We have some storms rolling through tomorrow that have the potential to create isolated tornadoes, and I can't stop obsessing over it. Every time I see that we have thunderstorms in the forecast, I religiously check weather radars and reports throughout the day. This isn't something that's always been a fear of mine, I used to love hitting the bong and watching thunderstorms. But after having a close call last year while out delivering, and tornado sirens going off in the middle of the night a few weeks ago, I've developed quite the phobia.
Tornadoes aren't SUPER common where I live, but we had two yesterday and one a few weeks ago. All of them were super weak, and they petered out after a few miles. But the fear of a gargantuan EF-5 tearing down my apartment building is a constant fear of mine when storms are in the forecast.
Hmm, I grew up in tornado alley, so tornadoes were kind of mundane to me. Maybe it’ll help if you go over tornado safety stuff and come up with a plan for what you would do in your home if a tornado were to come close. Like, rehearse and everything. It is a valid fear, for sure. Having a plan ready will make you safer
Thanks for the response. I think my lack of exposure to tornadoes is what makes them scarier to me when we have the possibility for one developing.
I've been watching videos about the hazards they present, and what safety precautions to take. The biggest danger is flying debris, so the first thing to take care of is getting indoors in sturdy shelter. My biggest fear is that I live on the top floor of a two-story apartment building, and in order to get to the ground level I have to go outside to access the laundry room. When we had a tornado warning a few weeks ago, I felt trapped because by the time the sirens started going off, it was already storming super hard outside. I didn't want to take my cat outside with severe thunder and lightning, so we took shelter in the bathroom away from windows.
I feel like bunkering down inside the bathroom should be okay, because the odds of a gigantic violent tornado are very low in my state. I'd like to believe that the most damage that could happen would be debris crashing through the windows, or possibly the roof getting torn off.
You’ll know when a tornado is super close - it sounds like the deep rumble of a train going past. If you don’t hear that, then you’ll probably be alright to quickly run over to the laundry room if it makes you feel safer. Heck, my parents would always sit on the patio for a while and watch the storms go by whenever the sirens started (but I had to stay in the closet under a mattress, since I was just a kid).
Follow your instincts, though. Lightning is nothing to fuck with either. It’s always unlikely that you’ll actually get hit directly by a tornado, so you’ll probably be just fine if you hang out in your bathroom away from windows.
If you have a neighbor you can make friends with in the ground floor apartment below you or close to a stairwell exit, you can ask to wait out the storm in their hallway or bathroom. I'd keep your cat in a carrier and have some treats handy, especially if your neighbor has other pets. A battery operated radio can also be a useful item in those situations. When the sirens go off, text the neighbor and get things ready to move to whatever ground level space you can safely but quickly. Having someone to wait out the storm with helps. I once lived in a very small complex where we'd befriended all of our neighbors and would gather all of our blankets and pets into our downstairs neighbor's place and have a good time waiting it out together.