Post by RoxMonster on Jan 29, 2013 21:17:22 GMT -5
Our tornado sirens go off on the first Tuesday of every month at 10 AM for a test. They also tend to go off when there is no tornado warning or even bad weather, so I've gotten kind of desensitized to them (bad, I know). However, I do have the weather app on my phone bleep really loudly at me if a tornado warning is issued for our county, so that's something.
Typically I will hop online or turn on the TV to see what's going on/look outside. If it sounds bad, we'll head for the basement.
Post by fortmyersbride on Jan 29, 2013 21:18:13 GMT -5
I haven't heard one since we moved back to the midwest last summer. If/when one goes off I'll just take the kids and my phone to our basement--it's where our playroom, tv room, and bar with spare frig are anyway so we could spend a long time down there easily.
They use those sirens here to announce snow days for school. As a Midwestern transplant, the first time I heard it was like WTF is going on??? We have tornado warnings here, but tornadoes are never a serious threat like they are at home.
If I hear one in the Midwest I go immediately to the basement. When I was a kid those things were serious business. In the basement you either listen to the radio or watch TV (in pre-internet days) to find out whether it's serious enough that you have to cower in a corner underneath the stairs. When I was a baby a shopping mall about a mile from my house had its roof torn off by a tornado, so we did not play around with those things.
Post by estrellita on Jan 29, 2013 22:02:46 GMT -5
Yeah.. they barely phase me anymore. I live in MN. I will look outside, maybe even go outside, and see what's going on and if it's anything to worry about. A lot of times it's going off because the county is in a tornado warning, but the actual tornado or whatever isn't nearby. I also tend to turn on the TV to see what's going on.
I always thought if I saw a funnel cloud, I'd take off to a safer place (bathroom in my apt). But I saw one a couple summers ago and I just pretty much stared at it. It was far enough away that I wasn't worried (I don't think it even touched down, maybe briefly) but I probably shouldn't have just stood there staring at it, haha. It's strangely fascinating to watch those clouds rotate and have something actually drop down!
If I'm home I turn on the news, look outside, then mosey to my safe area (bedroom closet). Last year I actually drove my 45 minute commute after the sirens sounded. After spending my life in KS and OK, I'm basically desensitized. Growing up, I remember parents coming to school to pick up their kids when the sirens went off. Then they would take you home, give you a snack and send you to the basement while they stayed upstairs watching the news. In my mind tornado sirens don't register as immediate danger.
I used to think that tornadoes only hit rural areas. Then about 2 years ago a tornado hit our metro airport while my DH was in the top of the St. Louis Arch about 15 miles or so away. It was terrifying (probably moreso for him, but I was scared too).
We actually had ones going off yesterday near my house and it was scary to log into the daycare webcams and the rooms be empty. Thankfully they had taken all the kids to an interior room, but to see the baby room w/o no one in it was odd.
Not really a problem in my area, but I would check the TV and assess from there. If it were bad, I'd get us all downstairs into our basement utility room.
They use those sirens here to announce snow days for school. As a Midwestern transplant, the first time I heard it was like WTF is going on??? We have tornado warnings here, but tornadoes are never a serious threat like they are at home.
If I hear one in the Midwest I go immediately to the basement. When I was a kid those things were serious business. In the basement you either listen to the radio or watch TV (in pre-internet days) to find out whether it's serious enough that you have to cower in a corner underneath the stairs. When I was a baby a shopping mall about a mile from my house had its roof torn off by a tornado, so we did not play around with those things.
Here, tornado sirens are county-wide. I'm definitely not running to hole up every time it goes off especially if it's completely sunny where I am.
It also means it's really annoying when the tornado sirens go off at night and the warning is as far away from you as it can get. I like having tornado sirens but I wish they did a better job utilizing them.
I live in Michigan and if a siren goes off that means a tornado has been spotted in the area.
Yep, this. Tornados are my biggest fear even though they aren't that common. Here in Michigan (at least near Grand Rapids) they test them the first Friday of the month at noon from april to October.
We don't have sirens. But in the case of a warning, I watch the news to see if it is in my actual area. The county I live in us huge, so a warning for the county could mean nothing for me. Only once or twice has the warning been for my town. We don't have a basement. And it has always been while DS was sleeping. So, I just stand outside his door until I hear a tornado or the warning expires. The plan is to run into his closet if a tornado is coming. One time, the hail started up and it was really scary (that is one of the first signs).
My old house was actually hit by a tornado but I wasn't home. Somehow, I had no close calls growing up in the farmlands of Ohio, and then I move to MD and get hit by a tornado. Ironic.
I just had to change my vote to "Go unprepared and hope for the best" because when I heard them at 1am last night, I promptly rolled over and tried to go back to sleep.
Post by awkwardpenguin on Jan 30, 2013 16:16:57 GMT -5
When I first heard them go off when I moved to Michigan, I pulled out my laptop and Googled "what do tornado sirens mean?" followed by "what to do in a tornado warning".
I used to go inside if I was outside, but I would tend to stay on the first floor away from the outside walls, as there was no way to comfortably shelter in our basement, and we got warnings in Michigan a lot. Then my mom's town in Massachusetts was destroyed by an E-2 tornado. If there's a warning, I go to the basement. If there's a watch, I don't go outside or drive anywhere. It's just not worth risking it.
I get made fun of for being a little bit of a doomsday prepper, but whatever. Of course I have emergency food and water at my house. I also have N-95 respirators because I'm in public health and freaked out by pandemic flu.