OT:Almost got hit by Tornado.


Yes I was just a mile away from one today and couldnt see it.
I was running across Nebraska and was near Kerney when I ran head on with a very bad storm. I hit a wall of wind and rain which I estimate to been around 70 to 80 mph. The rain was worse then anything I have ever seen in my life, Which includes a few Heavy rains from Katrina, Rita and Ernesto that I was so unfortinate to run thru.
Here is a picture of what I saw today. and yes this is how I saw it.

NearaTornado.jpg


When I came out of it there were wrecks on the road and I saw a farm that got hit by a tornado just moments before I got there.
 
BTW that is rain and Hail in the picture and not fog.

One other truck driver said on the CB that he was in gear and was trying to go foward. The wind was pushing him backwards, which cause another truck to crash into the back of him. I was running lighter then normal and had to fight to keep upright.
 
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Good to hear you made it though safely. Any idea on casualties yet?

How large is your truck? What can you do when it is getting pushed around by the wind?? That has to be pretty unnerving.

When I was a young'un a tornado hit Barrie when I was living there (wiki page). Luckily we lived on the north side of town and it buzzsawed through the south end. Everything just went green and black, rained like a SOB, then pure silence. 5 minutes later, the sirens in the distance sounded like a war zone - it was really really creepy.

Mark
 
The truck I drive is about as big as they get. Its a Kenworth with a 53 foot reefer. I was amost just along for the ride with how the wind was pushing me around, At wind speeds like that it can turn us over really easy. I kept getting pushed to the middle of the road and that was where those two trucks were that ran into eachother, A CRST ran into the back of a Martin Transport and the Martin was the one who thought he was being pushed backwards.
I dont think anyone was killed in that as they had alot of warning. The farm that was hit everyone was out looking at the dammage when I went past it so I dont think they were hurt, and there house wasnt hit I think that the quanset that got hit saved there house. other then that all I saw was a few road signs blown over and a few snapped phone poles. I dont think it was on the ground more then a half a mile.
 
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Whew! That's a tough place to be driving during tornado season, especially this year. I'm glad you're OK. I sure hope you have a weather band receiver in the cab along along with your CB.
 
Well I dont have a weather band radio. I have never really listened to it when I did. I had some warning from other drivers who did have.
When I approched the storm it didnt look that bad, However inside i found it like that. I had some freight fall over in the trailer as well. However I wouldnt have stopped anyway just the way I am. If I stopped for storms I wouldnt get anywere. I have seen alot in the last three years. This winter I went through some of the worst of the storms and made it through then as well. When it comes to moving freight one cant afford to stop to much and I only make money when I am moving.
 
Well, you're a way braver guy than me but you must know what you're doing to keep on trucking as long as you have. I guess that you do what you have to do to get the freight through and get paid.
 
Wow I have never been in a tornado and don't want to be. The worst storm I have been in is the Blizzard of 77 that they call it around our parts. At least with that one was you stayed inside nad ride it out . But a lot of people were at work and school when that one hit so they had to stay put were they where . At one of our malls the Sears store would'nt let the people watch Roots and there was a near riot till they relented . Real exciting stuff huh . But the storm was worst then I made it out to be because it lasted from a Friday till a Monday so it really blew the snow around !!!
 
Boy I sure feel sorry for all you Mid-Westerners . Seems like there was alot more tornados then normal this year . Could global warming really be causing the high amount of them ?
 
Paul,
I doubt global warming is causing any increase in tornados. There's a normal climatic cycle for tornados and we go through years with more tornados than others. It's actually been a relatively quiet period for tornados until this year since we had our last maximal years of 1993-1995. We are also able to detect many more tornados using radar that we have ben able to in the past so that make for an apparent increase. What we've had this year is more violent tonados than usual. This is also part of the normal fluctuation of the climate cycle. We know more about the dark side of the moon than we do about the causes of climate fluctuations.
 
I wish the global warming hoax is over soon, it's getting old.
The last few years had near record lows in tornado's. This year it has increased to about 100 under 4-5 years ago. The irresponsible reporting in the news has some worried about something that isn't there. In actuality it's cold air, not warm that has the most effect on tornado's. They are naturally formed as the seasons change from winter to summer. For those that are hung up with the hoax, just put your hand in your pocket and feel for the hand that they have in it while they rob you blind at the pump and everywhere else. Did you ever notice that everything that is hyped to be a problem somehow always has more taxes as a solution? :D
Rant over. Chug along. :D
 
I went through 4 tornado growing up. The last one scare the S*** out of me. I was drinking a few beers and next thing i know i have a Tornado Warning and im outside looking for the damn thing. I know I know. Why did I go outside? I have a hidden "storm chaser" in me.

But i tell you this, I saw the SOB. I watched it from the funnel cloud until it hit ground. It was a few miles from my home but I'll tell you this. Its true that the sky turn greenish and that the air become still....almost a "echo" effect when talking to someone. Also that the clouds turns, almost like in a blender.

I do have this hidden "storm chaser" in me, but its hard being in CA to record such things now.


---For those that been in any tornados this year....my prayers are with you--
 
I can relate to that, back when I used to drive for a living I bob-tailed down to Nebraska and picked up brand new empty reefers. I was between two, beside one, and under one all in the same trip! Weird feeling when it's raining mud and your trailer is trying to pass you!!
We've been getting more and more up here too. We woke up one morning last year to find our patio furniture sitting just as we left it the night before but no gazebo over it and a twisted stump where a tree was.
 
An oldie:

Engineer: UP2375W to dispatcher.

Dispatcher: Dispatcher, go ahead.

Engineer: UP2375W requests permission to pass through yard at track speed.

Dispatcher: UP2375W, why on earth would you want to do that?

Engineer: Dispatcher, Conductor reports the tornado that's behind us is gaining.

<pause>

Dispatcher: UP2375W, permission granted.....

:D

Kennedy
 
Won't argue politics or global warming. But don;t ask for water from the Great Lakes in a few years !!!
 
I figured I would post in this since it was started about weather. About 10am this morning, Cities in Kansas, got annihilated by hail. Baseball to softball size hail, and lots of it. My dad lives in Manhattan, KS and after talking with him I have learned, that his house has a lot of roof damage, and several houses around him have lots of windows broken out. Also, my Dad's fifth wheel camper is heavily damaged, and my Sisters Ford Escape is probably going to be totaled out. I post this, because more than likely, I am gonna be putting my layout on hold for a little bit, to help dad clean up the mess.
 
Info which may help

A weatherband radio is cheap and can be gotten for around $30 and will run without ac power. It will power on only on tornado warnings and watches. Also, I have heard reports that the ocean currents and warmings (El Ninos and Ninas) could have had some effect on the climactic changes, but I can agree that i dont think global warming has anything to do with this. I live in east texas and up to now (at least for the last 6 years), the area I live in dodged them, and in the last two months, I had an EF0-1 .25 mile away and 4 EF1.2's within a 20 mile radius touch down and do damage. You can just not predict them anymore, and with the warm humid air coming up and meeting the arctic air coming down, where it meets, well all h***ll will definitely break loose. Just get to a safe place and dont try to outrun one, cause you can't. Look up on the internet Project Vortex and there is a lot of information there.

MKT MIke
 



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