December 11, 2021 Tornadoes | Hacker News Reader

December 11, 2021 Tornadoes

weather.gov

47 pointsuticus15 comments

The town I grew up in got hit by a pretty bad one in 2002. I was in elementary school at the time and saw how it affected the kids who lost their homes or their folks’ place of business.

During tornado warnings we’d be taken in the basements beneath the schools for shelter. I remember kids who had trauma from the experience having mental breaks and screaming and crying down there while the sirens blared. Poor kids :( Most of the kids handled it better through middle school but I remember a few still having problems with it in high school

Tomorrow Iowa is under threat for severe weather including tornadoes and a high of around 70. This would be the record high for the month of December, and there have only been 4 tornadoes in Iowa in December since 1975.

> There have only been 4 tornadoes in December since 1975.

In Iowa?

Yes, edited.

What's impressive to me is that you said tomorrow. Even for this most recent string of storms, the forecast was also a day in advance for tornadic activity. I used to joke about hurricanes at least giving a week's notice it was coming where tornados are the friends that just drop by with no notice. That day's notice is HUGE in being able to prepare. Just knowing that you should be on alert before sirens go off is a big deal.

I have a lot of appreciation for those that work in this field.

Terrible loss of life, and the thought of these monster tornados striking at night is terrifying. Maybe it could have been worse though.

Most of the warnings issued were accurate, from what I've read [0]. I really hope we continue to invest in these short-term weather forecasts. Clearly there have been recent advances, and we can still do better.

[0] https://cliffmass.blogspot.com/2021/12/a-critical-gap-in-tor...

We're up to 15 mins of very precise and accurate advanced tracking now. They can zoom in and show you the specific area of rotation in the doppler images, and can accurately predict tornado from that data well in advance of visiual confirmation. They can also tell when the tornado is on the ground by the signature of the debris being thrown around. It is all very much improved from when I was a kid. Money in research in this field has not been wasted.

I wonder how much Twister, the movie, helped with there knowledge share.

I think some of the commentary / additional data said they were trying to raise awareness or something?

Twister wasn't written in a vacuum, just with a Hollywood twist. Storm chasers have definitely been helping improve science. Some are definitely reckless, but someone's got to shove that enema of science gear up that twister's backside!

There were warnings here where I live in SW Missouri, but that storm was really just building up when it passed by us. I stood out on our back porch and watched the sky for a few minutes after the alerts went off. It was an amazing light show with the lightning flashing constantly and illuminating the clouds.

I didn't see any funnel clouds but the wind was blasting and the roar of the thunder was more of a constant growling than big booms, which was strange because I could see the lightning strike but not hear the boom.

Does anyone know how common tornado sirens are in this area of the US?

Common in towns, although I can't speak for everywhere.

Iowa sees something like 40 a year:

https://datacentral.desmoinesregister.com/tornado-archive/

Mostly at trailer parks, at least what I can tell.

I live in a place outside of tornado alley (sort of) and we still have tornado sirens so I would imagine they definitely do

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