Thursday, April 10, 2008
Tornadoes
Tornadoes. Cute things that take Dorothy into a world of colour and adventures.
Well, yes. And I've never experienced one, though right now I'm under a tornado warning. Here's part of the alert that we've just been issued...
IN ADDITION TO TORNADOES...DAMAGING WINDS OF 70 TO 80 MPH ARE LIKELY WITH THIS STORM.
THIS DEVELOPING TORNADO MAY BE OBSCURED BY RAIN. IF YOU WAIT UNTIL THE TORNADO IS VISIBLE BEFORE TAKING COVER IT WILL BE TOO LATE!
Blimey. It's 4am here, and the rain is pouring at 6 inches (18cm) an HOUR! That's a lot of rain. There's thunder, lightning, and for the last few minutes I've been listening to the tornado sirens, which sound a lot like air-raid sirens.
It would appear that the tornado itself won't be hitting where I am, but it's actually quite scary. As is the way that I was woken up...
My TV was on mute. However, the Emergency Alert System over-rides all channels, and the mute as well. The sound of the alert is a bit like an over-excited modem sound, and it cuts through pretty much everything. I was asleep and it woke me up pretty quickly!
The severe warning here offically expires at 4:15, though the local radio station (KRLD) tells me that I should ignore that. Nice!
We still have power, and would appear to have missed the worst. I'll try to take some photos of the carnage later.
Well, yes. And I've never experienced one, though right now I'm under a tornado warning. Here's part of the alert that we've just been issued...
IN ADDITION TO TORNADOES...DAMAGING WINDS OF 70 TO 80 MPH ARE LIKELY WITH THIS STORM.
THIS DEVELOPING TORNADO MAY BE OBSCURED BY RAIN. IF YOU WAIT UNTIL THE TORNADO IS VISIBLE BEFORE TAKING COVER IT WILL BE TOO LATE!
Blimey. It's 4am here, and the rain is pouring at 6 inches (18cm) an HOUR! That's a lot of rain. There's thunder, lightning, and for the last few minutes I've been listening to the tornado sirens, which sound a lot like air-raid sirens.
It would appear that the tornado itself won't be hitting where I am, but it's actually quite scary. As is the way that I was woken up...
My TV was on mute. However, the Emergency Alert System over-rides all channels, and the mute as well. The sound of the alert is a bit like an over-excited modem sound, and it cuts through pretty much everything. I was asleep and it woke me up pretty quickly!
The severe warning here offically expires at 4:15, though the local radio station (KRLD) tells me that I should ignore that. Nice!
We still have power, and would appear to have missed the worst. I'll try to take some photos of the carnage later.
