Posted on 06/04/2009 11:13:51 PM PDT by JoeProBono
Tornadoes do strange things, says storm chaser Jay Antle.
Antle on Thursday night came to the Basehor Community Library to talk about his experiences on the hunt for storms and to set the tornado story straight.
Kansas is commonly referred to as “Tornado Alley,” but Antle says this term is somewhat of a simplistic myth.
“Tornadoes are actually a rare phenomena in Kansas, despite what your out-of-town relatives might say,” Antle said. “I know they ask you, ‘How do you live in Kansas with all those tornadoes?’ But the truth is, only one tornado happens per two counties in Kansas each year.”
The Sunflower State does have a relatively high number of strong tornadoes, Antle said, but Colorado and Florida can stake claim as having the most tornadoes every year.
Antle said despite its prominence, the belief that topography protects certain areas from tornadoes is false. Some examples of these myths are Clay Center’s valley position and Emporia’s location between two rivers acting as protective features.
“These stories are everywhere,” Antle said. “The truth is if a city hasn’t had a tornado, they’re just lucky. Tornadoes don’t care. Everyone’s time will come eventually.”
Other tall tales about tornadoes relate to safety during the storm, Antle said. Getting in the southwest corner of the basement and opening the house windows to equalize pressure are a few widespread false pieces of advice.
“The best place to be in your house is in the basement, under something substantial,” Antle said. “It doesn’t matter what corner, just get under something secure. And the only thing you’re doing when you open windows is delaying your entrance into the basement.”
If caught in a storm while driving, Antle said the last action to take is to park under an overpass or get out of the car and lay under a girder.
“Stopping under the overpass isn’t going to help you, and you’re just clogging up the highway,” Antle said. “People have been killed because they were under overpasses or girders when a tornado hit. That bridge will collapse, and then you’re pinned.”
During his years as a chaser, Antle has seen storms play some mysterious hands. He said tornadoes had the potential to evolve in minutes from a huge wedge-shaped, destructive powerhouse into a snake-like funnel that stretches out and slithers quietly through the sky, back into the clouds from which it emerged.
“Every time I go out, a storm confuses me,” Antle said. “Every storm is different.”
Though such a line of work involves much risk, Antle said he loved doing it and would continue to do so as long as he could.
“I chase because I love the landscape, and I’m fascinated by storms,” he said. “I could watch a storm cell develop for hours. But I also chase because I’m on the search for the best truck stop country fried steak.”
Now, that would be a frightening sight to see, if one was standing there in real-life and seeing that event...
You just wouldn’t want to be there, at all... LOL...
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I was inside of a building, out on a pier in Galveston, on the day that Katrina hit New Orleans and had a tornado go right over the top of the building, blowing out windows and blowing open doors, and swirling things around inside the building where I was..., never saw it coming, because of the driving rain and no visibility at the time. That was bad enough, but this monster would be twenty times worse.
I’ve figured that the best place to be if one of these monsters is bearing down on your place, is in your car, driving at a 90-degree angle to the path of the tornado... LOL...
Even though I am afraid of these storms, I am also amazed at them. I always wanted to be a storm chaser, but at a very far distance. I guess I’ve watched to many of those storm chasing shows.
LOL..., now that one looks “interesting” and could be getting to the point of being like the other one. That other one still looks quite a bit more scary. This one just have the “potential” — while the other one was “actual”... :-)
In these tornado situations, there are a considerable number of times when you’re in driving rain and you really can’t see what’s coming at you. And you may hear tornado sirens, but can’t see anything (in the distance).
But, when the winds and rain go from being blustery and back and forth, to going “horizontal” and *steady* and “increasing”... you can almost bet what you don’t see is a tornado that is nearby. I’ve been in those situations several times, and when the conditions turn that way, then I know it’s around somewhere... :-)
Scary stuff! Guess I’ll just look at the pics, since thats a pretty safe distance!
You said — Even though I am afraid of these storms, I am also amazed at them. I always wanted to be a storm chaser, but at a very far distance. I guess I’ve watched to many of those storm chasing shows.
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Yep, I’ve had the tornado sirens going off in Dallas and in Tulsa (two of the places I’m in these days...) and you just never know.
That time I was in Galveston when Katrina hit New Orleans, I was out on a deck, just 15 seconds before that tornado hit the building. I had just come inside, because the driving rains went “horizontal” and steady and were increasing (actually getting me pretty wet). So because of being uncomfortable and wet, I just stepped inside and just a few seconds later the tornado hit the building. It ripped off everything on the outside and threw it out into the Gulf of Mexico, but people on the inside were okay, although there was a lot of screaming going on... LOL... I was just looking around, pretty amazed at the sight... :-)
But, those straight-line winds can be pretty devastating, too. I remember one time we had some straight-line winds come across the Dallas/Fort Worth area and the damage was similar to what a tornado would be, except this was simply a “line” of winds moving from west to east, and blowing straight — at about 100 MPH steady... That was sort of weird, but it can do a lot of damage, too...
Well, let me tell you, of all the pictures, the one in Post #2 will make anyone “run for their life” at that point... LOL...
Time to go clean my kitchen, looks like a tornado hit it! Ya’ll have a good day!
Katrina.
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