Tornado Attack in Dixie Alley (state, year, siren, occur)
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I'm from Boston. We get blizzards. Maybe an occasional thunderstorm. That's what I know and am used to.
These tornadoes that hit Tennessee, Arkansas, Alabama, and so on, are scary.
I see people say the risk of dying in them is small. Well. Maybe. But what if it destroys your house? When we get a blizzard in New England, we don't have to worry about it destroying everything we own. They are beautiful and calming to live through. We don't get PTSD after a blizzard drops a foot of snow.
Sure, a tornado may not kill you, but it can easily rip up your house and leave you traumatized. Don't people who get near tornadoes and live through it get PTSD? And many leave the area after the close encounter?
It seems to me that with tornadoes you are playing the slot machine. Eventually you're gonna win. The odds of an F3+ hitting you this year are small. And next year it's small. But if you live in Dixie Alley, eventually an F3 is gonna hit you. If it doesn't kill you, it will destroy what you own and put you in a terrifying situation.
Plus, there is also the fear that a tornado *may* hit. With numerous tornado watches during the year, especially in Spring.
And this is even worse in a place like Tennessee where tornadoes hit at night time. So you go to sleep knowing a tornado may hit you. Or you may wake up at 3 AM with the phone beeping saying a tornado is about to hit your house.
Someone please help me understand this. Am I wrong? Is living in Tennessee with tornadoes not a big deal? Or do people just get used to it, even if it is a big deal, cause they have no other choice?
Tornadoes affect mainly western and middle parts of the state. Part of East Tennessee especially north and east of Knoxville rarely get tornadoes at all. That said, there is always some level of risk no matter where you live, hurricanes, earthquakes, wildfires, blizzards, droughts, extreme temperatures, etc. People assume the risk and get used to it.
Someone please help me understand this. Am I wrong? Is living in Tennessee with tornadoes not a big deal? Or do people just get used to it, even if it is a big deal, cause they have no other choice?
I am from Boston too but I lived in Michigan for a couple of years.
I am with you. I don't understand it.
What got to me was that LITERALLY every Wednesday for the entire summer we would have a "tornado warning" from 1 AM to 6 AM for the entire state. Sure ok I never actually had one -- though there were a few close calls -- but it was the worry and the absolute no ability to get safe if there was one.
Everyone was just like oh well. In Massachusetts as well we all have basements but in the midwest most people don't. When I moved to Michigan I didn't realize they had twisters so frequently so I asked my apartment complex... were was the shelter. No shelter. You are just apparently on your own taking a risk. I was gob smacked.
I think people from the midwest just don't know what it is like to live someplace where you don't have twisters and has basements. They just don't know any better.
Given how much land really can't be used due to twisters I wonder why no one has tried to find a way to minimize them. Like I don't know, release a ton of cold air at the edge of a state to stabilize the air.
I'm from Boston. We get blizzards. Maybe an occasional thunderstorm. That's what I know and am used to.
These tornadoes that hit Tennessee, Arkansas, Alabama, and so on, are scary.
I see people say the risk of dying in them is small. Well. Maybe. But what if it destroys your house? When we get a blizzard in New England, we don't have to worry about it destroying everything we own. They are beautiful and calming to live through. We don't get PTSD after a blizzard drops a foot of snow.
Sure, a tornado may not kill you, but it can easily rip up your house and leave you traumatized. Don't people who get near tornadoes and live through it get PTSD? And many leave the area after the close encounter?
It seems to me that with tornadoes you are playing the slot machine. Eventually you're gonna win. The odds of an F3+ hitting you this year are small. And next year it's small. But if you live in Dixie Alley, eventually an F3 is gonna hit you. If it doesn't kill you, it will destroy what you own and put you in a terrifying situation.
Plus, there is also the fear that a tornado *may* hit. With numerous tornado watches during the year, especially in Spring.
And this is even worse in a place like Tennessee where tornadoes hit at night time. So you go to sleep knowing a tornado may hit you. Or you may wake up at 3 AM with the phone beeping saying a tornado is about to hit your house.
Someone please help me understand this. Am I wrong? Is living in Tennessee with tornadoes not a big deal? Or do people just get used to it, even if it is a big deal, cause they have no other choice?
Where or what is Dixie Alley?
It is called weather. We get tornadoes, grass fires, ice storms, blizzards, quakes and 100+ degrees. Actually today and tomorrow 75F then 10F. Moving to Boston? No way!
I'm from Boston. We get blizzards. Maybe an occasional thunderstorm. That's what I know and am used to.
These tornadoes that hit Tennessee, Arkansas, Alabama, and so on, are scary.
I see people say the risk of dying in them is small. Well. Maybe. But what if it destroys your house? When we get a blizzard in New England, we don't have to worry about it destroying everything we own. They are beautiful and calming to live through. We don't get PTSD after a blizzard drops a foot of snow.
Tornadoes that come barreling through my city causing serious damage are rare. The last one happened in 1990. The last one before that was in 1975. The destructive path of the two tornadoes was so narrow, none caused significant damage to the home I was living in. All it did to me was to convince me to have a storm shelter for my next home. So, to be well prepared for the next bad tornado, many people have installed storm shelters for their homes. Those shelters give people a lot of peace of mind for when the next tornado warning is issued. Having your home fully insured for loss due to tornado also helps.
Ice storms and hailstorms are probably more common and aggravate more people, perhaps to the point of wanting to move away from it.
It might be more stressful to live in an area where strong and highly destructive earthquakes have been known to occur. There is no prior warning issued. People knowing that hasn't kept San Francisco from growing.
I am from Boston too but I lived in Michigan for a couple of years.
I am with you. I don't understand it.
What got to me was that LITERALLY every Wednesday for the entire summer we would have a "tornado warning" from 1 AM to 6 AM for the entire state. Sure ok I never actually had one -- though there were a few close calls -- but it was the worry and the absolute no ability to get safe if there was one.
Everyone was just like oh well. In Massachusetts as well we all have basements but in the midwest most people don't. When I moved to Michigan I didn't realize they had twisters so frequently so I asked my apartment complex... were was the shelter. No shelter. You are just apparently on your own taking a risk. I was gob smacked.
I think people from the midwest just don't know what it is like to live someplace where you don't have twisters and has basements. They just don't know any better.
Given how much land really can't be used due to twisters I wonder why no one has tried to find a way to minimize them. Like I don't know, release a ton of cold air at the edge of a state to stabilize the air.
I may live in a bubble, but this doesn't pass the smell test to me. First, maybe you lived on the east side of MI, but the west side is pretty insulated from tornadoes because of Lake MI. Second, Michigan doesn't usually get the severe tornadoes seen in the plains and in the south. And I've never been in a house that doesn't have a basement. I assume most of the upper midwest has basements too.
I may live in a bubble, but this doesn't pass the smell test to me. First, maybe you lived on the east side of MI, but the west side is pretty insulated from tornadoes because of Lake MI. Second, Michigan doesn't usually get the severe tornadoes seen in the plains and in the south. And I've never been in a house that doesn't have a basement. I assume most of the upper midwest has basements too.
You are totally wrong. The summer I was there the town of frankenmuth got flattened. I was shocked at how many twisters there were. I will never forget the first twister in my town, it was flashing on screen "tornado touched down" and the siren went off and I had NO idea what was going on because I couldn't wrap my head around Michigan having them. But they do... they do.
Also as I noted, it doesn't matter if we actually GET a twister. When there is a tornado warning from 1 am to 6 am your life becomes a constant terror zone.
Most of the people I knew in Michigan didn't have a basement and my apartment complex had no shelter or, even place to hide. My best option would be to run down three flights of stairs and huddle in the center hallway.
You are totally wrong. The summer I was there the town of frankenmuth got flattened. I was shocked at how many twisters there were. I will never forget the first twister in my town, it was flashing on screen "tornado touched down" and the siren went off and I had NO idea what was going on because I couldn't wrap my head around Michigan having them. But they do... they do.
Also as I noted, it doesn't matter if we actually GET a twister. When there is a tornado warning from 1 am to 6 am your life becomes a constant terror zone.
Most of the people I knew in Michigan didn't have a basement and my apartment complex had no shelter or, even place to hide. My best option would be to run down three flights of stairs and huddle in the center hallway.
Maybe you have a unique case, but I can assure it's not like that on the west side of the state. Compared to the southern states, Michigan gets fewer tornadoes, much less the dangerous ones. Here's a link that shows that more tornadoes occur in the plains and the south
I believe some meteorologists have said that Tornado alley is outdated in a way that the most dangerous tornadoes occur there. It’s Dixie alley that should get all the attention from now on.
Maybe you have a unique case, but I can assure it's not like that on the west side of the state. Compared to the southern states, Michigan gets fewer tornadoes, much less the dangerous ones.
Absolutely but the point was that this poster from Boston couldn't understand how people live with Tornados, in particular Dixie Alley.
But I couldn't go back to Michigan either.
I think it is sad when people move from places like California and have no idea how it is going to be.
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