# Tornadoes



## notorious (Oct 13, 2008)

What is the best place to get safe during a tornado?


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## CHUM (Oct 13, 2008)

notorious said:


> What is the best place to get safe during a tornado?


.....underground


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## cycle61 (Oct 14, 2008)

California (but not Fairfield)


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## CHUM (Oct 13, 2008)

cycle61 said:


> California (but not Fairfield)


pffft......then ya got earthquakes....and hippies....whole 'nother ball-O-wax.....how do ya avoid those?...the hippies primarily....can't stand hippies.....all friendly, stoned and generous......damn hippies.....smell funny too.....


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## slurp (Oct 14, 2008)

Would u rather choose the tornado or the hippies?


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## CHUM (Oct 13, 2008)

slurp said:


> Would u rather choose the tornado or the hippies?


tornado....you can scream and run away from a tornado......try that with hippie and you might get hugged....ugh


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## TechAdmin (Oct 1, 2008)

Here in South we have a major disadvantage of both having Tornados and have solid rock 1" below the dirt so no basements. Safest place is the middle of the home, no windows and in the bathtub if all are possible.


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## CHUM (Oct 13, 2008)

Dean said:


> Here in South we have a major disadvantage of both having Tornados and have solid rock 1" below the dirt so no basements. Safest place is the middle of the home, no windows and in the bathtub if all are possible.


yup...i was raised in texas.....limestone is a booger to dig....


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## pantser (Oct 14, 2008)

So the old bathtub thing works? Does the plumbing hold it to the ground or something? What if your bathroom is on the side of the house instead of the center would that make it bad to go in?


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## Fetthunter (Oct 14, 2008)

notorious said:


> What is the best place to get safe during a tornado?


Lowest floor of your house, with as many walls between you and the outside as possible. Also being on the NE side of your house is said to be preferable, as most tornadoes track SW to NE.


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## Fetthunter (Oct 14, 2008)

Dean said:


> Here in South we have a major disadvantage of both having Tornados and have solid rock 1" below the dirt so no basements. Safest place is the middle of the home, no windows and in the bathtub if all are possible.


I live in the south AND have a basement!  Just red clay around my place, though limestone is the reason for all of the caves near my house.


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## guyfour (Oct 15, 2008)

I think the best place would be open up a manhole and climb down the ladder if you really think it will be bad...


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## gabbyj310 (Oct 22, 2012)

I've lived in Florida and the "Islands"most of my life.That being said we have had major hurricans including Andrew.With a hurricain you know it's comming and can prepare,run or hide.So what did I do???? Bought a place in Kentucky(tornado alley)!!!! Not only that it has a trailer as old as me on it.My solution was a shipping container (mostly)buried as a tornado shelter and some cool storage(we do have HOT summers)butmy poor old place still need loads of work,so the shelter will have to wait until I can afford to have it done right (if I don't get blown away first)!!!!!


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## Sentry18 (Aug 5, 2012)

> What is the best place to get safe during a tornado?


My basement. We have a reinforced room just for tornados (and severe weather preps). An added safety feature we installed after two towns within 30 miles of me were nearly wiped off the map in the last 10-15 years. After looking at the sidewalks, driveways and empty holes in the grounds (former basements) where a neighborhood USED to be, I decided that a regular basement room was just not going to do.


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## zracer7 (Apr 17, 2012)

cycle61 said:


> California (but not Fairfield)


Or Chico...


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## cnsper (Sep 20, 2012)

A ditch is safer than a bath tub. A bath tub will not stop flying debris. 

But to answer the question... Where ever the tornado is NOT!


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## dixiemama (Nov 28, 2012)

Basements won't help if your home is ripped from foundation. When the tornado went through Magoffin Co. KY, I live so close I HEARD it happen. Driving through Van Lear, Hager Hill (Johnson County) and Salyersville (Magoffin), ppl were standing in their basements throwing debris onto what was left of their property cuz their 2 story brick home was blown all across town. 

We were not prepared for it; the last tornado in eastern ky in recent memory was so small, it barely scratched the F scale and only blew out windows of an abandoned schoolhouse. 

My opinion? Best place is a deep cave.


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## OldCootHillbilly (Jul 9, 2010)

Ifin ya got one, basement under a heavy workbench er table. Lackin that, a interior room with no winders. Ifin it be the bathroom, the tub be the preffered place. Ya can also cover up witha mattress to.

Unless ya got a special room (bravo ta those what do:2thumb these be the safest options unless yall got time ta get ta a designated storm shelter.

Ifin yall live in a trailer there ain't but one thin ta do. GET OUT! Trailers be death traps in tornado's.


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## TheLazyL (Jun 5, 2012)

OldCootHillbilly said:


> Ifin ya Ifin it be the bathroom, the tub be the preffered place. .


If the tub cast iron I'd agree with you. I'd it one of those new fangled fiberglass ones, good luck


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## lazydaisy67 (Nov 24, 2011)

It's flying debris that will kill you. So yeah, I'm not sure what the heck you do if you don't have a basement. :scratch We've always been told lowest floor in your house, south west corner, not close to any windows, bathtub or closet in interior of house, cover your head, etc. I don't really understand the 'get in a ditch' advice but I suppose it would be better than nothing, but in my opinion not by much. I think it's the F-scale also. If you have an F5 coming at you, you'd better either be underground or kiss your fanny because those will obliterate everything. Gotta watch the news. They're getting better all the time about predicting accurately where and when bad storms and tornadoes happen. Tornadoes are scary, but very rare.


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## ksmama10 (Sep 17, 2012)

OldCootHillbilly said:


> Ifin ya got one, basement under a heavy workbench er table. Lackin that, a interior room with no winders. Ifin it be the bathroom, the tub be the preffered place. Ya can also cover up witha mattress to.
> 
> Unless ya got a special room (bravo ta those what do:2thumb these be the safest options unless yall got time ta get ta a designated storm shelter.
> 
> Ifin yall live in a trailer there ain't but one thin ta do. GET OUT! Trailers be death traps in tornado's.


I rode out a tornado in a trailer once, in 1974. Scariest night of my life til that point. I decided at 13 that if it were up to me, I'd never live in a trailer. Not the place to be in a tornado..


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## cnsper (Sep 20, 2012)

> I don't really understand the 'get in a ditch' advice


Tornadoes do not travel up and down with the terrain like crossing a ditch. It will follow up and down small rolling hills. Why are there very few tornadoes in the mountains? The winds are lateral and being in a ditch puts you below those lateral winds. Tornadoes do not suck things up like a straw, which is what most people think.


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## dixiemama (Nov 28, 2012)

Don't tell me they don't travel ditch lines! The ones that struck here followed roads, valleys, hopped highways, skipped one home while completely wiping next door off the map, and went up and over mountains. They have a mind of their own and the best thing to do is GET OUT before one strikes.


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## cowboyhermit (Nov 10, 2012)

Yikes, some scary info, "open a manhole cover and climb in"
Tornadoes are often accompanied by massive amounts of rainfall and frequently cause flooding. I agree that underground is usually the best and easiest, but if choosing a culvert or cave please bear this in mind.
A storm shelter can be built anywhere, either in the form of a safe room, root cellar, or an above ground separate structure using substantial material like earth/sand fill, reinforced concrete, steel, or even many inches of solid wood. It can also serve other purposes.


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## fondini (Mar 18, 2012)

Best excuse ever to build an above ground root cellar if you can't dig one. Better yet a monolithic geodesic root cellar.


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