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prrriiide

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This pic is from the Daily Oklahoman. It was taken Tuesday on the western outskirts of OKC. It's an overturned semi flatbed trailer.

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Absorb that for a moment as you ponder the forces needed to strip the rims of their tires, and to mash those rims into the shapeless forms they now are.

Now realize that the winds in Joplin were easily half again to twice as high as the ones that denuded those wheels west of OKC. When you hear the media asking why there wasn't more warning or why so many people died, there's your answer. There was a warning issued 20-minutes before the tornado hit Joplin. So many people died because they couldn't get underground. Period.

If you're a prayin' type, say some for the people of Joplin.
 
If there is one picture I think speaks for the raw power of the tornado that struck Joplin it's this one.

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In case you can't tell it's a piece of wood (2x4?) driven straight through a concrete curb. I found this posted to FB and it was taken by someone who is a student at MSSU.
 
http://www.npr.org/2011/05/26/136655052/before-and-after-a-birds-eye-view-of-joplin

this is just mind boggling. Scroll all the way to the right, and then back to the left...

That's just crazy. It's difficult to even comprehend. I remember seeing that kind of slider picture for an aerial shot of Japan after the earthquake, too. It's just shocking.

I've traveled to Oklahoma a number of times, and the worst part of this seems to be the lack of basements. It seems in some of the worst areas for tornadoes, houses with basements are practically nonexistent. I understand it has to do with the water table in that part of the country, but that rationale doesn't help when the winds start. On the other hand, in Ohio, where anything over an F0 is rare, trying to find a single family house without a basement is quite difficult.
 
GuldTuborg said:
I've traveled to Oklahoma a number of times, and the worst part of this seems to be the lack of basements. It seems in some of the worst areas for tornadoes, houses with basements are practically nonexistent. I understand it has to do with the water table in that part of the country, but that rationale doesn't help when the winds start. On the other hand, in Ohio, where anything over an F0 is rare, trying to find a single family house without a basement is quite difficult.

I can't speak for the OK area, but in the Joplin area granite is extremely close to the surface. This means that if you want to dig out a basement for your house you are digging in to the granite which costs big money. That being said if I was still living in that area I would definitely look in to building one of those concrete safe rooms in to my house.
 
Or dig a basement into the granite,then tunnel out a safe room with a 4" thick steel door & huge hinges. But here in my part of Ohio,it's easy to find houses without basements. Just look for the 3 bedroom ranches built in the mid-60's. Slab city. I've seen many tornadoes around the shore of Lake Erie,down to Wellington. Micro bursts,F1's,F2's...nothing bigger. Got some stories. I think the ones out on the lake (water spouts) are kinda purty.
But I & my wife agree we've absolutely NEVER heard the "freight train sound" so many talk about. It's more of a rushing wind in a tunnel sort of sound...right after the hail & horizontal rain. My wife & I were fishing out at the up-ground reservoir in Wellington one day. All the way around the back too. Then an F1 side-winder touches down & heads right for us! She wants to fish a little more! Can't talk her out of it. "F*** this,I'm outta here! By!........She looked over,& soon followed. Guess she thought it was just the wind.
 
Holy shvt bob that is unbelieveable.

With all these natural disasters does anyone else feel like the earth is trying to clense itself of this plague of humans?

SWMBO and I have had this conversation many times in the past few months. Sure starting to seem that way isnt it?
 
Clann said:
Holy shvt bob that is unbelieveable.

With all these natural disasters does anyone else feel like the earth is trying to clense itself of this plague of humans?

HA! Good one!
 
•NWS’s preliminary estimate is that there have been approximately 1,314 tornadoes so far this year.


◦The previous yearly record number of tornadoes was set in 2004 with 1,817.


◦The overall yearly average number of tornadoes for the past decade is 1,274.


•The preliminary estimated number of tornado fatalities so far this year is 512. NWS records indicate that there were 365 tornado fatalities before the Joplin event. There were 132 fatalities from the Joplin tornado. An additional 18 fatalities were reported in KS, OK, and AR from a tornado outbreak on May 24, 2011.


◦2011 is preliminarily ranked 7th among the deadliest tornado years in U.S. history.

http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/2011_tornado_information.html
 
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