[HN Gopher] December 11, 2021 Tornadoes
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       December 11, 2021 Tornadoes
        
       Author : uticus
       Score  : 40 points
       Date   : 2021-12-14 20:16 UTC (2 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (www.weather.gov)
 (TXT) w3m dump (www.weather.gov)
        
       | oblib wrote:
       | There were warnings here where I live in SW Missouri, but that
       | storm was really just building up when it passed by us. I stood
       | out on our back porch and watched the sky for a few minutes after
       | the alerts went off. It was an amazing light show with the
       | lightning flashing constantly and illuminating the clouds.
       | 
       | I didn't see any funnel clouds but the wind was blasting and the
       | roar of the thunder was more of a constant growling than big
       | booms, which was strange because I could see the lightning strike
       | but not hear the boom.
        
       | ozarkerD wrote:
       | The town I grew up in got hit by a pretty bad one in 2002. I was
       | in elementary school at the time and saw how it affected the kids
       | who lost their homes or their folks' place of business.
       | 
       | During tornado warnings we'd be taken in the basements beneath
       | the schools for shelter. I remember kids who had trauma from the
       | experience having mental breaks and screaming and crying down
       | there while the sirens blared. Poor kids :( Most of the kids
       | handled it better through middle school but I remember a few
       | still having problems with it in high school
        
       | Jap2-0 wrote:
       | Does anyone know how common tornado sirens are in this area of
       | the US?
        
         | gryson wrote:
         | Common in towns, although I can't speak for everywhere.
        
         | banana_giraffe wrote:
         | Iowa sees something like 40 a year:
         | 
         | https://datacentral.desmoinesregister.com/tornado-archive/
        
       | DavidPeiffer wrote:
       | Tomorrow Iowa is under threat for severe weather including
       | tornadoes and a high of around 70. This would be the record high
       | for the month of December, and there have only been 4 tornadoes
       | in Iowa in December since 1975.
        
         | gurchik wrote:
         | > There have only been 4 tornadoes in December since 1975.
         | 
         | In Iowa?
        
           | DavidPeiffer wrote:
           | Yes, edited.
        
         | dylan604 wrote:
         | What's impressive to me is that you said tomorrow. Even for
         | this most recent string of storms, the forecast was also a day
         | in advance for tornadic activity. I used to joke about
         | hurricanes at least giving a week's notice it was coming where
         | tornados are the friends that just drop by with no notice. That
         | day's notice is HUGE in being able to prepare. Just knowing
         | that you should be on alert before sirens go off is a big deal.
         | 
         | I have a lot of appreciation for those that work in this field.
        
       | idatum wrote:
       | Terrible loss of life, and the thought of these monster tornados
       | striking at night is terrifying. Maybe it could have been worse
       | though.
       | 
       | Most of the warnings issued were accurate, from what I've read
       | [0]. I really hope we continue to invest in these short-term
       | weather forecasts. Clearly there have been recent advances, and
       | we can still do better.
       | 
       | [0] https://cliffmass.blogspot.com/2021/12/a-critical-gap-in-
       | tor...
        
         | dylan604 wrote:
         | We're up to 15 mins of very precise and accurate advanced
         | tracking now. They can zoom in and show you the specific area
         | of rotation in the doppler images, and can accurately predict
         | tornado from that data well in advance of visiual confirmation.
         | They can also tell when the tornado is on the ground by the
         | signature of the debris being thrown around. It is all very
         | much improved from when I was a kid. Money in research in this
         | field has not been wasted.
        
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       (page generated 2021-12-14 23:01 UTC)