Have you ever experienced a tornado?

[J_Dee]

My thoughts are with those who are suffering in central Kentucky today.

I've never seen a tornado up close (thank goodness) but I grew up in the '80s not too far from Piney Grove, which was wrecked by tornados in the mid-1970s. Every time it stormed badly, my parents would take my siblings and me to the basement to wait it out.

 

[WildcatFan1982]

sort of. We had one in Owensboro in the winter while I was in high school. I was at academic team practice after school when the sirens went off, so we went downstairs and did the whole drill. Then the principal told us to either leave right then or we'd be stuck there all night. Went home and the weather wasn't bad where I lived so I plopped down on the living room couch to watch TV next to a giant window.

My parents came home and went "OMG WHY AREN'T YOU IN THE BASEMENT!?" and I was just like "this is where the big tv is?"

 

[TortElvisII]

I have heard one nearby. Was never directly hit. So far. Have been in storms where they were as close as a 1/4 mile. I do not like them. Things flying through the air that can boink me on the head and kill me, well that is just no good. The largest tornado ever that is known came by where I used to live. That was a biggie.

 

[ganner918_rivals60369]

Saw a funnel from distance, and another time saw black clouds of an incoming storm form a semicircle right around me (it dropped a tornado a couple miles from me). Never been up close to one.

 

[jedwar]

Not confirmed touching the ground but close enough for me. Was back in 2016.

 

[funKYcat75]

Had one less than two miles from the house. Pretty damn loud even from that distance. We were blessed to not have damage or even lose power.

I have a memory of seeing one out my basement door when I was really young, but I'm not 100% sure it really happened. Either way I was scared out of my skull of storms for years and years. I've gotten a lot better as a dad, but those moments before high winds and storms come, I have to make myself put on a brave face.

 

[Anon1711055878]

Cincinnati northside around 2010. The wind blew so hard the glass pane on our storm door bowed in until I thought it would shatter for sure. Just went to bed and hoped nothing bad happened.

 

[Tskware]

Yes, one time years ago, when I was staying with my aunt, picked the whole damn house up, dropped it miles away. Walked out and everything was wildly colored with strange little people all around. And did I mention the witches?

 

[BlueVelvetFog]

Had one less than two miles from the house. Pretty damn loud even from that distance. We were blessed to not have damage or even lose power.

I have a memory of seeing one out my basement door when I was really young, but I'm not 100% sure it really happened. Either way I was scared out of my skull of storms for years and years. I've gotten a lot better as a dad, but those moments before high winds and storms come, I have to make myself put on a brave face.

When was this?? 2004?

 

[BlueVelvetFog]

Not confirmed touching the ground but close enough for me. Was back in 2016.

Hardyville, Munfordville etc. I swear that’s one of Kentucky’s tornado alleys

 

[funKYcat75]

When was this?? 2004?

Yup. Our mutual friend watched it from his garage. I did not.

 

[BlueVelvetFog]

Yup. Our mutual friend watched it from his garage. I did not.

Knowing him, he probably had a beer and bucket of popcorn while watching

 

[MegaBlue05]

One hit the front of our neighborhood when I was a kid in the late 80s. I remember it was really loud even though the tornado didn’t hit our house. The storm did cause damage to one of our gutters.

A friend of mine’s house in the same neighborhood was leveled. Luckily the family was in the basement and nobody was hurt.

 

[jedwar]

Hardyville, Munfordville etc. I swear that’s one of Kentucky’s tornado alleys

Yep. Seem to get them fairly often in the area, but fortunately they are usually not the super strong ones.

 

[LineSkiCat14]

Just out of curiosity, but what the heck does a tornado *sound* like??

Glad I just have to deal with blizzards and virtually no other damaging or severe weather events.. And even blizzards.. more fun than dangerous (but snowblowing sucks).

 

[BigBlueDave_rivals76951]

On Good Friday, 2011, I was driving my family to the inlaws for Easter. No smart phones, so we are heading into storms blind. I was on I70, just 30 miles past St Louis Lambert field. I drove through a hail storm accompanying an EF4.

It seemed like any decision I made could have gotten us killed. Most traffic pulled over when the hail started. I drove on as the next exit was a couple of miles up. Golf ball to near tennis ball sized hail hit us. That hail hitting the steel roof is an awful sound. It busted my windshield, not out, but to the point that it was difficult to see through.

All's well that ends well, but that was some white knuckle driving. Safelite came out and replaced the windshield at my inlaws on Easter Sunday and those paintless dent repair guys are true artists.

The storm maintained a hook echo for over half the state.

This is the radar from just after it passed St Louis Lambert Field. Ferguson is 2 mi due east from the terminal.

 

[BlueVelvetFog]

Just out of curiosity, but what the heck does a tornado *sound* like??

Glad I just have to deal with blizzards and virtually no other damaging or severe weather events.. And even blizzards.. more fun than dangerous (but snowblowing sucks).

This is probably the clearest sound of an EF4 I’ve ever listened to. This twister hit right behind this house (out of cam view) in Newman GA. Starts quiet then builds up around 4 min mark. Wear headphones. It’s incredible

 

[weused2luvhim2]

In the late 70’s in Hopkinsville. I was 6 or 7. Loved storms and I was on my knees on the couch looking over the back of the couch out our window. Watched the tree in our front yard be uproot and fall on the front of our house. The town was pretty torn up. Didn’t scare me then. They do now.

 

[JDHoss]

Have seen three waterspouts, and two years ago had a small tornado pass about a quarter mile from our place in Florida. The sky was a funky greenish gray and the sound was like what a central vacuum sounds like without the pitch of the motor. It wasn't on the ground long and did very little damage.
Back in the mid 90s, I was working at my employer's facility in Columbia SC. We had the remnants of a tropical storm roll through one evening that caused multiple tornado warnings. When I got to work the next morning, we had a guy on the shift that had a neighbor lose his home, and sadly, his wife to one of them. He brought in pics the next day. His neighbor's home that was maybe 50 yards away, was completely leveled. His house was missing a handful of shingles and had the patio furniture rearranged. They found the body of his neighbor's wife about a hundred yards from the house.

 

[ekywildcat_rivals26726]

March 2, 2012 an EF-3 destroyed West Liberty and much of Salyersville. It continued on into Johnson County and did a lot of damage, destroyed many homes as it followed a valley near me, luckily it went around us someway, but the sound was terrible. We all went to an inside bathroom with no windows, but we had no damage.
It touch down again a few miles down the road and caused more damage. There was two killed that I know of. Never dreamed a tornado of that strength would kit Eastern Kentucky.

 

[lex cath]

Too many to count and hurricanes as well, I hate both those damn things

 

[wildcatdon]

The EF4 tornado in Louisville April 3 1974 went right through my yard. Most scared I have ever been. Sounded like a freight train or a battalion of tanks roaring down our driveway. We had no damage to our yard or house but my next door neighbor had 5 huge walnut trees completely uprooted and laying in their yard. The closest tree was 20 feet from our house. The tornado then went across the street and damaged another house and the went to Cherokee Park and destroyed it. We lived very close to the park. When I walked outside it was the eeriest feeling I had ever experienced. Sky was pea soup green and there was a light rain falling. Very frightening. Our guardian angels were with my family that day. So frightening.

 

[wildcatdon]

I remember reading in the paper several days later that a man in Xenia Ohio found several chairs in his yard that said Ky. Fair & Exposition Center on them. Xenia got devastated by the same tornado. Unreal the power those things have.

 

[Ribsandwhitebread]

More than a dozen within 1 mile
2 in a building directly hit
1 house rebuilt

Gets worse every year as well.

 

[J_Dee]

Too many to count and hurricanes as well, I hate both those damn things

Years back, I walked into a room at work to find a co-worker chuckling over a pile of books that had been delivered. The books were hurricane emergency guides. Somebody really hadn't thought that one through, since we worked in Lexington. XD

 

[Ryan Lemonds Hair]

I experienced a tittie twister once and it was awful.

 

[rbs]

April 3, 1974

 

[TortElvisII]

Tonight is horrible.

There is a quad state tornado currently. Arkansas, Missouri, Tennessee and it's near Kentucky Lake now. Mayfield and Benton. It's about to cross the lakes.

Wedge tornado. 150 miles EF 3 or 4 minimum.

 

[Tannerdad]

I was at work on 4/3/74. Trapped in my office building and saw one. Also up close and personal with one at Barren River many years ago. Pea soup green sky and unreal wind.

Hate to admit it but I’m terrified of them. Days like today, I become very anxious. Sounds silly, but too old to change.

 

[TortElvisII]

This thing's going to be as big as the tri-state tornado on the ground anyway.

 

[TortElvisII]

This started a little over 4 hours ago. This is Missouri but it's currently on the ground in Ohio County.

 

[AustinTXCat]

Couple times. I once had advance warning about tornadoes striking SE KY a few years ago while residing here in TX. Thank heavens for our Internet. Warned my daughter, who worked in Middlesboro at the time. Told her to seek cover in the Cumberland Gap tunnel and stop her car. Eff the National park rangers. I'll pay the GD fine. Stop the car and tell them it will not run. She did. She called 45 minutes later and said many houses across the border were heavily damaged. A hundred year-old massive tree in her uncles' yard, where her mother and uncles sought refuge in the house basement, was completely destroyed by the tornado.

 

[TortElvisII]

The tornado above was still a wedge in Muhlenberg County Kentucky. A smaller wedge but still a wedge.

 

[GnarlsBarkley]

I have never seen, or really ever been close to a tornado. but one of my bucket list items is to go storm chasing in tornado ally one summer

 

[hmt5000]

Big outbreak in the 90's in Bullit co... We watched one form and head right toward us. We went to the basement but was watching through a window and saw it leave the ground about 1/4 mile from the house and skip right over us. Talk about an adrenaline rush. We came up about 20 minutes later and it was amazing how around us looked perfectly normal and just a little bit away houses were absolutely gone.

 

[BlueVelvetFog]

Mayfield KY did overnight of 12/11.

Fatalities expected https://www.wkrn.com/news/kentucky/...-in-western-kentucky-following-tornado-event/

 

[TortElvisII]

I have never seen, or really ever been close to a tornado. but one of my bucket list items is to go storm chasing in tornado ally one summer

this is the tornado that hit Kentucky last night. The video is before it crosses the Mississippi.

 

[_ukcat]

Yes in a way... I was inside the Georgia Dome for SEC Touney when the Tornado hit. I had always heard a tornado sound like a train coming when it hits and it does!

 

[UKWildcats1987]

I have never seen, or really ever been close to a tornado. but one of my bucket list items is to go storm chasing in tornado ally one summer

Just be careful. These things can turn on a dime and you can get yourself in a bad place.

 

[Tskware]

Boy this thread turned deadly serious all of a sudden, Gov Beshear saying at least 50 dead in Ky, but probably will be more like 70-100. Many were in a candle factory in Mayfield. Unbelievable. Isn't it highly unusual to get tornadoes in December? I woke up this morning to a thunderstorm . . . on December 11?