36 Years Ago...

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Seen a Tornado?

Poll ended at Sun May 11, 2003 10:44 pm

Not only seen, but been in one!
6
26%
Yup, I've seen one or more from a safe distance.
7
30%
Never seen one happening, but have seen damage.
5
22%
Haven't seen one, or damage it does, but would like to.
3
13%
NO...never want to, and hope I never will.
2
9%
 
Total votes: 23

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azskyman
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36 Years Ago...

#1 Postby azskyman » Mon Apr 21, 2003 10:44 pm

April 21, 1967...I watched out the front of my home as a powerful f4 tornado was bearing down on our hometown. Through the trees to the southwest, I saw debris sailing high into the sky and then, as if it was happening on TV, I saw the massive funnel.

Icy hailstones began pelting the house. Soon larger debris; lumber, bricks, trees, household items, even parts of pavement...began smashing away the homes.

Little did I know then that 3 people had already lost their lives before I saw it...and 21 more were just seconds away from perishing. 450 were injured that day...most of them under 18.

Kathy, my wife now, my girlfriend then, was in a car with six other friends. The car was lifted from the ground and into the throat of that funnel not just once, but twice. There was not an ounce of glass left in that car when it came down sitting upright. Glass had pelted them so hard that it took weeks to remove it from her skin and skull. Only one in the car was hurt seriously.

On my way to the high school a few blocks from my home, I looked down at a young boy, perhaps 8 or 9, who had a splintered 2 x 4 run through the calf of his leg. I was so stunned..so overwhelmed by not being able to find Kathy that I just walked right by him. What ever possessed me to leave him, I don't know.

There were kids on the roof of the school...sucked inside the storm and deposited on the roof. They were crying to get down.

Doors of the school were being ripped off and used for stretchers across the seats of school busses.

That event, like Vietnam that followed just three years later, opened my eyes to the fragile nature of life...to the real meaning of heroes..and to learning to the resiliency of the human spirit that will never die.

azskyman
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#2 Postby CajunMama » Mon Apr 21, 2003 10:47 pm

Tornadoes happen to quickly. Not enough time to prepare. At least with a hurricane I can head north!
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#3 Postby Guest » Mon Apr 21, 2003 10:52 pm

I seen one...Possibly two i never checked on the other one.. But the one i knew was comming and i happend to be at my mothers and she was going with me over to my grandparents and i told her one was in the area and sure enough we get on the road and make our second turn onto the main Hwy and there it is comming from our left and went right out in front of us across the highway :o .......It was a site to behold....Everyone just pulled over and watched it as it moved on.....Very rare site in DE. But one i wont forget.
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ColdFront77

#4 Postby ColdFront77 » Tue Apr 22, 2003 1:43 am

I have never had an opportunity to be in or see a tornado. They are quite rare in southeastern Massachusetts. There was a very weak one awhile back in my general area and a Tornado Warning for my county; but I happened to be in the county that borders where I used to live for several days. -- there were no confirmed reports of tornadoes with this warning.

There have been some tornadoes reported in central Florida (of course) over the last 2 5/6 years, but not close enough to my vinicity to see.

I would like to see a tornado from a very safe distance, to see what they truly look like. They sure are a scary thing that Mother Nature has in store for some of us.
Last edited by ColdFront77 on Tue Apr 22, 2003 3:12 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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#5 Postby Arizwx » Tue Apr 22, 2003 7:04 am

My first experience was that of happenstance.We had flown from San Francisco to Detroit on one of the first non-stop B-707s,American Airlines to visit my Father's relatives and friends in Flint,Michigan and the next day,Palm Sunday,11 Apr 1965 in the quaint New Englandish Town of Hillsdale,MI in the Green Irish Hills,just north of the Michigan/Indiana border.
I was a boy,that loved the weather and aircraft!
Flying into a large city,seeing the huge White Puffy clouds,the weather was unusually warm and very humid.I remember very well,that morning driving from early Palm Sunday Mass in Flint,and my dad's friend recanting thier close call with the Killer 1953 Flint Tornado,that is listed,I believe in the top ten 'Killers'.They spoke of the similarities of the weather conditions,and the ominous 'quiet' and 'sultry'conditions.No Birds,no Robins sang that morning either they recalled.
We left Flint,myMom,Dad,Older brother and sister and drove south for 2 hrs,windows down,in the rented Pontiac Bonneville,which I recall had no air conditioning! .Remember,this is Spring,1965.
It was a very muggy,still day...I,a Northern Californian was not used to such humidity.The Dewpoint,I assume must have been in the 70F range.
The temp climbed into the 80s,we stopped often for Ne-Hi Grape and Orange Crush 'Pop' and Apple Ciders as they referred to Soda in Michigan.
I loved the Fruit and Veg stands that dotted the Midwestern rolling hillsides along the State Hwy Routes...Interstates were not yet completed,except for major cross countries like I-94,which we linked to.It was quite fun.Jets,New Airports,Interstates!
I could not get the conversation that my Dad had earlier out of my head.I was,intrigued by thier knowledge of the area I was so unfamiliar with,and the weather so different.If we got one or two thunderstorms in the Bay Area in a full year's time..it was a big deal!
Michigan was different.I knew theGreat Lakes surrounded her,and had visited Mackinac Island before.I knew the wicked weather that could spawn.I was just a boy,still I knew.
Hillsdale was a sleepy town..quaint.White Washed and Picket Fences.A 'Circus' roundabout in the center of town,with the Band Gazebo freshly painted.Perfectly placed Tulip arrangements of multi colors offset by the green lawns of this perfect little town.The Ice Cream Parlor was open..even this Sunday,as it was warm.The Bakery next door had Sour Cream Apple 'Tarts' for the Kids for 5 cents.Apple Orchards and the sweet spring Blossoms perfumed the air.Cherry Blossoms adored every street,with Dutch Elm trees just sprouting.Large Maple had leaves already.
Oak and White Birch near the Rose Gardens of the Town Church,tall Steeplechases of White and Blue.Dogs ran with children in StingRay bikes.A Picnic was ongoing,at the town park,softball game and balloons.This was a beautiful town!Perfect.I loved the little Hamlet.
Clouds..Huge White Clouds,with Black rounded edges that looked like wedding Cakes began to invade the Blue Sky.I had never seen the combination.No Birds sang.
We passed a tower.It seemed oddly out of place,next to the old Hook and Ladder Fire Station...the Engine was at the Park Picnic,old but very shiny.
The Station,like the town was..perfect.Red Paint,Gold Letters,White Clapboarded trim,built in the 1800s.The Tower,was newer.Treated Steel,anodized.Dull and gangly.Atop,a wierd looking set of Huge reversed horn like speakers.I remember seeing something like these cones on top of a tall building in San Francisco.We called them'Civil Defense Air Raid Sirens',and were tested once a month on Saturdays.I remember hearing them practicing little league in the Park.I was not sure what they were doing here though.This was not a big City.I knew,they looked oddly out of place in this 19th Century Eden.The Huge White Clouds were closer...with Black and Green hues behind them.I had never seen this combination.They had rounded cusps.Scalloped.Bluish Green&Yellow..Birds were flying faster than I had ever seen.Like they were being pushed by the wind.
I stared at them.The leaves on the trees went from dark green to whitish lime green,as the undersides of the leaves were showing in the coming breeze.My Mom commented on this..as she grew up in Canada.She said,it was a precursor to a big storm as her dad had taught her in the '30s.
My dad pulled the Pontiac into his Great Aunt's carriage house,next to the Raspberry garden.
We greeted,hugs and hellos,looking forward to a homecooked dinner.A bass toned rumble of thunder,then another shook the spring sod.I had never heard such a deep throated growl..then silence.Absolute silence.I found it uncomfortable to breath.It seemed somehow,as if I could not catch a full breath.I was dripping from the humidity.We all were.
The phone rang..a party line.Two long,one short was Auntie's she said.
Another clap of thunder..this one meant business.My Gr Aunt left the phone..and told us her Cousin,Garth had his barn blown over by a 'Cyclone'..just 5 miles away,to the Southeast.He warned her of it,then the phone went dead.Headed our way,she said.Maybe two,not sure.TWO??
Two what??Cyclones??Tornadoes?The hair on my neck stiffened.Every nerve in my body was activated.Adrenaline was pumping.My lips,nearly so numb,I found it hard to speak.No birds sang.
She began opening every window in the house.She was spry for a woman her age.My family helped.I could not understand the logic of this!The laced curtains filled like small sails.A cool breeze from nowhere filled the large room.She began ushering us down the back stone stairs,from the rear porch.I was still busy with a stuck wooden window jamb.It was freshly painted,like the rest of Hillsdale.I heard a locomotive in the distance,past the Park.Balloons filled the Chartreuse Green sky.It looked putrid.Ugly.The Balloons,disappeared quickly.Vanished.More thunder..or so I thought.It did not stop.It roared,louder.My Aunt said,'Sonny,that is no Locomotive!There are no tracks near here!No get with us,to the Fruit Cellar!'I ran to the back porch..the sceen door was now wide open,by itself.I could not breath.There was no air.The sound of the roar was louder.The Air Raid Siren went off,near the town square a few blocks away.It seemed muffled,yet very distinct.I knew now,what all this commotion was about!Those Cyclones!My feet could not move fast enough.It was as if I were in slow motion.I was not afraid,I was exhilirated!I wanted to 'see' it.Them.I looked over the hedgerows,past the Flagpole at the Park.My Dad,grinning,came to me.The wind in his shirt,tossling our hair.'So,Sonny..what do you think of Michigan?'He laughed.He was a true Michigander.Not afraid.We were alike.'Time to go to the Cellar son'.A tree crashed down in the Yard next door.
The Cellar was dank.Moist and dry at the same time.Wooden Cupboards crammed with sealed friut jars,clear and blue and green.Peaches,Apple Currants,Jellies,Jams,Holiday Cherries in Brandywine.Stone walls of sandstone and Michigan slate.Some loose shale near the edges.It was tight,compact and felt odd.Benches of Pine,a sawhorse with an 4 Oil Lanterns.One bare lightbulb hung center.The doors were thick planked,oiled.With 2 large hinges.My dad locked them down,then barred them with a 2x4.
I heard howling,roaring,deafening.Constant thunder.I heard tree limbs,bushes,rocks,pebbles,some metallic sounds...breaking glass.I heard then...ripping.I still,to this day cannot describe what it was.I beleive it was Auntie's home being clipped by the Vortex,as later,the rear porch where I could not breathe...was no more.Gone.Clean off.Perfect...like Hillsdale used to be.The birds sang strangely,as we stared at the town that was once perfect.The Siren no longer stood.The Birds sang in the ruins.
I may add,three twisters hit the area, at dinner time.Two merged,a third followed less than a minute later moving up to 60mph.The two that merged were F-4s the third, a possible F-5.
44dead hundreds injured as reports go,some are still missing to this day.
Last edited by Arizwx on Tue Apr 22, 2003 8:21 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Miss Mary

#6 Postby Miss Mary » Tue Apr 22, 2003 7:27 am

How about:

No I've never seen one, but know someone who did!

My husband and his Mom witnessed one of the infamous April 3, 1974 twisters, on Super Tornado Outbreak Day, on the West Side of Cincinnati. His mom glanced out the kitchen window and saw it, Jim came running. They couldn't believe it. It was fairly far away so they were safe, living in White Oak then. What they probably saw was the twister that had just touched down on South Rd. and/or Sayler Park (both areas west of Cincinnati).

I did choose I saw the damage. Back then damage was very visible in certain suburbs and I remember driving by. I also remember reading documents were found miles away but we never saw any. Store merchandise too, found miles away from the original location. That was one powerful day/storm in this area. It's still talked about, right up there with the winters of 77 and 78! The 70s around these parts, wx-wise, were not boring!
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#7 Postby wx247 » Tue Apr 22, 2003 7:58 am

I have been in one, but I never saw it...just its damaging effects. Actually, I have been through one twice. One went just north of our property line though. However, about 7 years or so ( I don't remember the exact date right off-hand) there was a mini-outbreak in SW Missouri. One tornado went right down the main strip (Rangeline) in Joplin. One hit Monett and Aurora and another one came through down by Ridgley, where I was spending the night with my grandparents. Their house only sustained minor damage... a few broken windows, lots of shingles missing, a damaged carport, and some uprooted trees. It was classified as an F1.
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#8 Postby mf_dolphin » Tue Apr 22, 2003 8:44 am

When I was 10 our family was onvernighting in a KOA campground in Amarillo, TX close to the airport. A line moved through and at one time we could see 3 tornados on the ground. That was the fastest we ever pack-up the old pop-up trailer :-)
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#9 Postby Stephanie » Tue Apr 22, 2003 8:46 am

DJ and Poppysky - true story tellers! I could feel the twisters happening!

I voted "no never seen one but would like to" with these conditions;

1) I'm far away
2) Damage is only to farmland - no homes, barns and businesses are allowed to be affected! :wink:

However, I wouldn't be disappointed if i never see one... :o
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#10 Postby bfez1 » Tue Apr 22, 2003 9:19 am

I have never seen a tornado and hope I never do.
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#11 Postby pojo » Tue Apr 22, 2003 9:21 am

True compelling accounts of what happened that infamous day from both poppysky and DJ made it feel like the twister went through my backyard. While reading their stories, I felt the wind ripping through branches; saw homes being shattered by twisters of power stature; heard the roaring sound of a locomotive crashing the family dinner.

I have not been through a twister, but my step-dad has. He was still married to his ex at the time and had 2 little children at home. They lived out by 150 in a mobile home park and had to jolt into a near-by ditch for safety. This was a small twister maybe of F1 strength, but he can still tell us the personal story of survival in the country.
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#12 Postby petal*pusher » Tue Apr 22, 2003 3:09 pm

Arizwx, I too remember that day in '65!!

I've lived here in Michigan most of my life......and the weather can.....and does.....change very quickly! I was a senior in high school in '65. I remember my father gathering our big family down into the basement when he noticed the eerie calmness and strange colors appearing overhead. This is not exactly a strange occurance here in Michigan, each spring season brings "tornado drills" both in schools and homes.

The Irish Hills area was hit very badly that day also......Dad took us for a drive a few days later to view the ferocious damage that had occured. We were awestruck.....and humbled.....seeing the many, many uprooted trees, homes with missing roofs, and even on two occasions, mailboxes almost fully imbedded into tree trunks! Life does go on....but memories linger.

Although I did not see the actual twisters here, I have seen four others. They are scary.......but, like anything else that cannot be controlled by human influence......very intrigueing!..........p :wink:
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#13 Postby JQ Public » Tue Apr 22, 2003 3:12 pm

November 1988 an F4 tornado came through north raleigh where i live. one of the deaths in raleigh was of a 3rd grade girl that went to my elementary school (the chimney caved in on her bedroom). This other girl in my class had glass in her leg when her window broke open and showered her in her bed. I was in kindergarten then, and my daycare was severely damaged so we had to go to another one. My friends' houses were destroyed in a neighborhood half a mile away!
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#14 Postby ColdFront77 » Tue Apr 22, 2003 3:25 pm

What dramatic stories, DJ and Poppysky and all. Tornadoes are "awesome" in the true sense of the word. :o
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#15 Postby wx247 » Tue Apr 22, 2003 3:58 pm

They truly are Tom.
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#16 Postby breeze » Tue Apr 22, 2003 7:54 pm

I was in a tornado, but didn't see it, as it occured just at dusk.
I was working at a small hospital in nearby Hohenwald, TN
in 1991. I remember seeing the green sky to the west. Then,
a lab tech called down to our station (he had a police scanner
in the Lab) and said that a twister had touched down in town!
Curious critter that I am, I ran down and opened a side door
down from the station, and, heard a loud constant rumbling,
and, saw the rain blowing absolutely sideways! That was
convincing enough to send me heading back in to an interior
hallway in a hurry! There were only several injuries, but,
one death of a small baby. There were alot of damaged homes.
I'd really rather see one out in flatlands at a safe distance!
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