carwash x1000. I had the kids get on the floor and put their pillows over their heads, my wife was driving so I had her lay on the seat and I layed over the top of her. Debri was hitting the truck, the impacts sounded like we were being hit by large rocks fired from a cannon. All this happened in the space of 30 seconds. And then it was over.
My truck... the windshield is cracked all over, there are numerous dents, the passenger side is ripped open like a sardine can, headlight busted out, a piece of metal of some kind ripped my front tire... but that can all be fixed. I'm just glad we we're OK.
We were stuck on I-70 from 8pm until 1am when the power lines that were down in front of and behind us were cleared and enough debri cleaned off the road that traffic could resume.
All in all, as far as life experiences go, one tornado is enough for me.
I'll post pics of the truck when I can.
Apr 25th 2011, 6:46 pm
#38
Diamond Geezer
Joined: Mar 2004
Location: New Jersey
Posts: 2,488
Re: Was in my first tornado last night.
Holy quick-thinking, ABY-man! Glad to hear you made it through that. If it happened to me, I'd lose about 50 pounds, all of it brown.
Apr 25th 2011, 9:01 pm
#39
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Joined: Jan 2006
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Re: Was in my first tornado last night.
Apr 25th 2011, 9:22 pm
#40
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Re: Was in my first tornado last night.
Apr 25th 2011, 10:27 pm
#41
Forum Regular
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 50
Re: Was in my first tornado last night.
Glad you and your family are all ok. We're just across the way near Alton, IL and heard the sirens blaring all over town on Friday night. We lucked out where we are, but the photos of the airport and nearby Granite City are awful.
Apr 25th 2011, 11:15 pm
#42
Unmitigated Gall
Thread Starter
Joined: Dec 2006
Location: it's still too dark to tell
Posts: 16,162
Re: Was in my first tornado last night.
A few pics...
Me about to change the tire. That strip of metal put a slice in it. Sidewall, of course.
Looking East on I-70 from under the FeeFee overpass. You can see the power lines down just in front of that truck.
Same thing. This is where we sat for 6hrs until the wires were removed (There were more down in front of us) and enough debris was cleaned up that they could resume traffic.
Top front corner of the driver's door.
Bedside got whacked. Apparently by something blue.
I don't how hard something has to hit to shear sheetmetal like that. It also broke my headlamp.
The rear driver's side door. The piece that's curled inwards is the front edge, I tried to "uncurl" it and couldn't even get it to move putting my (substantial) weight behind it. My 10yo daughter was on the other side of that door.
Me about to change the tire. That strip of metal put a slice in it. Sidewall, of course.
Looking East on I-70 from under the FeeFee overpass. You can see the power lines down just in front of that truck.
Same thing. This is where we sat for 6hrs until the wires were removed (There were more down in front of us) and enough debris was cleaned up that they could resume traffic.
Top front corner of the driver's door.
Bedside got whacked. Apparently by something blue.
I don't how hard something has to hit to shear sheetmetal like that. It also broke my headlamp.
The rear driver's side door. The piece that's curled inwards is the front edge, I tried to "uncurl" it and couldn't even get it to move putting my (substantial) weight behind it. My 10yo daughter was on the other side of that door.
Last edited by another bloody yank; Apr 26th 2011 at 12:59 am.
Apr 25th 2011, 11:18 pm
#43
Unmitigated Gall
Thread Starter
Joined: Dec 2006
Location: it's still too dark to tell
Posts: 16,162
Re: Was in my first tornado last night.
Trying to save $$ to move out of here and into a real house. I could spend some savings on a shelter, but it would take longer to save enough to move that way. It'd cost quite a bit. I really don't know.
Last edited by another bloody yank; Apr 25th 2011 at 11:21 pm.
Apr 25th 2011, 11:24 pm
#44
Sleepless In Chicago
Joined: Sep 2008
Location: Chicago.
Posts: 3,601
Re: Was in my first tornado last night.
You were really lucky to come out of that as well as you did! Sheet metal isn't the easiest of things to rip like that. Tornadoes can do some scary things with seemingly harmless objects!
Apr 25th 2011, 11:25 pm
#45
Lost in BE Cyberspace
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Re: Was in my first tornado last night.
