Tornado time

slider wrote:

suzyr wrote:

Straight line winds will knock over anything in the path, not pick and choose one tree over another one, next to it. I'm just sayin'... Tornadoes pick and choose. They're funny like that.

Bullshit, I have seen farm buildings blown down by straight line winds yet other bulidings were still standing 20 feet away, it happened at the farm. Washhouse fine, chicken coup, indentical building blown down and a three story barn right behind those still standing, absolutely no damage. The house 60 feet away and a double garage not a scratch.

Quality of construction could play a role in something like that.

just looked at a storm chasers forum and it is looking like things could be favorable for tornados on saturday

LukeTHr wrote:

slider wrote:

suzyr wrote:

Straight line winds will knock over anything in the path, not pick and choose one tree over another one, next to it. I'm just sayin'... Tornadoes pick and choose. They're funny like that.

Bullshit, I have seen farm buildings blown down by straight line winds yet other bulidings were still standing 20 feet away, it happened at the farm. Washhouse fine, chicken coup, indentical building blown down and a three story barn right behind those still standing, absolutely no damage. The house 60 feet away and a double garage not a scratch.

Quality of construction could play a role in something like that.

That's true. Construction type, quality and such are some of the reasons they revised the F scale and now it's the EF. They used to say if there was nothing but a foundation left it was an F4 or 5. But now they ask was it old heavy concrete block, cinder block, heavy timbers, plywood, or a tin building, and calculate winds based on that.

Straight line winds are not a constant speed everywhere. There are lots of variables and could be wind currents were diverted towards that lost building. Could be it was not straight line wind, but rather a downburst/microburst that destroyed one building. I've seen places where a microburst would completely flatten a spot in tall grass or crops and not leave a single thing standing within a small area 50 or 100 foot wide while all the plants outside the area looked completely unharmed.

You can look at this scale or that, or yesterdays opinion or todays, but once you've looked at enough storm damage you realize just how tough it can be to call a certain event. I've seen straight line wind leave damage that you'd swear was tornadic, and vice verse. And don't forget, that most of the damage from a tornado is really just straight line winds but highly concentrated. You gotta look at every single damaged tree branch, structure, and even the grass before you make a call on something.

I remember one argument where there was no evidence except missing shingles on a house. No tree damage or anything else. Because of that one guy said he was positive it was straight line winds. The storm moved in from west to east. Straight line winds could account for missing shingles on the west side, and even the north or south slopes of the roof. But how could straight line winds from the west account for missing shingles on the east slope?

slider wrote:

I know what the two Metoeroligists from The Dodge City Weather Service told us that day, I will take their word for the Gospel Truth. They have the eduction and on the job training and the skill to figure out what they saw and made their determination from that and the data they had from their end.

I'm not going to get into a pissing match but it wasn't a Tornado that storm. They do know what they are doing, they are Professionals and the rest of you weren't on that day.

I know that is what they said that day.The very next day they retracted their statements and modified their assessment. A real professional is willing to look at more evidence when it is presented. That is what they did.

I am not a professional meteorologist, but I know that straight line winds don't turn a 5,000 lb. car a quarter turn. And a professional meteorologist told me I was right.

I heard a good one several years back.... a guy claimed he was riding his motorcycle and a tornado picked him and his bike up, spun him 360 and set him right back down in the same lane he had been driving in and he continued driving down the road...... Rat, you know who I am talking about. That guy was so full of **it it was running out his ears. Now people saw him right after this supposedly happend and yet he was completely clean and dry as was his bike.

On his story I have to say.......

Yeah Luke, he was also the worlds toughest Marine. He broke the door down to the AA place in Hays looking for a place to hide from the storm. I asked him why he didn't just grab the tornado by the tail and tie it in a knot.

What he should have done is just face the storm and start telling his stories of self greatness. That much wind might have blown any tornado away.