What's your weather right now? 2024 Edition

[caseydog]

We had another tornado warning. We hadn't fully unpacked our emergency stuff, so we hauled it downstairs again. Spent a half hour listening to the weather radio telling us where the tornadoes are and the direction they are going. Watched the radar on my phone. We had two emergency broadcasts pop up on our phones. We made it through just fine and nothing severe here. Just more rain.

I'm in Denver right now, but back home in North Texas, tornadoes really went wild last night. The worst one was in Valley View, Texas. That one was about fifty miles north of my house, near the TX/OK border.

Seven people killed, and 100+ injured.

At least 7 dead, 100 injured in North Texas tornado outbreak

At least 7 people are dead and 100 are injured after several tornadoes in Cooke, Collin and Denton counties on Saturday night.

www.fox4news.com

The closest one was about 14 miles North of my house, in Celina. Just property damage, no casualties.

CD

 

[Meryl]

I'm in Denver right now, but back home in North Texas, tornadoes really went wild last night. The worst one was in Valley View, Texas. That one was about fifty miles north of my house, near the TX/OK border.

Seven people killed, and 100+ injured.

At least 7 dead, 100 injured in North Texas tornado outbreak

At least 7 people are dead and 100 are injured after several tornadoes in Cooke, Collin and Denton counties on Saturday night.

www.fox4news.com

The closest one was about 14 miles North of my house, in Celina. Just property damage, no casualties.

CD

Very sorry to hear about this. I was just reading about it this morning. You do get these tornadoes quite often.

 

[caseydog]

Very sorry to hear about this. I was just reading about it this morning. You do get these tornadoes quite often.

Texas has, on average, about 150 tornadoes per year. The area that gets the most is along the Texas/Oklahoma border, which is where last night's tornadoes hit. Oklahoma gets a lot of tornadoes, too, but being a smaller state, the total number is smaller. Texas gets the most tornadoes in the US because it of its size.

They are not all deadly. Most do property damage and some minor to moderate injuries. Seven deaths in one evening is not normal. It is much more common to have one that tears some roofs off of houses, tosses some cars around, and levels some trees without anyone getting hurt.

I have a friend who lives near the tornado that crossed Lake Ray Roberts and tore up that marina full of boats last night. I called him yesterday, and he called me back about an hour ago. His ranch has a lot of trees that were damaged or destroyed, but his home and other structures are fine. That's more typical of tornadoes here.

CD

 

[dragnlaw]

My sister and family live in Norman, OK. Haven't heard from her but she is in Florida at the moment.

 

[caseydog]

My sister and family live in Norman, OK. Haven't heard from her but she is in Florida at the moment.

No tornadoes near Norman/OKC this round.

CD

 

[dragnlaw]

I don't know when or how classification starts, but when I looked at your weather down there, it still did significant damage. Can't find the site I originally saw but the following is what came up next at another site.

"Severe storms moved across the Texas Panhandle and Oklahoma on Sunday night. The storm produced high winds and an EF-2 tornado hit near Norman, Oklahoma. Homes, businesses, and schools were damaged in the third largest city in the state about 20 miles south of Oklahoma City. "

 

[caseydog]

I don't know when or how classification starts, but when I looked at your weather down there, it still did significant damage. Can't find the site I originally saw but the following is what came up next at another site.

"Severe storms moved across the Texas Panhandle and Oklahoma on Sunday night. The storm produced high winds and an EF-2 tornado hit near Norman, Oklahoma. Homes, businesses, and schools were damaged in the third largest city in the state about 20 miles south of Oklahoma City. "

I hadn't seen the reports on Sunday's tornadoes, yet. North Texas got hit Saturday night.

The last few weeks have been crazy with tornadoes all over the Central US. It seems every day there are new reports of tornadoes somewhere, with some of them very severe.

BTW, Canada has also been using the Enhanced Fujita scale since 2013. Here is what that scale looks like...

The one in Celina, about 15 miles North of my home has beed rated a strong EF-3, with maximum winds of around 165 mph (265 kph).

CD

 

[caseydog]

Well, I just checked the Dallas TV station online, and it looks like we are getting another round of severe storms. No tornadoes at this point, but a lot of large hail.

Glad my car is safely tucked away in the garage.

CD

 

[taxlady]

I hadn't seen the reports on Sunday's tornadoes, yet. North Texas got hit Saturday night.

The last few weeks have been crazy with tornadoes all over the Central US. It seems every day there are new reports of tornadoes somewhere, with some of them very severe.

BTW, Canada has also been using the Enhanced Fujita scale since 2013. Here is what that scale looks like...

View attachment 69374

The one in Celina, about 15 miles North of my home has beed rated a strong EF-3, with maximum winds of around 165 mph (265 kph).

CD

Yeah, we use the same scale for tornadoes here, but we don't get as many or as severe tornadoes as the US does, even though we are number 2 worldwide. From Wikipedia:

The most common intensities for tornadoes in Canada range between an EF0 to EF2 (F0 to F2) and usually result in minor structural damage to barns, wood fences, roof shingles, uprooted or snapped tree limbs and downed power lines. Tornadoes rated at an EF3 to EF4 (F3 to F4) have occurred in Canada, but are significantly rarer. Canada has only ever seen one EF5 (F5) tornado, which occurred in Elie, Manitoba.

Apparently we get less damage in part because the houses tend to be built stronger on account of the cold.

 

[taxlady]

So, @dragnlaw a tornado was spotted near Rigaud this afternoon. I'm not sure if it touched down. Of course there was one, since I just wrote that we don't get that many tornadoes here.

 

[GotGarlic]

We've had thunderstorms on and off since about 11 am and we're under a tornado watch until 11 pm tonight. I can hear thunder right now, but it's not raining at the moment.

 

[dragnlaw]

On the way to the lake one year, (Lac Gagnon - Duhamel, QC) couldn't believe my eyes when driving past several barns completely collapsed and a huge warehouse flattened. Heard later it was a tornado that just suddenly appeared touched down (don't know for how long) and then suddenly disappeared.

taxy - GADS! Rigaud! no, no, nnooo! My son just moved (in the fall) into the rebuilt house after the horrid fire from the year before. He just doesn't need that!

 

[taxlady]

On the way to the lake one year, (Lac Gagnon - Duhamel, QC) couldn't believe my eyes when driving past several barns completely collapsed and a huge warehouse flattened. Heard later it was a tornado that just suddenly appeared touched down (don't know for how long) and then suddenly disappeared.

taxy - GADS! Rigaud! no, no, nnooo! My son just moved (in the fall) into the rebuilt house after the horrid fire from the year before. He just doesn't need that!

I guess you better call and him and find out about it. Sending positive vibes.

 

[Kathleen]

I don't mind storms until the wind starts kicking up. Very high winds set me on edge.

 

[dragnlaw]

I like windy storms... unless I had to move the horses - another story completely! There's an expression in the horse world, "got the wind up their tail" and there's never been a truer one!
Windy Storms at the lake were great! You could see them travel down the lake. Of course, I wasn't standing outside,

 

[caseydog]

Apparently we get less damage in part because the houses tend to be built stronger on account of the cold.

I'm having a hard time buying that. It gets really cold there in the winter up there, but where I live, it is not unusual to experience 50-plus days over 100F/38C every year -- in 2023, we had 55 consecutive days over 100, including a handful of days over 110F/44C. Two opposite extremes that require the same level of construction.

Have you watched the Canadian show Holmes on Homes? Canadian builders are just as capable of building crap as American builders. Houses here are built as well as any house of the same age and price range as a house built in Canada.

Now, in some parts of the US, including Texas, mobile homes are a common way for lower income, mostly rural people to have affordable housing. This things can be destroyed by a really weak tornado, and tornadoes seem to have a way of finding them in disproportionate numbers. They even have the nickname here of "tornado magnets." I know Canada has them, too.

CD

 

[caseydog]

You could see them travel down the lake. Of course, I wasn't standing outside,

At our lake house, storms would pop up out of nowhere on beautiful summer days. The lake was 55 miles long, and 20 miles wide. On a few occasions I had the boat out with a half dozen friends, and one of these things would pop up. I'd make a beeline for the marina, and most of the time, I beat the storm. But a few times, the storms were too fast.

When you are in a strong storm on a big lake, and you have six foot swells, you can't just stop and wait it out. The boat will get swamped, and sink. You have to move forward, into the wind. Driving the boat, you can't look through windshield, because you won't see anything. I had to stand up to drive the boat. That was a real beating. Fortunately, I knew that lake like the back of my hand. People would ask after we got to the marina, "How did you do that?" Honestly, I couldn't really explain it. My ex wife would say, "He's Toucan Sam, he follows his nose."

Some of my friends never wanted to go out on a boat again.

Of course, a lot of inexperienced boaters would stop to wait out the storm. That's why there are many very expensive boats on the bottom of Lake Livingston.

CD

 

[dragnlaw]

Yeah, I've driven a boat thru a storm, not funny and do not really want to do it again. My children were with me, two thought it great, two were white around the gills - matched my own green gills. But you are right - face into the wind, only way.

 

[taxlady]

I'm having a hard time buying that. It gets really cold there in the winter up there, but where I live, it is not unusual to experience 50-plus days over 100F/38C every year -- in 2023, we had 55 consecutive days over 100, including a handful of days over 110F/44C. Two opposite extremes that require the same level of construction.

Have you watched the Canadian show Holmes on Homes? Canadian builders are just as capable of building crap as American builders. Houses here are built as well as any house of the same age and price range as a house built in Canada.

Now, in some parts of the US, including Texas, mobile homes are a common way for lower income, mostly rural people to have affordable housing. This things can be destroyed by a really weak tornado, and tornadoes seem to have a way of finding them in disproportionate numbers. They even have the nickname here of "tornado magnets." I know Canada has them, too.

CD

Sure, I have seen Holmes on Homes. Of course we have some crappy builders here too. I just quoted Wikipedia about the heftier construction and long, cold winters. I still think it could be a factor. And of course, there are parts of the US that tend to have heftier construction too. It was a broad generalization. Does not apply in all circumstances.

 

[dragnlaw]

We don't have a lot of mobile homes as permanent residences. Mostly summer cottages are mobile homes. Not saying there aren't any, - just never seen one.