Terrible Weather

[Darren]

So last night was the worst storm I've ever been in. I thought I had it bad once when I was on the road with a tornado, but this storm last night scared the crap out of me.

Anyway, if you didn't hear about it, there was a large storm traveling from Texas to Illinois last night. Several tornados touched down, ripping houses apart. (Doing their usual tornado thing) Anyway, death toll was low, so that's a great thing.

Still, it is creepy the way this storm attacked. I live right on the border to Arkansas and have to cross the Arkansas river anytime I want to go into the city, and apparently half the city is flooded. Buildings are blown apart, windows shattered, damaged cars, etc. In my town alone, we had two funnels and a very brief tornado just outside city limits. Luckily, it only touched down for a few seconds over some farmland.

So, what's you scariest storm? Hurricanes, blizzards, earthquakes... I know there are OB members all across the US, (and some are even in different countries) so this isn't just limited to Tornadoes.

[Raiha]

[COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"]We get the torrential Santa Anas winds every fall and throughout the winter. Winds in the 100 mph range just blowing smog and dust and debris all over the place. Uprooting trees, and spreading wild fires that burn down people's houses and force people to evacuate while their entire lives go up in smoke.

And we have earth quakes. It's California. I can look out my window and see a ridge of trees that marks the San Andreas fault. We're due for another Loma Prietta style quake too. It's been too long since the last one. Even if we have little ones all the time that rock the house gently, it's only a matter of time before we're hit again and the entire infrastructure of the state falls apart. Bliss.[/FONT][/COLOR]

[Horendithas]

[COLOR="Indigo"]It's been a while since this happened back in August of 1999, but this is the scariest storm I've ever been in:

[CENTER][YOUTUBE="Salt Lake City Utah Tornado"]h0VB5905Ebg[/YOUTUBE][/CENTER]

And yes, that terrified the hell out of me because just like the reporter says in the clip, when you're too close, you really can't breathe, it feels like you're being suffocated or something. We've had other bad storms, but that one was the worst.[/COLOR]

[Rachmaninoff]

[quote name='indifference'][COLOR="Indigo"]And yes, that terrified the hell out of me because just like the reporter says in the clip, when you're too close, you really can't breathe, it feels like you're being suffocated or something. We've had other bad storms, but that one was the worst.[/COLOR][/QUOTE]You're not the only one. I remember that storm. I mean it's kind of hard to forget since Utah doesn't really get tornadoes. So it was impossible to miss something like that. >_< I'd have to agree that it was one of the scariest things I've ever been in. We've had other storms that were bad, but nothing as horrible as that one was.

[Sabrina]

[FONT="Tahoma"][quote name='indifference'][COLOR="Indigo"]And yes, that terrified the hell out of me because just like the reporter says in the clip, when you're too close, you really can't breathe, it feels like you're being suffocated or something. We've had other bad storms, but that one was the worst.[/COLOR][/QUOTE]I was going to mention that storm we had back in August of 2006 that clobbered the area, tearing down power lines and creating havoc with all the high winds... If I remember correctly though, that hit Beth's area harder. Anyway, now I'm going to have to go with the tornado instead. Because as bad as the storm was in 2006, that was a whole lot worse. [/FONT]

[Darren]

Oh man, I don't remember the Salt Lake City Tornado, but apparently 1999 was not a good year for big cities, with Utah first, and then OK city a month later.

I remember I had family in OKC for that one. If I'm not mistaken, it was the strongest winds ever recorded. (318 mph)

But yeah, I know what you mean. I hate having to deal with tornado season every year. It always scares the crap out of me.

Last night, the tennis ball sized hail hit so suddenly, it sounded like a bunch of firecrackers going off on our roof all at once. It was so loud, I couldn't here my mom screaming in my ear.

I can't wait to move out of here... But then I'll have to decide whether I would prefer lotsa tornadoes, really bad earthquakes, or terrifying hurricanes... I'm not sure which is worse.

[Desbreko]

[color=#4B0082]I live in California's northern valley. The only thing we get up here are floods. Except my city is one of the few built on high ground so I don't even have to worry about those. The most exciting it gets is when there's an especially bad thunderstorm that knocks out the power for a bit, or maybe when it snows a tiny bit once every five years or so.

I feel both thankful and deprived at the same time when I read about all the weather phenomena that other places get.[/color]

[Odin M Yggdrasi]

I've had two tornadoes come down in my backyard in the past 10 years.

I live in Upstate NY.

Usually though when the sky turns green and the house begins to shake with thunder and driving rain, it is time to open the trapdoor and take cover.

This house has been standing for over 100 years, and has been kept in good repair. I trust only a direct tornado impact would damage it significantly.

Though I have been nearly hit by lightning twice now, one hit a tree about 20 feet away and the other one struck the barn I was in while repairing a cow sorting gate that was damaged when the herd panicked due to an ATV on the fence line earlier that day.

My favorite part though is given that I live on a hill and have a 360 degree view of the hills around, after a storm front passes I can sometimes go out to the crest of the hill and watch the lightning flash all around me.

Usually I will sit low to the ground when doing this though, because if you can see lightning it is possible to get hit by it.

Edit: Oh, and I am on the end of the line as far as power goes. The lights flicker and grow dim a lot even without thunderstorms, however when there is one in the region it is like a horror movie the way the power flickers. Only with battery-backup and heavy power filtering can I stay online during those times, and I have to use a generator during the worst of it.

[Aberinkula]

[size=1][COLOR="DarkSlateGray"]You live in Upstate NY? OMG I live near the border of Canada, that's strange... and I mean I live near the border by like 20 miles. God... this is a small world.

As for terrible weather, a few years ago we had a microburst that tore some trees down, knocekd trees down, and knocked power out for at least a day or two. Other than that it was pretty cool. We also had a blizzard about a month and a half ago. And of coarse I'm stuck with the chore of getting wood from the woodshed. I was knee-high is snow.

****ing christ sakes it sucked, the next day the snow was HUGE, and me and my father had to go out and plow too.[/COLOR][/size]

[Claire]

[FONT="Arial"]I live on the west coast of FL, and despite the Gulf of Mexico being RIGHT THERE we haven't had any terrible storms in a long time. I've only experienced a few hurricanes in my lifetime, and they were on the verge of weakening into tropical storms right before they made landfall anyway.

The scariest thing I can remember is waiting for Hurricane Charley to hit. Prior to that I had never experienced a hurricane in my life, and this one was a Category 4 (out of a maximum five levels). My parents waited until the morning of to get any supplies, and it was really tense all over the place. Both emotionally and atmospherically.

Fortunately for us, the storm turned at the last second and brushed right past my area. It totally ravaged parts of southern FL, though. Then you had Frances, Ivan, and Jean come through right after that, so some places that got hit the hardest still haven't recovered. In fact, Katrina hit down there too, though it was nowhere near as powerful as it was when it hit New Orleans.

Meteorologists always say my city is long overdue for a horrific storm, though, given its close proximity to the gulf. That's a scary though.[/FONT]

[Odin M Yggdrasi]

[quote name='Aberinkula'][size=1][COLOR="DarkSlateGray"]You live in Upstate NY? OMG I live near the border of Canada, that's strange... and I mean I live near the border by like 20 miles. God... this is a small world.

As for terrible weather, a few years ago we had a microburst that tore some trees down, knocekd trees down, and knocked power out for at least a day or two. Other than that it was pretty cool. We also had a blizzard about a month and a half ago. And of coarse I'm stuck with the chore of getting wood from the woodshed. I was knee-high is snow.

****ing christ sakes it sucked, the next day the snow was HUGE, and me and my father had to go out and plow too.[/COLOR][/size][/QUOTE]

I'm still a good way south from you though. If you look on a map and see the southern end of Keuka Lake, the shore right there is about 30 minutes from where I live.
I'm in the "backwoods" region in the finger lakes region where NY meets PA right around the middle of the state.

Last night's storm was a bit weak though. I only saw one lightning strike, and didn't hear anything other than a good solid wind blast and some rain.

Darn, I was hoping for a big one.

[PWNED]

Two weeks ago, a massive storm hit Melbourne (Australia of course) and knocked out power for three days in at least 20,000 houses in the Eastern suburbs. We were getting torrential rains and literal gale force winds and unfortunatly, a line worker died after getting blown into some powerlines while he was working to restore electricity.

God, that storm caused my mum a hell of a lot of trouble as she is a human resources manager at the company that the line worker worked at.

[SunfallE]

[COLOR="RoyalBlue"][FONT="Lucida Sans Unicode"][quote name='Sabrina'][FONT="Tahoma"]I was going to mention that storm we had back in August of 2006 that clobbered the area, tearing down power lines and creating havoc with all the high winds... If I remember correctly though, that hit Beth's area harder. Anyway, now I'm going to have to go with the tornado instead. Because as bad as the storm was in 2006, that was a whole lot worse. [/FONT][/QUOTE]You remember correctly, a section of the city was shut down since so many power lines went down, it was impossible to get around. It was several blocks if I remember correctly. Then huge sections of the city had no power at all. Some for several days while they replaced the downed power lines and poles. XP But in spite of that, it wasn't the most scary storm I've been in.

I didn't see the tornado in SLC, but I did see the storm from further down south, I remember thinking at the time... If I was still in Texas, that would spell trouble. So it was startling to learn a little later that it actually had, since we just don't get those here.

Now as for storms, I always hated the thunderstorms when I lived in Dallas. Because I'm afraid of lightening. They weren't too bad, but damn if they didn't drive me up the wall. Utah doesn't get intense storms like that so I like it here much better.

Now as for really scary? Some stuff I ran into as a truck driver was downright nerve wracking, like one where the rain combined with fog was so dense I couldn't drive more than five to ten miles an hour because I could barely see the road at all.

Or the blizzard that left me semi-stranded at a rest stop since the road got shut down. That one made me glad I was a truck driver. Since unlike a four wheeler, I could just wait it out in the relative comfort of the cab. [/FONT][/COLOR]

[DBZgirl88]

[COLOR="#004a6f"]I live in southern Ontario, so we get our share of blizzards and snow storms, though they never compare to tornados and hurricanes in damages.

A few years back though, we got freezing rain out of nowhere, just after all the snow melted and we thought spring was finally here. Everything was coated in a thick layer of ice. It looked very pretty, especially on the trees, as they were starting to bud, and individual leaves were coated with ice. But the weight of the ice caused a lot of damages. Many trees lost entire branches (some of these branches landing on top of cars), and some of the smaller trees even split in two.[/COLOR]

[Whiteblaze]

[FONT="Arial"]Hmm, I've never experienced things like blizzards, tornadoes, hurricanes, and especially not earthquakes.

I'm a Gulf Coast resident so I here about hurricanes, but have not directly experienced one. I'd say Houston tends to get more tropical storms. And while Texas is in or very near Tornado Alley, I would still say I've never experienced a tornado before.

Every now and then during winter some snowflakes will fall. It wasn't until a spring break trip to New York City ( a year ago) did I at 19 years of age finally get to see snow for the very first time. I mean real snow on the ground and everything. I was in kindergarten when I first saw snowflakes. I remember that day so well. We were coming from music class when they suddenly started to fall. Our teachers let us play outside for a while we were just so excited to see snowflakes that melted seconds after landing.

As I mentioned before, thunderstorms are what we mostly get here as far as that type of weather is concerned. We do get flooding too. The flash-flood kind of flooding where if you see the weather warning of it, it's best you sit tight and wait. Some people learn this lesson the hard way with flooded-out cars that need major work.

We do get very bad thunderstorms, but I'm so used to them now they hardly even phase me. For example, in third grade my brother and I had to walk home from school every day for a month in thunder, rain, and lightning. Also, you just become accustomed to driving in heavy rain on the highway where you can hardly see the car in front of you let alone the street. You just become an expert driver in that sense.

It's the hot weather that is most terrible, in my opinion. It just gets really hot here. Our springs are probably like other regions' summers. I think that at any given temperature that it is still hotter here along the Gulf because of the humidity. I was never entirely sure what humidity was until just a few years ago because of being so used to it. I still have no concept of what "dry heat" is or what it feels like. Guess I need to visit Arizona. The heat doesn't come only from the direction of the sun; it's all around you.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I remember hearing of some state in the U.S. where tinted car windows was against the law. To me, it should be against the law to not have tinted windows!

No one else has terrible hot weather?[/FONT]

[chibi-master]

Well, I live in the area that was hit pretty badly by the October storm of 2006! For my own personal safety, I will not specify! Anyway, my mom, dad, sister and I had just moved into the area and had not even found a home yet, so my family and I were staying in a hotel. We went to a storage thing we had rented to get our generator and hook up our hotel room to some power while every other room was powerless.(the snow had brought down trees 'cause of their leaves and the trees brought down power lines.) I actually was not scared because I had just moved from south Texas and this was my first real snowfall! I was skipping and laughing while people were freezing! I was so happy that the snow was up to my thighs!:animesmil

[SunfallE]

[COLOR="RoyalBlue"][FONT="Lucida Sans Unicode"][quote name='chibi-master']Well, I live in the area that was hit pretty badly by the October storm of 2006![/QUOTE]Are you talking about a different storm? Because the one we've been referring to was in August 2006 in the SLC and Provo, Utah area. [URL="http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=395507"][U]Click[/U][/URL] Sounds like you're thinking of another storm in a different state I imagine. ^_~

Whiteblaze, I don't know if some states disallow tinted windows, but I do know that here in Utah, the front windows are limited in how dark they can be. Which is why I paid to have someone tint my windows so they'd fit the regulation. Which kind of sucked since they aren't nearly as dark as I would like.[/FONT][/COLOR]

[chibi-master]

[quote name='SunfallE'][COLOR="RoyalBlue"][FONT="Lucida Sans Unicode"]Are you talking about a different storm? Because the one we've been referring to was in August 2006 in the SLC and Provo, Utah area. [URL="http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=395507"][U]Click[/U][/URL] Sounds like you're thinking of another storm in a different state I imagine. ^_~FONT][/COLOR][/QUOTE]

In fact, I am indeed talkin' 'bout a different storm! I never heard about this August storm you're talking about! And yes it is in a different state.:animesmil Sorry if I confused you or anyone else.:animeswea

[Aaryanna_Mom]

I grew up in Mt. Pleasant Texas and therefore in tornado land as one could put it. I've seen all sorts of horrible storms from twisters destroying everything, to hail the size of softballs, to blizzards to flooding bad enough in Provo Utah that we literally had little rivers running down streets that were barely kept in check by sandbags.

It's hard to pick just one instance of terrible weather among the violent storms I've seen, though for sheer destructive power, I'd say tornadoes are on the top. Even with that twister in SLC, which fortunately for that type of storm was mild, I much prefer living where such occurrences are unusual instead of expected each year. That's one aspect of living in Texas that I do not miss at all. Well that and the hot humid weather too. I don't miss that either.

[Whiteblaze]

[FONT="Arial"][quote name='chibi-master'](the snow had brought down trees 'cause of their leaves and the trees brought down power lines.) I actually was not scared because I had just moved from south Texas and this was my first real snowfall! I was skipping and laughing while people were freezing! I was so happy that the snow was up to my thighs!:animesmil[/QUOTE]

I feel you on that one chibi-master. I'd have been right out there skipping and laughing with ya!

[quote name='SunfallE'][COLOR="RoyalBlue"][FONT="Lucida Sans Unicode"]Whiteblaze, I don't know if some states disallow tinted windows, but I do know that here in Utah, the front windows are limited in how dark they can be. Which is why I paid to have someone tint my windows so they'd fit the regulation. Which kind of sucked since they aren't nearly as dark as I would like.[/FONT][/COLOR][/QUOTE]

Yeah, I was just wondering because I noticed at my university that the only cars in the parking lot with untinted windows are those that belong to out-of-state students which I found to be strange and funny at the same time. I could understand a regulation limiting the level of tint (although as you said that still sucks), but not one banning it all together. Around Houston you see cars with fairly dark windows which is not uncommon. I personally love tint not just for privacy, but for simply how hot it can get in the summer. It's needed just for protection.

[quote name='Aaryanna_Mom']That's one aspect of living in Texas that I do not miss at all. Well that and the hot humid weather too. I don't miss that either.[/QUOTE]

I wish I lived in a place where I could say that too. lol[/FONT]

[Japan]

I used to live in northern Florida, then central Illinois, then central England, now Spokane, WA. I was in a hurricane in Florida. I was very young then and did not remember that. In Illinois, we got several tornadoes and the sky turned all purple and green. Thid one tornado in particular happened during school. I wasn't scared. It was pretty awesome!

In England we had tornadoes once believe it or not. Really cool! The flooded parts of the military base and the BX shopping center being roofless in parts and flooded wasn't very fun though. Especially all the gnats we got for four months after the event.

In Spokane all we ever get are lame snow and wind storms. We had snow so bad this past winter that all the schools shut down for a week and a half. Wind storms = no electricity = no classes.

[Nomurah!]

[quote name='Darren']So last night was the worst storm I've ever been in. I thought I had it bad once when I was on the road with a tornado, but this storm last night scared the crap out of me.

Anyway, if you didn't hear about it, there was a large storm traveling from Texas to Illinois last night. Several tornados touched down, ripping houses apart. (Doing their usual tornado thing) Anyway, death toll was low, so that's a great thing.

Still, it is creepy the way this storm attacked. I live right on the border to Arkansas and have to cross the Arkansas river anytime I want to go into the city, and apparently half the city is flooded. Buildings are blown apart, windows shattered, damaged cars, etc. In my town alone, we had two funnels and a very brief tornado just outside city limits. Luckily, it only touched down for a few seconds over some farmland.

So, what's you scariest storm? Hurricanes, blizzards, earthquakes... I know there are OB members all across the US, (and some are even in different countries) so this isn't just limited to Tornadoes.[/QUOTE]

[SIZE="1"][COLOR="HotPink"]I know exactly what you're talking about, after all... These tornados keep passing through Arkansas. This year is probably the worst weather we've had. I live in Warren ... very small town. Luckily, we didn't get it bad. But Little Rock did. My cousin's school had a tornado tear it to shreds.

They were out for a little while, and now, they're all going to school in places like community centers, churches, etc. You may have heard it on the news.

I also found out that AR was on the news in Canada. That was like "Whoa, is our weather that bad?".... so I'm guessing it is.

Also. It hasn't snowed down here in seven years. But on March 1st, we got five/six inches of it. That was a high-light of my year. Snow battles with my buddies, like we were little kids. It's just been so long since we've gotten it. [/COLOR]

[/SIZE]

[Darren]

[quote name='Whoa, Mann'][SIZE="1"][COLOR="HotPink"]I know exactly what you're talking about, after all... These tornados keep passing through Arkansas. This year is probably the worst weather we've had. I live in Warren ... very small town. Luckily, we didn't get it bad. But Little Rock did. My cousin's school had a tornado tear it to shreds.

They were out for a little while, and now, they're all going to school in places like community centers, churches, etc. You may have heard it on the news.

I also found out that AR was on the news in Canada. That was like "Whoa, is our weather that bad?".... so I'm guessing it is.

Also. It hasn't snowed down here in seven years. But on March 1st, we got five/six inches of it. That was a high-light of my year. Snow battles with my buddies, like we were little kids. It's just been so long since we've gotten it. [/COLOR]

[/SIZE][/QUOTE]

That's weird... I've actually been through Warren before. And I remember hearing a major storm heading through your area just shortly after ours hit... Maybe you remember the news talking about Fort Smith and Van Buren???

But yeah, the tornadoes are crazy. Our school got cancelled for a day because of the damage done to all the windows, but unfortunately, we didn't get our school blown down. It's actually funny because, ever since I was in elementary, I've wished for a tornado to blow down the school... (at night, of course) And I was actually hopeful last week because I heard that there were funnels right over it, but it didn't touch down until after it was out of the city... Darn

It seems like the weather is getting worse every year. It stays colder longer and the heat gets more unbearable each year... We had that really bad ice storm about 7 or 8 years ago, but ever since then, we didn't even have snow that stuck to the ground, until this year when we got up to 5 inches on three separate occasions. (The strangest part about it is that it was actually warm in between each snow. Warm enough to wear shorts and a T-Shirt)

I hate tornado alley...
(P.S. I was just joking about my dislike for Arkansas in that PM you sent me. :p)

[Nomurah!]

[quote name='Darren']That's weird... I've actually been through Warren before. And I remember hearing a major storm heading through your area just shortly after ours hit... Maybe you remember the news talking about Fort Smith and Van Buren???

But yeah, the tornadoes are crazy. Our school got cancelled for a day because of the damage done to all the windows, but unfortunately, we didn't get our school blown down. It's actually funny because, ever since I was in elementary, I've wished for a tornado to blow down the school... (at night, of course) And I was actually hopeful last week because I heard that there were funnels right over it, but it didn't touch down until after it was out of the city... Darn

It seems like the weather is getting worse every year. It stays colder longer and the heat gets more unbearable each year... We had that really bad ice storm about 7 or 8 years ago, but ever since then, we didn't even have snow that stuck to the ground, until this year when we got up to 5 inches on three separate occasions. (The strangest part about it is that it was actually warm in between each snow. Warm enough to wear shorts and a T-Shirt)

I hate tornado alley...
(P.S. I was just joking about my dislike for Arkansas in that PM you sent me. :p)[/QUOTE]
[SIZE="1"][COLOR="hotPink"]
Yeah the snow was the strangest part of our weather. The day before had been pretty hot, and they day before that day, even hotter. And, well the snow made for an awkward change of weather. But, for the next few days, we had snow to play in... before it completely melted away. :[ It's funny how the weather is never exactly how you want it.

As my luck would have it, a tornado would probably randomly burst right through our school, while we were all in it. I've heard a lot about Fort Smith and Van Buren... My dad is in the logging industry, and he has to watch the weather very periodically, so I pick up a lot when I'm at the dinner table, and etc. My family is going through a lot of stuff right now because of work being bad for him.

Also, this isn't just happening all over AR... it's like. The world is ending. Well, I don't want to get dramatic, but I do have a feeling that my children's lives will suck. If the weather gets any worse, someone could die of heat stroke in the sunny states, before the year even hits summertime. The winters are starting to suck too.

Blaaahhhh. Oh, and that's good you were just kidding. lol, It's probably common though, about several people to have horrible nightmares involving us "southern hillbillies with twelves gauges and fo'-wheelahs"

...lol.[/COLOR][/SIZE]

[OMNOMNOMALY]

[FONT="Garamond"]It's blizzarding here. In April. And I mean a lot. It was +24 degrees celcius a week ago, yesterday, too. I consider this to be [B]terrible[/B] weather. IN APRIL. D:

I live in central Alberta, Canada and yeah, it can be cold.. but generally by now, all the snow has melted and it actually feels like spring![/FONT]