Tons of trees down, there is a downed power line, and my neighbors fence is totally destroyed. There have been tornado warnings in my area, but you never think it could happen so close to home, you know?
I'm interested in anyone's personal experience with one....thanks.
Guess I'll be picking up lots of broken branches and debris out of my backyard this weekend...*groan*
2006-07-12 09:30:45 · 15 answers · asked by Left Footed 5 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Weather
some times so called stright line winds can do as much damage as a tornado. these are the winds guesting out in front of a thunder Storm these are some times called a down draft. if we are talking about a Small area like a backyard it can be hard to tell if it was a tornado or not. a broader view, say of a neighborhood would be better to tell if a tornado spin were present.
2006-07-12 10:20:10 · answer #1 · answered by weatherman 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Hi happycat, I live in an area that NEVER has a tornado...except once and I witnessed it, both at a distence and I drove through the clouds (weird type) that seemed to be forming more tornados! I live in Rhode Island and was driving home from work on RT10 in Providence. In the distence (about 2 miles) I saw the tendrill of a funnel cloud making its way doen from the sky to a house on Union Avenue. As the point of the cloud touched the house, the house seemed to have lots of "birds" flying around it. It wasn't birds, of course, but debris being sucked up by the vortex of the tornado. The debris, I guess, was in such an area around the tornado that it wasn't sucked in, nor thrown out, it just "floated" around the cone. I knew it was dangerous so I kept driving away but I drove through some low hanging "weird" clouds and I could see little points starting to come down. I guess more tornados were forming but I wasn't waiting around. After it was over, and on the news, it was reported that 2 tornados had struck Providence. One destroyed a building behind the YMCA, and the one i saw on Union Ave. There is also something called a "wind sheer" in which a very violent wind comes down to the ground. These winds can be up to 200MPH and are sometimes mistaken for tornados.
2006-07-12 09:43:29 · answer #2 · answered by Matt G 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
We just had storms in our county yesterday (not my neighborhood, thank goodness), and the National Weather Service came out and investigated; they concluded that there were three tornadoes in our area last evening. If they suspect a tornado they will make an investigation and use the distribution of the debris to determine whether the damage was done by a tornado or simply by extremely high (straight-line) winds.
2006-07-12 09:35:32 · answer #3 · answered by jimbob 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
usually a tornado will not just knock down trees, but tears the tops out of them. Plus there would be debris all over, not just a downed line and fence. Sounds more like just a straight line wind to me. The tornado would have taken off roofs, torn buildings apart, moved cars, there would be total destruction all around. You would know if one just went through
2006-07-12 09:38:04 · answer #4 · answered by Just Me 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
sometimes a tornado can form in the clouds, but niot actually touch down. it still causes damage however not nearly as much.
had a torado in fact crossed your yard the windows in your house would have blown out and ,ore tahn trees would be down. It only takes a good wind to knock down a fence. I went through one of these'skynados' on march 4 2004. it didnot touch down but it did cause damage,a nd lifted my car slightly. it tore down fences, metal roofs, trees/tree branches but noty any house taht would have been destroyed had it actualy been a tornado!
2006-07-12 17:16:39 · answer #5 · answered by That Girl 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Witnessed on on the sea close to where I work. Got some pictures but lost them. They were not more than 3 miles away but still looked big. We had strong winds for about 10 minutes. As a thought.... be safe when you pick up around your home. Watch out for power cables. Good luck !
2006-07-12 14:26:40 · answer #6 · answered by papo9112001 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
In 2003 a tornado ripped through our town and destroyed thousands of dollars worth in damage.We had a pin oak tree in our back yard and it fell on our house and totaled our truck.Thankfully none of our animals were hurt.A year later our reconstruction was finally complete and we could move back home.Note that we were in our house at the time the tornado hit.That was the most scary thing I have ever been through in my life.
2006-07-12 09:37:20 · answer #7 · answered by -Veggie Chick- 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Had a funnel cloud take out my fence and send the neighbors aluminum shed down the block. Best I can do.
2006-07-12 11:07:28 · answer #8 · answered by NoPoaching 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I saw a tornado. I was about 15 miles away, but could easily see it. It did alot of damage.
2006-07-12 09:34:32 · answer #9 · answered by James R 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If it was a tornedo or straight line winds and you still have power, you are very lucky!
Hope everyone is OK
2006-07-12 09:36:50 · answer #10 · answered by jomama 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋