My very first very weird mini-tornado!!

[cousinlucky]

I experienced my first mini-tornado late this afternoon and it was very
weird to say the least. local story at link below:

No confirmation yet powerful storm that tore through Staten Island was tornado, meteorologist says | SILive.com

[oz]

Interesting... glad to hear there weren't many injuries/deaths. I've always thought it would be fun to be a storm chaser but never took the time to get into it. I'm guessing there aren't many of those in the NY area, but we have a number of them around here.

[cousinlucky]

Only one woman was killed when a tree fell on the car she was in. It is being called a miracle that only one person was killed because the events happened around 5:30pm when traffic was very heavy.

A tornado or an earthquake is not a usual New York happening so we are
totally unprepared if and when they occur.

Someone placed a filming of this tornado on you tube.

[Rubberman]

When my wife was in graduate school we were volunteers on the county Civil Defense rescue squad (I got my EMT and DOT rescue tech certifications from that) in central Illinois. We had taken our daughter's Montesori teacher out to dinner one night and had just dropped her off back at her appartment. It was storming, and when we got out to our old Dodge van it was raining VERY hard. We got into the van, and suddenly it became VERY quiet, the rain dropped off, and our ears started popping from a pressure drop. "Hit the floor everyone!" I yelled (or something like that). The van started rocking, the wind picked up to an incredible force, souding like a freight train passing right overhead! Then, something broke out one of the rear windows of the van. After a bit, it quieted down and we slowly got up off the floor of the van. As my eyes panned upward first I saw cars in the lot scattered like 10-pins, one upside down on top of another and many looking like pincushions with construction lumber sticking out of them. In the bottom of the swimming pool, behind an 8 ft. chain link fence was a Volkswagen. As my eyes continued panning upward, I noticed being able to see the sky through the top floor windows of the building directly ahead!

I had my EMT kit in the van with us. Needless to say, we were the first responders on site... We canvassed the area for injuries - mostly just minor cuts and bruises. When the on-duty rescue crew showed up (we were off call that day), I made my report and we went home, leaving the followup to our colleagues.

Needless to say, that is as near to the "up close and personal" view of a tornado that I ever want to experience!

[Dapper Dan]

I'm glad you made it through okay cousinlucky and am also glad there wasn't more damage and death than there could have been.

We had a tornado in April of 2009 that went right through the center of town... an F2. Luckily no one was killed or injured but it blew the skylight off my building and rained inside my computer room making it necessary for me to buy a new monitor.

Many said it was a really powerful storm but we old timers around here just shook our heads. We remember the gargantuan F4 that came through here on March 31st, 1973 that made the last one seem like a tempest in a teapot. In the '73 tornado, seven people were killed including a close fried of mine.

Someone posted a YouTube video that was made the day after. I'm glad they did but watching it brings back a lot of horrible memories for those of us who lived through it.

[cousinlucky]

I was very fortunate that I was not outside when the mini-tornado went through my neighborhood!! Along with the wind and the rain I heard lots of people screaming outside at the height of the storm.

A Tornado hits and leaves very quickly. It has been a record year for heat in New York City along with a lack of summer rain; I wonder what this winter is going to be like!!

My prayers go out to folks living where these storms happen a lot!!

[Dapper Dan]

cousinlucky, I don't know if it is the case everywhere, but a way to know if we are going to have tornado type weather around here is by the look of the atmosphere. Of course, you cannot see it at night but when looking outside during the day, the sky will have a greenish hazy look if tornado weather is imminent. Several of us have noticed this.

Luckily we have computers and radar images from the National Weather Service as well. When looking at the radar images, if you see a very concentrated ball of red coming your way... take cover!

[Rubberman]

Those of us who grew up in one of the "tornado alley" areas of the midwest know what that green tint to a nasty thundercloud means. That's when we usually head for shelter! Unfortunately, you can't see that color at night... I've seen my share of funnel clouds over the years - usually from a safe distance. That one I described in my other posting is the only time I was quite so "up close and personal", and I didn't even see it coming! It was night, dark, and we could only feel it! I suppose its like that bullet in battle. If you hear it, you are alive. In the case of a tornado, I think it's "if you can see it, you are alive"... I can say this for sure, that if you are in the center of hearing it, but not seeing it, you tend to bend over and kiss what/whoever goodby! And then thank whatever powers-that-be when you realize that it is over and you are still there to appreciate that fact. My wife, daughter, and I still talk occasionally about that night, and shudder.

[rokytnji]

Living in Pecos Tx we have been fortunate so far. The town of Zaragosa (some miles from here) was totally destroyed/obliterated a some years back. We get f4s out here.
YouTube - Saragosa Tornado - 3 Months Later

I get real bad storms at my ranch in Esperaza Tx which sits in a bowl surrounded by Mountains.
See a lot of twisters there.


Right now they are staying up north of here
TornadoVideos.Net | Tornado Watch Issued for parts of TX/OK/AR, Storm Chasers Premieres on October 13th!

where my younger brother lives in Oklahoma. He gets f5s.
YouTube - Inside the Tornado

[cousinlucky]

I can not imagine living where a Tornado is a common occurrence, Roky!!