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TORNADOES in New England??? What the hell...? (Original Post) MADem Jul 2014 OP
They can and do occur almost anywhere . . . markpkessinger Jul 2014 #1
I wonder if they're occurring more often in areas that aren't prone to them? n/t Uncle Joe Jul 2014 #14
I think they consider a larger area now to be 'Tornado Alley' A Little Weird Jul 2014 #96
Thanks for the link, A Little Weird, this is a fascinating image. Uncle Joe Jul 2014 #97
Brooklyn a few years ago freaked me out! bettyellen Jul 2014 #2
Wow....the northeast is developing a tornado alley! nt MADem Jul 2014 #56
No kidding Dorian Gray Jul 2014 #102
"What the hell" is right. Stay safe. Louisiana1976 Jul 2014 #3
I'm OK--I'm well away from the worst of it. MADem Jul 2014 #24
and here I sit on Chappaquiddick Island... CTyankee Jul 2014 #34
Be careful; Arthur is headed your way!!! nt MADem Jul 2014 #60
watching msnbc this am....looks like we'll get lots of rain... CTyankee Jul 2014 #101
It's back down to cat 1, they are saying heavy MADem Jul 2014 #106
yikes- ferry ride does not seem fun in choppy seas Marrah_G Jul 2014 #114
yeah, my fast ferry catamaran ferry from Oak Bluffs on MV to Quonset, RI cancelled tonight both way CTyankee Jul 2014 #117
They can happen there. NutmegYankee Jul 2014 #4
actually tornadoes are not uncommon in New England cali Jul 2014 #5
I've lived in New England, off and on, for a long time. MADem Jul 2014 #7
Well, it's quite a front coming through. NutmegYankee Jul 2014 #16
This is not the weather of my childhood! nt MADem Jul 2014 #63
It is the weather of mine... NutmegYankee Jul 2014 #68
Yep....no wonder everything on TV these days is labeled "extreme!" nt MADem Jul 2014 #70
Oh, the "fun" has yet to begin. NutmegYankee Jul 2014 #71
Figures--as I approach my dotage, something to scare the it-shay outta me!!! nt MADem Jul 2014 #75
The next TWO decades will be quite something. Scientist's and climatologists and the IPCC ChisolmTrailDem Jul 2014 #112
well, I have. cali Jul 2014 #23
Yeah, but compare that to ... Tennessee, for example! MADem Jul 2014 #65
This is a very good point goldent Jul 2014 #61
Huge tornado in Worcester in the 50s. Many deaths. virgogal Jul 2014 #6
That was over half a century ago! MADem Jul 2014 #11
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_New_England_tornado_outbreak NutmegYankee Jul 2014 #18
Which is why we should only be seeing them every half century or so! MADem Jul 2014 #58
I lived in Connecticut for a few years in the late 70s and early 80s. amandabeech Jul 2014 #62
Ya just don't think of New England as a place where MADem Jul 2014 #66
Growing up in the Boston area, remember several tornado warning Fla Dem Jul 2014 #8
That was over a half century ago, though. MADem Jul 2014 #19
Yes rare, not like the mid west and southeast, but not unheard of. Take care and take cover. nt Fla Dem Jul 2014 #30
I am fine--they were targeted in southern NH and southern ME! MADem Jul 2014 #80
sure, they can happen in New England Skittles Jul 2014 #9
They're rare here... MADem Jul 2014 #17
I'd say climate change will eventually change that description Skittles Jul 2014 #26
I'd say you're right!!! nt MADem Jul 2014 #81
Calm down, the Republicans are saying it's a hoax derby378 Jul 2014 #10
Ha ha ha!! MADem Jul 2014 #13
Warnings are not uncommon. Those that actually occur are usually very small and travel for PoliticAverse Jul 2014 #12
I haven't seen this kind of frantic coverage. MADem Jul 2014 #15
What is NECN? NutmegYankee Jul 2014 #20
New England Cable News Agschmid Jul 2014 #29
The only cable option I have is Metrocrap, AKA Metrocast NutmegYankee Jul 2014 #48
It's an aggregator of local network sources. Handy to have if something is going on MADem Jul 2014 #84
If you get thunderstorms,you can get a tornado. Jenoch Jul 2014 #22
If they are shitting bricks, take it seriously Aerows Jul 2014 #28
The danger has passed, but thank you! MADem Jul 2014 #83
I'm glad you are okay Aerows Jul 2014 #85
I live in a frigging fortress! MADem Jul 2014 #86
Have fun, my friend Aerows Jul 2014 #89
I saw the rotation with my own eyes today. bunnies Jul 2014 #47
WOW--YOU stay safe!!!!!! nt MADem Jul 2014 #87
Stay safe! Aerows Jul 2014 #21
PA too - just got an Accuweather Tornado Warning on my phone for Northampton County PA MgtPA Jul 2014 #25
Not at all uncommon in PA nt Tree-Hugger Jul 2014 #33
WOW---they're everywhere, they're everywhere!!! nt MADem Jul 2014 #37
Get ready malaise Jul 2014 #27
The ones they were warning us about were in systems that MADem Jul 2014 #40
They are rare but not unheard of Marrah_G Jul 2014 #31
Welcome to Global Warming lovuian Jul 2014 #32
Yes, I think you're right. Boston is windier than Chicago; we MADem Jul 2014 #41
The US has the largest amount of tornadoes edhopper Jul 2014 #35
Do tell! I have no idea...! MADem Jul 2014 #36
Great Britain edhopper Jul 2014 #73
Who knew? And I used to live there, as well!!! nt MADem Jul 2014 #74
In 1998 we had what would have been a whistler162 Jul 2014 #38
That must have been terrifying! nt MADem Jul 2014 #45
Weird sound. Like tornadoes it sounded whistler162 Jul 2014 #57
I've been in earthquakes all over the world... MADem Jul 2014 #59
They happen in all 50 states. nt greytdemocrat Jul 2014 #39
I know some folks who live in Alabama who have been MADem Jul 2014 #43
I see waterspouts alot. greytdemocrat Jul 2014 #54
Wow--that would scare the shit outta me! nt MADem Jul 2014 #55
A palm tree... greytdemocrat Jul 2014 #67
I knew a sweet old lady who lived in Dade City...I would visit her every so often. MADem Jul 2014 #90
LOL!!! greytdemocrat Jul 2014 #103
In Canada too laundry_queen Jul 2014 #99
There have been some very severe tornadoes in Western Mass. SecularMotion Jul 2014 #42
The climate is most certainly changing... nt MADem Jul 2014 #44
Western Mass is a mini tornado alley Gormy Cuss Jul 2014 #49
I remember the 2011 outbreak. NutmegYankee Jul 2014 #50
I watched one form outside my work on the coast of NH today. bunnies Jul 2014 #46
Dayum!!!!!!! MADem Jul 2014 #92
Eastern Long Island>>> most often water spouts or systems moving in quickly onto shore from ocean KittyWampus Jul 2014 #51
glad you're OK, hope your family stays safe ! nt steve2470 Jul 2014 #52
When late day summer thunderstorms sweep down form Upstate New York.... ProudToBeBlueInRhody Jul 2014 #53
They were named after that tragedy a half century ago!!! MADem Jul 2014 #94
Well thanks for getting me to pay attention, MADem. sheshe2 Jul 2014 #64
There will be lashings of rain tonight, too!!! MADem Jul 2014 #107
Did you have them last night too?! sheshe2 Jul 2014 #108
Yes--the sky OPENED UP for a bit and it poured MADem Jul 2014 #109
Keep your head down and grab your bike helmet, and MerryBlooms Jul 2014 #69
What a BRILLIANT idea! MADem Jul 2014 #111
hurricanes mercuryblues Jul 2014 #72
Arthur is supposed to go thru Newfie and Nova Scotia. Manifestor_of_Light Jul 2014 #76
and Greenland, but by the time it gets to Greenland it will be simply a low pressure system nt steve2470 Jul 2014 #77
This message was self-deleted by its author Marrah_G Jul 2014 #78
This afternoon they said the Cape/Islands were in the Cone of Doom... MADem Jul 2014 #79
They've had them before laundry_queen Jul 2014 #100
No tornado, but Rumford, ME got shellacked last night by a microburst. bluedigger Jul 2014 #82
Wow, that happened last year, something very similar, in a town in Aroostook County, I think... MADem Jul 2014 #95
Actually there are a few pipi_k Jul 2014 #88
Compare that to TX, TN, AL, GA, MO, etc. MADem Jul 2014 #91
And it WILL get more severe up there, and over in Europe. kentauros Jul 2014 #98
You know what's relatively common, though... pipi_k Jul 2014 #118
Yeah, I guess the most recent "important" tornado in MA happened in your neck o'the woods. MADem Jul 2014 #120
Be safe. littlemissmartypants Jul 2014 #93
Not often but it does happen. freethought Jul 2014 #104
Bill Weld had designs on an ambassadorship! MADem Jul 2014 #105
Great Barrington, MA, 1995 Tanuki Jul 2014 #110
Huh Kber Jul 2014 #113
The danger has passed--he may have gotten very wet, though. MADem Jul 2014 #115
Are they pipi_k Jul 2014 #119
Not sure. They checked in after the storm. Kber Jul 2014 #121
Massachusetts averages 3 per year Quixote1818 Jul 2014 #116

markpkessinger

(8,381 posts)
1. They can and do occur almost anywhere . . .
Thu Jul 3, 2014, 04:40 PM
Jul 2014

. . . it's just that some places are much, much more prone to them.

A Little Weird

(1,754 posts)
96. I think they consider a larger area now to be 'Tornado Alley'
Fri Jul 4, 2014, 12:08 AM
Jul 2014

But they can happen anywhere. Still relatively rare in places like the Northeast but I also wonder if the frequency in those areas is increasing.

http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/weather/storms/tornadoes/story/2012-04-09/tornado-alley/54157872/1

Dorian Gray

(13,469 posts)
102. No kidding
Fri Jul 4, 2014, 06:44 AM
Jul 2014

I was 8 months pregnant and my husband and I got caught in that in our car (at Atlantic and Washington). One of the scariest moments ever. For two minutes we couldn't see anything... then trees down all around us.

MADem

(135,425 posts)
24. I'm OK--I'm well away from the worst of it.
Thu Jul 3, 2014, 05:06 PM
Jul 2014

I got some family under the gun; they've got a good basement though.

The worst of it seems to be over--now it's storms and rain, the warnings have expired for now, but they're saying that some of these storms coming in will give us two inches of rainfall per hour--Jeez! And tomorrow, they'll be moving south towards Beantown!

Ooops...I spoke too soon--here comes a "second core" of another storm!

I think this is going to be an interesting couple of days--I hope that stupid Hurricane Arthur heads out to sea and doesn't veer in towards us!

CTyankee

(63,771 posts)
34. and here I sit on Chappaquiddick Island...
Thu Jul 3, 2014, 05:42 PM
Jul 2014

I think by the time I leave saturday afternoon there won't be a problem...

have to take the little ferry from chappy to edgartown...then the catamaran fast ferry to Quonset point RI, a rough ride in the best weather...a roiled ocean won't be so great...lotsa people get sick as dogs...what fun, the perfect end to the week!

MADem

(135,425 posts)
106. It's back down to cat 1, they are saying heavy
Fri Jul 4, 2014, 12:41 PM
Jul 2014

rain, Cape and Islands, and a goodly amount of rain in eastern MA.

I lost my landline telephone last night. What's odd is I can still get online on the DSL line, but the broadband is out cold...! Who knows how long that will last--I do know that Verizon (what a bunch of surly bastards--we're talking rude!) won't be worrying about us until Monday, "maybe towards the evening."

This may be the end of the landline for me--who knows? I pay an obscene amount for it.

Marrah_G

(28,581 posts)
114. yikes- ferry ride does not seem fun in choppy seas
Fri Jul 4, 2014, 02:09 PM
Jul 2014

My parents are out in Mashpee on the Cape. They should be fine though...we've weathered a bunch of these and they aren't right on the water.

CTyankee

(63,771 posts)
117. yeah, my fast ferry catamaran ferry from Oak Bluffs on MV to Quonset, RI cancelled tonight both way
Fri Jul 4, 2014, 05:22 PM
Jul 2014

but OK for my return tomorrow at 3:15, but man, it goes out into the ocean and can be a really rough ride...you know things aren't good when they pass out barf bags on the ferry! I was hoping for quiet water this trip...no such luck,LOL.

 

cali

(114,904 posts)
5. actually tornadoes are not uncommon in New England
Thu Jul 3, 2014, 04:45 PM
Jul 2014

there are tornado warnings and sometimes tornadoes every year. I've been in one- about 25 years ago. I was at a friend's for dinner deep in the woods and boom, the wind came shrieking a huge tree came crashing through the roof and later we found out that a large swath of his sugar bush was destroyed.

MADem

(135,425 posts)
7. I've lived in New England, off and on, for a long time.
Thu Jul 3, 2014, 04:48 PM
Jul 2014

I spent a lot of time gone but a lot of time here, too.

I've NEVER seen this kind of coverage--it's like "Tornado Alley" flipping out on the television.

It's hailing in parts of NE now.

NutmegYankee

(16,178 posts)
16. Well, it's quite a front coming through.
Thu Jul 3, 2014, 04:58 PM
Jul 2014

But strong dangerous thunderstorms are not uncommon this time of year inland. We've had several small tornados in Conn. over the last few years.

 

ChisolmTrailDem

(9,463 posts)
112. The next TWO decades will be quite something. Scientist's and climatologists and the IPCC
Fri Jul 4, 2014, 01:35 PM
Jul 2014

have been shortening the length of time this plays out since the '70s. It used to be something we'll have to deal with in a couple of hundred years. Four decades later and they're now measuring the severe effects and tipping points in present terms and in 5-year and decadal time frames, not centuries.

 

cali

(114,904 posts)
23. well, I have.
Thu Jul 3, 2014, 05:06 PM
Jul 2014

I've lived in New England for over 50 years and though it's certainly not as common as in other parts of the country it's hardly unheard of.

http://www.tornadohistoryproject.com/tornado/Vermont

MADem

(135,425 posts)
65. Yeah, but compare that to ... Tennessee, for example!
Thu Jul 3, 2014, 07:13 PM
Jul 2014
http://www.tornadohistoryproject.com/tornado/Tennessee/map

These things just aren't a regular part of our NE scene...or they haven't been, up to recent, climate-changey, years.

goldent

(1,582 posts)
61. This is a very good point
Thu Jul 3, 2014, 07:08 PM
Jul 2014

I think the intense coverage of news is changing peoples perceptions of events.

MADem

(135,425 posts)
11. That was over half a century ago!
Thu Jul 3, 2014, 04:51 PM
Jul 2014

Now, the question we have to ask ourselves, is this--Is this the new normal, or is this a twice-a-century occurrence?

The shit is hitting the fan just northwest of Worcester now.

Boston and CT are OK until ten PM, so they are saying--good thing because they're doing the "Cereal That's Shot From Guns" concert on the Esplanade this evening (moved up a day due to the hurricane/tropical storm headed this way).

MADem

(135,425 posts)
58. Which is why we should only be seeing them every half century or so!
Thu Jul 3, 2014, 07:05 PM
Jul 2014

But it seems we're seeing them more and more up this way.

 

amandabeech

(9,893 posts)
62. I lived in Connecticut for a few years in the late 70s and early 80s.
Thu Jul 3, 2014, 07:09 PM
Jul 2014

I remember tornadoes touching down every so often in the Hartford area. They were small--probably F0 or F1, which generally don't cause much damage.

Then I moved to Texas. Amazingly strong thunderstorms and big tornadoes all spring and summer. I greatly preferred Connecticut.




MADem

(135,425 posts)
66. Ya just don't think of New England as a place where
Thu Jul 3, 2014, 07:19 PM
Jul 2014

you're screaming Auntie Em, Auntie Em as the house hurtles through the clouds!

Fla Dem

(23,352 posts)
8. Growing up in the Boston area, remember several tornado warning
Thu Jul 3, 2014, 04:49 PM
Jul 2014

in fact the Worcester Ma tornado in 1953 was very damaging.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1953_Worcester_tornado

"The 1953 Worcester tornado was an extremely powerful tornado that struck the city and surrounding area of Worcester, Massachusetts on June 9, 1953. It was part of the Flint–Worcester tornado outbreak sequence, which occurred over a three-day period from June 6—9, 1953. The storm stayed on the ground for nearly 90 minutes, traveling 48 miles across Central Massachusetts. In total, 94 people were killed, making it the 21st deadliest tornado in the history of the United States."


I worked in the Pru Tower for many years, and remember a tornado warning just northwest of Boston, we all ran to the windows to see if we could see it coming. Thankfully it never developed.

MADem

(135,425 posts)
19. That was over a half century ago, though.
Thu Jul 3, 2014, 05:00 PM
Jul 2014

They're rare here.

Tornadoes today...and a hurricane (unrelated to these tornadoes) heading our way tomorrow.

MADem

(135,425 posts)
80. I am fine--they were targeted in southern NH and southern ME!
Thu Jul 3, 2014, 08:36 PM
Jul 2014

I'm well south of that, I was just...shocked!

Skittles

(152,967 posts)
9. sure, they can happen in New England
Thu Jul 3, 2014, 04:50 PM
Jul 2014

they can happen anywhere in America; you're just surprised because you're not in Tornado Alley

MADem

(135,425 posts)
17. They're rare here...
Thu Jul 3, 2014, 04:59 PM
Jul 2014

From a link elsewhere in the thread:

Tornadoes are fairly uncommon in the US region of New England. Fewer tornadoes are recorded here than anywhere else east of the Rocky Mountains.

derby378

(30,252 posts)
10. Calm down, the Republicans are saying it's a hoax
Thu Jul 3, 2014, 04:50 PM
Jul 2014

Since man-made global climate change doesn't exist, anyway...

MADem

(135,425 posts)
13. Ha ha ha!!
Thu Jul 3, 2014, 04:55 PM
Jul 2014

I shouldn't be laughing but that was funny.

These are, apparently, a "completely different system" than the hurricane heading our way, per my tee vee!

I guess I will take the advice of our fearless overlords.... Nothing to see here, citizen...watch a reality show!! Stop worrying!!!

PoliticAverse

(26,366 posts)
12. Warnings are not uncommon. Those that actually occur are usually very small and travel for
Thu Jul 3, 2014, 04:54 PM
Jul 2014

a short distance (100 feet or so) before dissipating.

Note though that "two of the ten most destructive tornadoes in US history occurred in this region."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tornadoes_in_New_England


MADem

(135,425 posts)
15. I haven't seen this kind of frantic coverage.
Thu Jul 3, 2014, 04:57 PM
Jul 2014

They're shitting bricks over at NECN. The maps are red and yellow with zillions of lightning strikes!!!!

And that link says what I had a sense of:

Tornadoes are fairly uncommon in the US region of New England. Fewer tornadoes are recorded here than anywhere else east of the Rocky Mountains.

NutmegYankee

(16,178 posts)
48. The only cable option I have is Metrocrap, AKA Metrocast
Thu Jul 3, 2014, 06:26 PM
Jul 2014

Or I can get U verse TV. I opted for U verse for internet and put up a clear stream 4 HD antenna for TV.

MADem

(135,425 posts)
84. It's an aggregator of local network sources. Handy to have if something is going on
Thu Jul 3, 2014, 08:52 PM
Jul 2014

up in Bangor or down in Providence--they'll feed in to NECN and widen the coverage area very quickly.

Of course, it's associated w/cable TV, but there ya go...

 

Jenoch

(7,720 posts)
22. If you get thunderstorms,you can get a tornado.
Thu Jul 3, 2014, 05:05 PM
Jul 2014

Thunderstorms occur without tornados, but tornados never occur without thunderstorms.

 

Aerows

(39,961 posts)
28. If they are shitting bricks, take it seriously
Thu Jul 3, 2014, 05:08 PM
Jul 2014

You have Arthur lingering around and that is going to cause disturbances. Please take advice to stay indoors and out of harms way, MADem. We might disagree on occasion but you are too important around here to be blown away!

MADem

(135,425 posts)
83. The danger has passed, but thank you!
Thu Jul 3, 2014, 08:50 PM
Jul 2014

We're supposed to get more weather right after the concert on the Esplanade ends (Deval Patrick just did a nice reading, now they're doing a West Side Story medley)--they pushed it all up a day earlier. Crowds are lighter than usual but very enthusiasic nonetheless!

Can't wait for the 1812 (aka "The Cereal That's Shot From Guns!&quot .

MADem

(135,425 posts)
86. I live in a frigging fortress!
Thu Jul 3, 2014, 10:06 PM
Jul 2014

My ancestral home is nearly a hundred years old and made of granite covered brick; it was a fallout shelter during the duck and cover days! No worries for me, I'm just a weather chickenshit and I worry about others in the vicinity!

The weather is moving in, though--they're going to do the fireworks at the Esplanade early!!!!

And they may skip the Cereal that's shot from guns.....waaaaah, sob.....!!!!

 

bunnies

(15,859 posts)
47. I saw the rotation with my own eyes today.
Thu Jul 3, 2014, 06:23 PM
Jul 2014

It passed right over my building. Dont know if Id be typing this if it had touched ground. Mostly because I usually treat warnings with "meh". Not anymore.

 

Aerows

(39,961 posts)
21. Stay safe!
Thu Jul 3, 2014, 05:02 PM
Jul 2014

They are nothing to play with! If it appears that it will hit your area, move everything you can that will fly away or it WILL fly away and possibly hit the house. You probably already know that, but just helpful advice if you didn't.

MADem

(135,425 posts)
40. The ones they were warning us about were in systems that
Thu Jul 3, 2014, 05:53 PM
Jul 2014

passed--I have a feeling that tonite and tomorrow are going to be interesting.....

Marrah_G

(28,581 posts)
31. They are rare but not unheard of
Thu Jul 3, 2014, 05:11 PM
Jul 2014

There was one a couple years ago in western MA. I remember my mother telling me about one at her aunts in Derry, NH back in the 40s.

MADem

(135,425 posts)
41. Yes, I think you're right. Boston is windier than Chicago; we
Thu Jul 3, 2014, 05:54 PM
Jul 2014

don't really need more wind up this way!!!!

edhopper

(33,208 posts)
35. The US has the largest amount of tornadoes
Thu Jul 3, 2014, 05:46 PM
Jul 2014

on Earth.
But guess country which has the most per area?

MADem

(135,425 posts)
36. Do tell! I have no idea...!
Thu Jul 3, 2014, 05:48 PM
Jul 2014

All I know is that they're RARE in New England....!

Now they're saying the shit is hitting the fan in Essex County, north of Boston!

There is a shitload of RED and YELLOW to the west of us!!!!

 

whistler162

(11,155 posts)
38. In 1998 we had what would have been a
Thu Jul 3, 2014, 05:50 PM
Jul 2014

derecho roll through the Syracuse area over Labor Day weekend, killed two State Fair workers. Took the 3rd floor off of a building across the creek from where I worked.

 

whistler162

(11,155 posts)
57. Weird sound. Like tornadoes it sounded
Thu Jul 3, 2014, 07:04 PM
Jul 2014

like a freight train coming through. Took out a 100+ year old pine tree in front of the local octagon house. Luckily the tree fell west to east no north to south which would have done damage to the house/museum.

MADem

(135,425 posts)
59. I've been in earthquakes all over the world...
Thu Jul 3, 2014, 07:07 PM
Jul 2014

West coast, Asia, middle east, Europe...it's like they follow me or something!

There was actually a little halfassed earthquake in NE that I was here for, didn't notice it, though!

But tornadoes--those are a new thing to me. I've only seen 'em on the TV!

MADem

(135,425 posts)
43. I know some folks who live in Alabama who have been
Thu Jul 3, 2014, 05:57 PM
Jul 2014

hit several times in the past few years.

For us, up here, though, it's a twice-a-century kind of thing.

Fortunately, so far, anyway, today isn't our day!! But damn, I never saw the news do the Freak Out quite so dramatically---beeping, lots of pointing to red and yellow on the map, hands waving, fast talking...! If I turned down the volume I would have thought I was back in Roma!

greytdemocrat

(3,299 posts)
54. I see waterspouts alot.
Thu Jul 3, 2014, 07:00 PM
Jul 2014

Almost aways just cool to look at.

Most of FL tornado's are weak F0s but we get
more destructive ones.

I was in my pool,this was over a decade ago, one summer
afternoon and my weather radio went off, severe T-Storms
in the area. Meh, happens all the time. Didn't hear any thunder.

Then I look up and see clear cloud rotation right over me!!

A F0 dropped out of that cloud about 2 miles west of my
house and trashed a abandoned gas station.

Cool.

greytdemocrat

(3,299 posts)
67. A palm tree...
Thu Jul 3, 2014, 07:20 PM
Jul 2014

Next to my pool cage got hit by lightning
a year later, now THAT got my attention!

Set the darn thing on fire but the coming downpour
put it out.

Burned out by Dish-Network Sat TV receiver and
two TVs. That is covered under house insurance, very
common here.

Still...

MADem

(135,425 posts)
90. I knew a sweet old lady who lived in Dade City...I would visit her every so often.
Thu Jul 3, 2014, 10:56 PM
Jul 2014

She called it "Dead City" because "Nuthin' ever happens round heah!"

Any time she'd hear a rumble of thunder, she'd run around flapping her arms and saying "Oh no, we gotta un-PLUUUUUUUUG!" She'd run around unplugging all the appliances and the tee vee, too!

Hilarious! She'd "Un-PLUUUUUUUUG" whenever she'd leave the house, too, just in case!

My greatest contribution to her life was turning her on to power strips!

laundry_queen

(8,646 posts)
99. In Canada too
Fri Jul 4, 2014, 01:26 AM
Jul 2014

We are second in the world for amount of tornadoes, next to the US. When I was a kid an F4 touched down within a mile of my house and went on to kill 27 people. In my county we get about one tornado warning a year and our province sees, on average, 12-15 reported tornadoes a year.

They are everywhere.

Gormy Cuss

(30,884 posts)
49. Western Mass is a mini tornado alley
Thu Jul 3, 2014, 06:29 PM
Jul 2014

Most tend to be small events but as noted above there have been two larger ones with fatalities in the past 20 years.

 

bunnies

(15,859 posts)
46. I watched one form outside my work on the coast of NH today.
Thu Jul 3, 2014, 06:21 PM
Jul 2014

Showed up as a tornado on the radar but it didnt touch ground. I got to see the rotation from directly underneath it. I tried to take pics but was shaking too much.

When the warning blasted over my phone I thought it must have been a mistake. Nope. It was right outside my door. Never been scared like that before.

 

KittyWampus

(55,894 posts)
51. Eastern Long Island>>> most often water spouts or systems moving in quickly onto shore from ocean
Thu Jul 3, 2014, 06:31 PM
Jul 2014

or bay.

ProudToBeBlueInRhody

(16,399 posts)
53. When late day summer thunderstorms sweep down form Upstate New York....
Thu Jul 3, 2014, 06:52 PM
Jul 2014

Yes, you can get tornados in Western Mass.

The fact that there isn't a lot of flat land out there usually negates it. Otherwise, there'd be a lot more.

By the way, the Worcester baseball team was named the Tornadoes.

MADem

(135,425 posts)
94. They were named after that tragedy a half century ago!!!
Thu Jul 3, 2014, 11:54 PM
Jul 2014
The Worcester Tornadoes were named after the destructive tornado that hit Worcester on June 9, 1953. At a home game on or around the anniversary of the tornado, the team remembered the victims with a moment of silence before the singing of the national anthem.[4]


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Worcester_Tornadoes

They bit the dust a couple of years ago; a brand new team is in town, the BRAVEHEARTS!

Wonder if they paint their faces blue and drink like Mel Gibson...?

sheshe2

(83,355 posts)
64. Well thanks for getting me to pay attention, MADem.
Thu Jul 3, 2014, 07:11 PM
Jul 2014

Seems that our area Metro West may see some severe weather too.

MADem

(135,425 posts)
107. There will be lashings of rain tonight, too!!!
Fri Jul 4, 2014, 12:58 PM
Jul 2014

Make sure the windows are closed!!!

At least the hurricane headed this way has downgraded to a TS again--and no one needs to water the lawn for the next day or four!

sheshe2

(83,355 posts)
108. Did you have them last night too?!
Fri Jul 4, 2014, 01:11 PM
Jul 2014

It was fast and furious here last night. The sky was lighting up like crazy and I watched it move eastward toward Boston.

MADem

(135,425 posts)
109. Yes--the sky OPENED UP for a bit and it poured
Fri Jul 4, 2014, 01:23 PM
Jul 2014

through the pre-recorded/last year version of "The Cereal That's Shot From Guns" on the TV! (Yes, we were watching the Esplanade!).

MerryBlooms

(11,728 posts)
69. Keep your head down and grab your bike helmet, and
Thu Jul 3, 2014, 07:28 PM
Jul 2014

warnings get triggered and the sirens go off when the radar picks up rotation. It doesn't necessarily mean a tornado, but get your ass to your safe room.

MADem

(135,425 posts)
111. What a BRILLIANT idea!
Fri Jul 4, 2014, 01:30 PM
Jul 2014

Bike helmets, motorcycle helmets, hard hats...!

Really, if I lived in a "tornado alley" I'd put that into my routine!

I'm in my well-built fortress lair (I live in a house that was designated a fallout shelter in the scary nuclear fifties--they even defaced the front of it with one of those ugly signs for a mercifully brief period)--the walls are a foot thick and it has a grand basement! When I say "Safe as houses" I mean it!!

Response to Manifestor_of_Light (Reply #76)

MADem

(135,425 posts)
79. This afternoon they said the Cape/Islands were in the Cone of Doom...
Thu Jul 3, 2014, 08:34 PM
Jul 2014

but who knows?

They usually peter out that far up. Wonder if it will hold together till it gets up that way?

laundry_queen

(8,646 posts)
100. They've had them before
Fri Jul 4, 2014, 01:35 AM
Jul 2014

I believe Hurricane Juan made landfall as a cat 2 storm there. The difference is this one is earlier than usual...the storms that make it up there usually do so in September or later.

MADem

(135,425 posts)
95. Wow, that happened last year, something very similar, in a town in Aroostook County, I think...
Thu Jul 3, 2014, 11:57 PM
Jul 2014
RUMFORD (WGME) -- At least two roads are impassible in Rumford following severe thunderstorms late Wednesday afternoon.

Hall Hill Road and parts of South Rumford Road are closed. Rushing flood waters took out the soil underneath the pavement, causing sections of the roads to collapse.

Rumford town manager John Madigan says this is the fifth straight year that towns in Oxford County have been hit by a violent, damaging storm and he says if FEMA can't help, the state of Maine should.

Madigan says: “These are happening every year. And there was an effort a few years ago from the town of Brownville to try to get some legislation to deal with these kinds of microbursts. And the legislature didn't deal with it. So they are going to have to start rethinking that.”


The governor up there is really horrid; he's running the joint into the ground...!

pipi_k

(21,020 posts)
88. Actually there are a few
Thu Jul 3, 2014, 10:15 PM
Jul 2014

Pretty famous tornadoes here in NE


1953 or therebouts, Worcester MA

Late 1970s one that went through the Air Museum in Windsor CT

Another one in Great Barrington, MA 1996 or 1997

And the June 1, 2011 tornado that went through Springfield and continued east for many miles


Those are the main ones that come to mind...

MADem

(135,425 posts)
91. Compare that to TX, TN, AL, GA, MO, etc.
Thu Jul 3, 2014, 11:48 PM
Jul 2014

They're hen's teeth here--or at least, they always have been. By comparison, anyway.

Seems to me the weather is getting more and more....severe up in here!!!!!

kentauros

(29,414 posts)
98. And it WILL get more severe up there, and over in Europe.
Fri Jul 4, 2014, 12:58 AM
Jul 2014

I read on Dr. Jeff Masters' blog earlier this year that as the climate changes, storms will form sooner off the west coast of Africa and turn north sooner, too. That means fewer storms for us on the Gulf of Mexico and more storms heading up the East Coast, with enough staying power to end up in England and Europe.

Remember that thread we had the other day for which European country you'd want to live in? Most picked northern countries, presumably for the better governments there. That could end up being a poor choice after all as those regions end up getting more storm remains (or possibly full tropical storms) lobbed upon housing and buildings which have never been designed for storms of that nature.

Sandy may have been a freak storm, but Irene wasn't.

pipi_k

(21,020 posts)
118. You know what's relatively common, though...
Fri Jul 4, 2014, 05:40 PM
Jul 2014

funnel clouds.

We had severe thunderstorms here the past two days with multiple reports of funnel clouds, which they won't even call a tornado unless/until it makes contact with the ground.

I don't recall ever hearing about that many funnel clouds here


Sometimes I feel like I live in the best possible area, natural disaster-wise.

The only really fearsome and relatively more common things where I live are ice storms.

MADem

(135,425 posts)
120. Yeah, I guess the most recent "important" tornado in MA happened in your neck o'the woods.
Fri Jul 4, 2014, 05:56 PM
Jul 2014

I hope we don't have a winter like the last one--I shoveled enough snow to completely reconnect with those childhood winters when I was living up this way! (Hire a plow man? Hell no--that's what CHILDREN are for!!!!) Getting too old for that crap!

I go out of my way to "provision well" when winter comes. I always have enough stuff on hand in case we get snowed--or ice'd--in! I hate the power outages that come along with those damn ice storms, too!

freethought

(2,457 posts)
104. Not often but it does happen.
Fri Jul 4, 2014, 10:19 AM
Jul 2014

Back in the 1990s a tornado touched down in western Massachusetts. I actually was in the area on work not long after and saw the damage. It looked like a gigantic lawn mower had gone crazy in a heavily forested area. This actually led to the downfall of then governor Bill Weld. He didn't seem too interested in what had happened and didn't make a public appearance for days.

MADem

(135,425 posts)
105. Bill Weld had designs on an ambassadorship!
Fri Jul 4, 2014, 12:37 PM
Jul 2014

IIRC Jesse Helms thwarted his ambitions.

He's living in NYC now - got rid of his wife and left us Bay Staters behind...!

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