#tornado awareness

[russell-crowe]

i tried to make a more sentimental post but as someone with the weather (and by extension space weather) as my special interest i am so so so so happy seeing all the posts from people who got to experience this rare solar storm <3 it makes me so happy when people get to witness how beautiful (space) weather can be!!!

[thelastspeecher]

eregyrn-falls replied to your post: “I've been watching a lot of tornado related...”

tornadoes are something that terrified me as a little kid, no doubt due to television. (i can remember a nightmare from early childhood about a tornado.) i grew up in eastern PA, where at the time we didn't have any. so it was the IDEA of them that terrified me. honestly, it still does. i would very very VERY much prefer never to live in a place that gets them with any regularity.

​i realize they're old hat for you, and that's true for anyone who lives with a natural phenomenon. you come to respect it, rather than be terrified of it. but for me, i can't get past the suddenness of them. the fact that they can strike in the middle of the night when you might have almost no warning at all. while they aren't completely unpredictable (obviously there are observable weather fronts and stuff), to me, they feel that way.

the natural disasters that i can deal with are hurricanes, and blizzards. both of those are things you see coming for DAYS. you can get out ahead of them. you can take steps to protect your house and your pets and yourself. (i mean, both of those in theory, assuming you have the means and the financial situation.) earthquakes and tornadoes are too sudden for me and that's why they scare me.

oh you're not the only one who's had a tornado nightmare! one of the worst nightmares I've had in my entire life was a tornado nightmare!

I think that what allows me to continue living in a tornado-prone area despite my general anxiety over like, idk, life, is two things: 1) tornado predictions give a crazy amount of warning nowadays, and 2) I live in a tornado-prone area, I've had a few close calls, but it's not like I live in Moore, Oklahoma lmao.

most tornado warnings aren't even that a tornado has been spotted by someone or confirmed by radar. most of them are "radar indicated rotation", meaning that a thunderstorm with a rotating cloud has been detected on radar. which doesn't mean tornado. it does mean a storm capable of a tornado and more likely to produce one, but it doesn't mean a tornado. or even a funnel cloud!

very VERY rarely are people caught off guard by a tornado anymore. FEMA says the average amount of time between a tornado warning being issued and the tornado or storm striking the area is 10 to 15 minutes. plenty of time to grab your emergency kit and go to your safe place. we have tornado watches if the weather is favorable and often know days in advance whether we'll be hit by weather conducive for tornadogenesis.

and even when we don't know in advance, like I said, we still have plenty of warning! about a week ago, I woke up to sirens, then ten minutes later, heard them again. which I knew likely meant a tornado warning had been issued (the first time, I checked my phone and saw it was severe thunderstorm and just rolled over to sleep some more lol). and before I could check, my phone went off, blaring the same alarm as an Amber Alert. which I knew 100% meant tornado warning. and it was. my roommate and I had time to use the bathroom, grab the dogs and emergency bag, and even take the dogs outside really quick to pee before the storm hit us! and we didn't have a tornado watch in effect. there weren't supposed to be conditions for tornadoes that morning.

and like I said, I don't live in Moore. if I did, I wouldn't even DREAM of living somewhere without a basement. as it is, I fucking hate that my best option is a hallway on the first floor. we've gotten tornadoes before. some have gotten close to me. one literally lifted over a building I was in. but thankfully, we're not as prone as other locations in my state; the storms tend to lose some steam by the time they reach here. and the tornadoes that do spawn tend to be lower level, again, because of the storms losing steam by the time they get here.

I know a lot about the science of tornadoes and grew up in Tornado Alley (or adjacent, depending on what graphic you use), so I know that our current methods are so flipping good at protecting us. we DO have warning. not as much as for a hurricane, but generally speaking, enough to, like I said, use the bathroom and grab the pets. earthquakes...yeah those don't typically give much warning, but that's something scientists are working on. buildings in earthquake-prone areas are built to withstand them (much like many buildings in tornado-prone areas are built to withstand severe storms), and people grow up learning what to do in an earthquake. (which is find a table to hide under, essentially, btw.)

no, what scares ME the most are wildfires.

you're flat-out fucked over by those.

[nexus-nebulae]

love watching weather science videos but like. why am i 1000x more interested in tornadoes over hurricanes. they're both spinning air

[tellmegoodbye]

brooo I can't watch 911 because abc has hurricane coverage up instead

[autumndragons]

this is just an idle thought that i dont have the energy to articulate further, at least not right now, but man, seeing people accuse that tornado video of being AI just feels... indicative of something, i guess?

i feel like the worst possible time for genAI to rise to the prominence it did is right after a globally isolating pandemic that also caused an immense push into conspiracy thought for a huge number of people. a massively traumatizing event that affected the entire planet, that was filled with information coming in extremely quickly and statements being made and redacted at the drop of a hat, something that shook the entire foundation of many parts of life for people. something that was also reacted to with such cruelty by so so many people and still continues to be.

and then suddenly we have the ability to just artificially generate any image, any sound, any audio, any voice saying anything we want. on demand. often for free.

and people are looking at video footage of human beings risking their lives to obtain real, actual information for the purpose of saving other lives, and they go "this looks fake, i bet its AI".

[ninjacat1515]

Summer when I was a kid: 😎🥳🤩

Summer now: THERE'S A FIRE THERE'S A FUCKING FIRE ALWAYS ANYTIME EVERYWHERE

[peachdoxie]

Several tornadoes touched down in my mom's town and knocked down some trees, so she's unsure if she can get home. It also knocked the electricity out which means no A/C and in the North Carolina summer that's bad. While my mom can at least get out of her house, that doesn't help her cats or the birds. Here's hoping the electricity gets fixed quickly.

My grandparents may have also lost electricity which is yikes.

[the-starsong-atelier]

Torando watch in my area ya :D

[wilmeet]

Hhhhh powers out and not coming back on according my power company "could be a couple days"

RAHHHHH 🦅🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🦅🦅🦅⛈️🌩⛈️⚡️⚡️🌪🌪

(im mad rn i have an assignment literally due tomorrow that i need my laptop for which is almost dead and has no internet)

[russell-crowe]

i consider tornadoes to be a pretty legitimate risk when it comes to natural disasters in europe, but people tend to not have much of a grasp on them occurring outside of tornado alley in the usa. i follow this guy for a couple years now and he is a huge recommendation to follow if you are interested in tornadoes. i am grateful that he did such a well-researched video on tornadoes in europe, and i am also kinda glad that the areas he marked as most active, are the same areas i personally have considered to be remarkably active compared to others. definitely worth a watch!

[echthr0s]

I'm always thinkin about why my experience of fear* seems to be like... not common? like I'm never just. randomly afraid of something. there's always a very specific throughline. like for a while I was intensely afraid of death and what a coincidence that that was around the time that I would have like. entirely awakened as Myself, the walk-in whose previous death(s) were of some relevance (to say nothing of the fact that I think fear is a particularly potent place to start when looking to develop love. it's an alchemical process. I'm not saying that this is a common thing to experience. but I am saying that is exactly what *I* experienced and understanding that this happened this way for this reason is of some importance to me)

I can recognise that a thing is dangerous or whatever but that doesn't mean I, personally, will have the bodily feeling of fear to go along with it. this is the same thing with horror movies, I can't be afraid of something happening in a movie. I get why people are! that's literally three-quarters of the point of horror movies in the first place. tapping into that feeling of fear. it's neat how that works! but I guess that's just not the kind of wiring I got installed

conversely, I could probably try to describe to you something that has made me feel fear, but it would make no sense to you. bc it's like triggers in that way -- very specific to my experience and also very dependent on context. idk

--

*I'm specifically talking about like... more abstract feelings of fear here. not the kind you would experience if literally confronted with a scary thing. like if a grizzly bear materialised in front of me I'm fucking shitting myself like any other person who doesn't want to be eaten by a goddamn bear. but if you asked me if I'm scared of bears and there's no immediate threat of a bear eating my face off, no, I'm not scared of bears. the concept of a bear is just that. a concept

[arctic-hands]

I swear to god if this storm spawns a tornado I'm cussing out god

[mournthestarsandhope]

When your awake for too long and aren’t laying down the right way your teeth hurt, they ache and sometimes it hurts for a long time bc you can’t sleep and paired with the ache of your bones trying to drag you into the deepest depths of sleep and aching so much it hurts to lay flat on your back because your so so so tense is what it feels like to pine for someone.

It’s like loving a volatile ocean dark and deep and as your swimming up the rays of sunlight flicker and watching someone you want with no parameters as they get so wrapped up in something they forget to human and I just.

Push and pull flow and ebb my love for you is not the ocean it is the tsunami and the dead waves it’s not even romance it’s only you.

You exist in my orbit or I exist in yours, I’m gone for years and when I come back it’s the same.

We don’t miss each other, we simply are. You will always be mine when I return and I will always be yours, change of character change of wills or space or time will never stop me from knowing you.

Loved with tide flow and anchor stones and your a nebulae with dead stars and so haunting and I flow for you around rocks with great reflected breaks a river with a great big old stone dead coral and underwater heat vents and death and rebirth and burning.

I exist with you and I can breathe.

[and-claudias-world]

Severe Weather Go Bag Packing List

Hi friends!! I wanted to make this post to hopefully help others prepare for severe weather events.

If you live in the United States you may know that Tornado Season is coming up soon (it technically begins in April) but as seen in recent weeks, severe storms and tornadoes can happen outside of Tornado Season. This post is going to be about packing a go bag for severe weather.

A go bag is a bag (usually a backpack) that you pack BEFORE (read that again) a storm is predicted to hit your area. It has a few necessities you made need in the event that you are displaced for a couple of days. If your shelter is in side of your home you can go ahead and put it in your shelter once it’s packed so you don’t have to worry about grabbing it. If your shelter is outside of your home (like an underground storm cellar or you have to drive to your local storm shelter) you can either put the bag out in your shelter, by your front/back door or in the car to make it easier. I will also make a separate post about what to wear during a severe weather event and will like it HERE.

So first what bag should you get?

I personally just have a waterproof backpack I got from Amazon for like $15. I do not recommend using your school bag, but if that is the only option then as soon as you can empty it to prepare for the Storm. As I said you want this to be packed before the storm hits.

What to pack:

Small flashlight (if power goes out you’ll need light, or if power lines are down and it’s night time this will help as well, you don’t want to be waiting phone battery) Walmart has a good one that’s less than $2 near the camping equipment

Any important physical documents you have that are NOT saved digitally. You don’t want a ton of paper in your go bag but if you have certain documents that you NEED and do not have saved, try having a folder for them and put that in the bag. (I personally have a small one for my dog’s papers work as he is in the process of becoming an ESA and I can’t lose these papers)

Battery pack and wall charger. Chances are power will go out but if it doesn’t and you need to charge you phone it’s nice to have the option to plug into the wall. So try to have a battery back, cord and block for charging your phone. CHARGE THE BANK BEFORE THE STORM ARRIVES!!!

I personally drop my laptop into my bag as well just so I don’t loose it. It has all my info on it so I’d like to keep it safe.

A change of clothes. You may be displaced so having a change of clothes is always nice to have, at the very least drop a pair or two of underwear in your bag so you can at least change those if you are unable to get home. And when it comes to the type of clothes you bring, BRING PANTS!! It may be middle of summer but if you’re having to walk/dig through debris you do NOT want to be in shorts.

Water bottle. Either a plastic or refillable one. Make sure it has water in it before the storm.

Food, I personally just drop a few snacks that are filling (like granola bars) in my bag.

Comfort item. I personally have Storm anxiety. It’s normal. Hell I’m going into Meteorology and have storm anxiety. It’s okay to put a comfort item in your go bag. I have my teddy bear from when I was little in mine.

A beach towel. Don’t grab the thickest one you have. Just a thin one that doesn’t take up too much room will do just fine. In the event that you have to run out in the rain to get to your shelter, it’s nice to have one to dry you (or your dog off)

Medications. Any medication that you need (or anyone in your care) may need. You don’t want to be without it if something happens to your home.

I may add to this as I will be packing my bag tomorrow for some up coming storms. I hope this helps anyone who may see it 🖤

[iconsumeheadcanons]

WHY ARE PHONE CALLS SO FUCKING QUIET??? I HAVE MY PHONE AT FULL VOLUME EVERYTIME AND ITS RIGHT NEXT TO MY EAR AND I STILL Can't FUCKING HEAR THE PERSON I'm TALKING TO OR THE SHITTY ASS HOLD MUSIC I HAVE TO LISTEN TO FOR HALF AN HOUR EVERYDAY

[flower-studded-sake-dish]

somewhat related but i didn’t wanna just put all this in the tags - something that the NWS has been doing in the last couple years that’s really frustrated me is the Severe Thunderstorm Warnings with the ‘Tornado Possible’ tag. As with the above reblog I also live in an area that sees more tornadoes than any other in the world (the above tornado was three miles from my apartment!) and people see ‘Severe Thunderstorm Warning’ and just… continue about their day as normal. The ‘Tornado Possible’ tag will NOT get communicated to the public! What’s the point if not to increase safety and awareness! It seems like a reaction to people complaining about Tornado Warnings being issued for storms that don’t produce a tornado, which happens for a variety of reasons not the least of which being that it’s just impossible to have people on the ground looking at every storm. I just think it’s not a great solution to the problem of “people are complaining that they have to take shelter for storms that ended up not posing an immediate threat to their wellbeing.”

Without looking it up, when you first hear "Tornado Warning", what does that mean to you?