BS: Texas tornados

Subject: BS: Texas tornados
From: Deckman
Date: 03 Apr 12 - 07:42 PM

I just heard from SRS ... in Texas. She's safe. bob(deckman)nelson)

Subject: RE: BS: Texas tornados
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 03 Apr 12 - 07:49 PM

My Internet came back, so I'm in touch with the world again.

Jed is in Dallas and I'm near Fort Worth, and in a strange bifurcated weather event, there were simultaneous tornadic storms grinding their way from a generally southwest to north-east direction. They tended to follow the branches of I-35W that travels through each city, then drifted eastward. A couple of more storm cells came over and hit Arlington again, not sure if the university is up to classes tomorrow. I telecommute so was at the house, but I hear that people on campus sought shelter in various building basements.

There are quite a few reporters in the field and they're reporting a lot of cordoned off neighborhoods and curfews are being announced in some of the small towns, probably to prevent looting.

The storms are moving off to the northeast, still causing damage. Headed toward Oklahoma and Arkansas.

Me, I'm lucky, it just watered my garden.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Texas tornados
From: Bill D
Date: 03 Apr 12 - 07:52 PM

Glad to hear you are ok... just saw videos of areas that were torn up.

('almost' makes me miss living in Kansas... ;>(

Subject: RE: BS: Texas tornados
From: Janie
Date: 03 Apr 12 - 08:09 PM

Very glad to hear you are OK, Maggie. I take it Jed is also?

Subject: RE: BS: Texas tornados
From: Greg F.
Date: 03 Apr 12 - 08:10 PM

Relax & keep voting Republican. No such thing as global climate change.

Subject: RE: BS: Texas tornados
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 03 Apr 12 - 08:15 PM

I saw a message from him on facebook a couple of hours ago. Several storms have moved through the area, so I think we'll have to wait for him to report in. If the power is out, it could take a little while.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Texas tornado's
From: Beer
Date: 03 Apr 12 - 08:26 PM

I've have never seen a tornado except in news clips. Scary stuff. Don't think i would want to as well. Hope anyone you know SRS personally are O.K.
Adrien

Subject: RE: BS: Texas tornados
From: SINSULL
Date: 03 Apr 12 - 08:37 PM

Jed has posted on Facebook and seems to have missed the worst of it. Scary stuff.

Subject: RE: BS: Texas tornados
From: gnu
Date: 03 Apr 12 - 08:53 PM

Just saw it on the news. Glad to hear youse are okay.

Subject: RE: BS: Texas tornados
From: Wesley S
Date: 03 Apr 12 - 10:31 PM

Years ago Aine { who doesn't seem to post here anymore } lived near UTA in Arlington. I hope she's alright too.

Subject: RE: BS: Texas tornados
From: Bobert
Date: 03 Apr 12 - 10:43 PM

Glad yer OK, Magz...

The reports on the news tonight about "18 wheelers" getting lifted off the ground is wrong... "8 wheelers", i.e. empty trailers were lifted... No "tractors" (the other 10 wheels) were no involved...

That's good thing or there would have been deaths...

Dodged the bullet, ya'll...

B~

Subject: RE: BS: Texas tornados
From: ollaimh
Date: 03 Apr 12 - 11:11 PM

isn't that god's punishment for voting for georeg w ?

Subject: RE: BS: Texas tornados
From: katlaughing
Date: 04 Apr 12 - 12:17 AM

Aine is still in Arlington, nothing on her FB page, so I hope she's okay. Glad to hear the rest of you are!

Subject: RE: BS: Texas tornados
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 04 Apr 12 - 12:42 AM

I didn't, ollaimh. And the larger urban areas of the state tend not to vote GOP, but they are out voted by so many smaller towns around the state. I think you must attribute global warming, not Dubya, to the peculiar weather we're having these years.

Kat, send me a PM about Aine. I have seen the name but rarely see her posts. I didn't realize she was right here.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Texas tornados
From: Joybell
Date: 04 Apr 12 - 05:14 PM

We were thinking of you, Maggie. So glad you're safe. We saw film of a tornado heading down the interstate. Looked just like the road we took to visit you.
Stay safe.
Joy and her True-Love.

Subject: RE: BS: Texas tornados
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 04 Apr 12 - 05:45 PM

Apparently there were no deaths or even serious injuries - what a remarkable and wonderful thing. Yet is sad to see the ruined homes, with people's treasures exposed to the weather and to prying eyes.

I feel sympathy for everyone involved.

Subject: RE: BS: Texas tornados
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 04 Apr 12 - 06:01 PM

Joy, I think you probably did travel along a couple of those roads. Do you remember the prairie where we walked around? A big chunk of it is houses now. There is still a larger segment on the other side of the boulevard that was destined for houses but the U.S. financial crisis put a halt to that for now.

A friend told me today that his partner's mother was a resident of a nursing home along a road I usually travel on my way to work. They had to move her to a home in the next county for the time being because her facility looks like it had a bomb blast. It was built in the last five years - apparently there was nothing about it that was storm proof (or this storm landed directly upon it and it didn't have a chance even with a hurricane roof, etc.)

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Texas tornados
From: Bobert
Date: 04 Apr 12 - 08:08 PM

After quitting social work I had to earn a living and had driven a truck a long time ago so I got my CDL and drove tractor-trailer for about a year... Everyone who has ever driven "18 wheelers" knows that 18 wheelers weren't sucked up by the tornado... Only 8 wheelers, i.e. trailers...

Never mind...

Glad everyone is safe...

B~

Subject: RE: BS: Texas tornados
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 04 Apr 12 - 10:19 PM

Yeah, Bobert -

But those 8 wheelers that were sucked up are around 6 tons (12,000 - 13,000 lb) each - empty - and several of them that they showed in videos looked like they were at least a few hundred feet up in the air. They're about 400 sq feet of pure sail (per side).

With a normal 24,000+ pound load on, the trailers stay on the ground pretty good, and I've never heard of a tractor being blown over; but when they're "dead-heading" empty it doesn't take a tornado to roll the trailer off the road - and when they go they can drag the tractor into the ditch along with them.

Out here in the flatlands, if a long-haul trucker is speeding, he's probably dead-headin' for home, empty; and the driver doesn't know much more than you do about which way that empty sail he's towing' is gonna blow. I let 'em past as quick as possible, and maintain distance.

Some of the "Schneider eggs" people talk about may be brown ones instead of the usual orange, when they all get back to that yard that got hit and see what happened.

John

Subject: RE: BS: Texas tornados
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 05 Apr 12 - 10:46 AM

I saw in the paper that two people were seriously injured, so that's bad news. Texans did not escape unscathed.

Subject: RE: BS: Texas tornados
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 05 Apr 12 - 11:00 AM

http://www.suntimes.com/news/nation/11695211-418/texas-tornadoes-damage-hundreds-of-homes-crumble-wing-of-nursing-home.html The Chicago Sun Times ran an AP story with some good photos. It turns out I know one of the people (at least) in that nursing home, the mother of a co-worker. I haven't heard where she is now, but that place certainly took a direct him.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Texas tornados
From: Joybell
Date: 05 Apr 12 - 05:42 PM

We travelled on all of the roads around you, Maggie. We didn't turn off when we should have and ended up going around and around in peak-hour traffic. Made the arrival special.
On my first visit to True-love's home country we rode the Greyhounds. In Texas there was a tornado warning and we saw several on the horizon. The drivers usually used Spanish as well as English when they made announcements but this time our driver said,
"There's a tornado warning. If a big ole one comes near us get under the seats and keep your heads down. If you didn't understand this message ask someone to translate it for you."
Cheers, Joy