I grew up in Texas and remember frequent alerts for tornadoes. I've never seen one, but have seen the aftermath within a few miles of my childhood home on many occasions. Among many other events, I remember the story of a high rise building in Lubbock (yes, they have at least one) being twisted on its foundation by an F-5 tornado (250 mph winds!). From my own personal observations and reports over the years, I believed that the image below defined Tornado Alley:
Now that we're in Tennessee, a good 1000 miles to the east of this highlighted area, we are now seeing this diagram in the spring forecasts:
Odd, isn't it?
The good thing about those huge thunderstorms is the rain. Another relatively good thing is that tornadoes damage such a limited area - if you are a few blocks away, your home and you will survive. There are other types of disasters such as hurricanes or tsunamis that take out entire regions! Of course, the bad thing is the damage that can result from high winds, hail and of course, the limited protections you can use for a direct impact of the deadly tornadoes. I'm thankful for the warning systems and broadcasting tools that can help us prepare as best we can. I'm also thankful for God's graciousness in protecting us, not only on tornado alert days - but every moment!
Its scary isn't girl. I grow up with tons of tornado's and they were scary.
ReplyDeleteNow you know in south Texas we don't get much but sea gull poop. LOL
I have been in several tornadoes. They scare me, but not terrify. Now fires and earthquakes, they terrify me. Hurricanes probably would too. I guess growing up with lots of tornadoes it became the normal. Weird that it moved though?
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