Remember...ALL Tornado Warnings Are Important

Reason number one as to why I've been a little distracted this Monday morning...

Having lived and worked in the Joplin, Missouri area for about seven years before venturing into the Upstate, Sunday's destructive tornado was one that hit close to home for me.  Several friends have been either directly affected or have had friends or family who have been.  A house I almost bought in 2001...I ended up here instead...I think is no longer there. 

Two major things I want to mention concerning this storm and the Alabama/Mississippi/Tennessee tornado outbreak from April...and how they pertain to us here.

First...I think everyone has been overwhelmed by the shear size and strength of these tornadoes.  Unfortunately, the only thing you can do to stay safe from these is to either not be in the path...or to be in a storm shelter or basement.  As I mentioned in my previous blog entry, these large storms are relatively rare...and as far as we are concerned here, 99% of our tornadoes will be much, much weaker than this, and normal preparations should suffice.

Second...what really struck me is that this went from barely a tornado to a very large tornado in a matter of a couple of minutes.  Or less.  A tornado warning was out for this storm soon enough to give 20-25 minutes of advance warning, even though there had been no tornado reported on the ground previously...just funnel clouds and a radar-indicated circulation in the storm.  Until the storm was just west of Joplin.

This is a reminder for all of us here...the overwhelming majority of our tornado warnings here are issued before there are any tornadoes sighted.  They are issued because the storms show the rotation that can cause tornadoes to develop at a moment's notice.  And to wait and not issue a warning until after a tornado touches down would mean that some people would get NO warning.  It's VERY important to treat all tornado warnings the same...and that means to take cover if you are in the storm's path.  What may be a "not much is happening now" situation could become a very dangerous one in a matter of seconds; you wouldn't want to be unprepared and have that transition occur right over your head.

And always be "weather aware"...if you know strong storms are a possibility or are moving in, stay informed so that you are never caught off-guard.