WWYD weather edition

[bowies]

We are under a tornado watch until 9 pm tonight.  Tornados are near the top of my fear list but I don't have a ton of experience with them. I've never been to Oklahoma.  Alerts have been sent to us at work that we have a 60% chance of seeing 1-2 significant tornadoes in the region.  Local weatherman says biggest threat is to our west and south.

Knowing this, would you cancel your plans tonight?  GNO about 30 minutes away.  Unfortunately, it's to celebrate my birthday, but I'm not the organizer.

[stephogirl]

I would not cancel as long as...
1. I could take shelter, if needed, at the location I would be
2. I had an app downloaded on my phone that would alert me if there was a warning. The American Red Cross has a good one.

ETA: The only real thing that would give me pause would be driving that distance during a watch. This could make me change my mind unless there were plenty of places to take cover along the way if needed. 

[smock]

I wouldn't feel super comfortable driving 30 minutes each way if there's a significant risk of tornadoes. Even if there aren't tornadoes directly in your area, the weather will still be really shitty, right? I'd reach out to the organizer and see what everyone else thinks.

[soozy87]

Go!

[mswax]

Tornado watch = no big deal in my area (New England)
Tornado warning = maybe consider canceling

My biggest fear is being away from my family if something happened at home.

[MadamePresident]

Not for a watch. But I don't have a big fear of tornadoes. We live in an area where they are kind of common, and everyone has basements.

[jeaniebueller]

I would cancel. I don't like driving in storms and am a scardy cat about tornadoes.

[Cioccolato]

I wouldn't cancel plans but I am from St.Louis and they were "common".

[lilac05]

It would depend on a lot of factors. If you have to drive long distances on open roads between home and GNO, I might stay home. If you'll be in town, where you could pull over and seek shelter if necessary, I'd be more likely to go. It would also depend on the types of storms expected (but I'm a weather geek, so that's hard to explain). If you go, listen to a local radio station instead of other music/podcasts/audiobooks, so you can hear if the watches have turned to warnings.

I live in the Midwest, though, where we frequently have Tornado Watches throughout spring, summer, and into fall. Never, ever mess with Warnings, though. That means a tornado HAS been spotted in that area and you should get to safety immediately.

[bowies]

Ugh I was sitting in the OB office when an alert came in from work to shelter in place because a tornado was in the area. OMGgg. I've never been so happy to be away from the office. Things look to be clearing up now.