Tornado Watch

[plumtreeblossom.livejournal.com]

Hey gang!

Our county is under tornado watch until 8:00 PM.

I got caught in the rain with no umbrella this morning. Gonna happen again, maybe.


UPDATE: Tornado video from Springfield

Comments

[maelithil.livejournal.com]

It's looking mighty dark outside right now...

[plumtreeblossom.livejournal.com]

I may ride it out here at MIT rather than go home in the thick of it.

All of my hanging planters at home are probably going to be toast, though.

[ron_newman]

I hope your windows are closed.

[plumtreeblossom.livejournal.com]

My housemate is at home, so maybe he'll shut them.

[tater1112.livejournal.com]

I'm somewhat new to town - does Cambridge have tornado sirens?

[plumtreeblossom.livejournal.com]

I don't think so, but a Cambridge resident could tell you for sure. I can tell you, though, that dramatic weather is rare around here.

[surrealestate.livejournal.com]

It seems unlikely given the odds of a tornado around here, but what do I know. Right now it's not even a warning for this are, just a watch. (Though there is a warning in effect further west and there was a tornado sighted near Springfield.)

[plumtreeblossom.livejournal.com]

A co-worker's mother just called him from Springfield. She said one touched down near her property.

[lbmango.livejournal.com]

Remember that in case of ACTUAL tornado, you want your windows open. Pressure differences blow out windows and cause more damage than the rain does...

[ominousspectre.livejournal.com]

We're Middlesex, right? It's been upgraded to a Warning for Middlesex County although there's really no detail for specific cities on Weather.com that includes us.

[plumtreeblossom.livejournal.com]

Seriously? I'm going to try to go home then (because my wooden tinderbox house is so much safer than this low concrete building, I know...)

[ominousspectre.livejournal.com]

Yeah, the TV also went into the Emergency Broadcast Signal a few times in the last 30 minutes (although again, while they listed several cities, none of them were Boston suburbs).

[rmd.livejournal.com]

In case you don't have access to a weather radio, you can get live streaming of WX1BOX at wunderground.com (http://www.wunderground.com/wxradio)

[readsalot.livejournal.com]

This turns out not to be the case. From NOAA: Forget about the old notion of opening windows to equalize pressure; the tornado will blast open the windows for you! http://www.spc.noaa.gov/faq/tornado/safety.html (http://www.spc.noaa.gov/faq/tornado/safety.html)

[surrealestate.livejournal.com]

We are, but I see a warning for only south-central Middlesex.

[enhf94.livejournal.com]

I grew up in the midwest, where Watch meant "go to your basement immediately, do not pass go." That's not happening here on any of the severe weather warnings I've seen.

Anybody know why not? Possibilities:
1. Tornados are rare enough in Boston that we underestimate the threat?
2. Tornados tend to do less damage here, for reasons unknown?
3. Certified Smart People have changed the guidelines in the many years since I moved here?

...reporting live from my basement.

NB: IIRC, "watch" means favorable conditions, while "warning" means a tornado has been spotted.

[perspicuity.livejournal.com]

that's mostly from flying cows :)

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[perspicuity.livejournal.com]

seems like MOST of it is scudding under boston...

http://radar.weather.gov/ridge/Conus/northeast_lite_loop.php

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[prunesnprisms.livejournal.com]

Combo of 1 and 2. I'm from Alabama, tornadoes kill people as far as I'm concerned.

[qwrrty.livejournal.com]

I don't even know what "blast open" is supposed to mean in that context. The force of the tornado will raise the sash? Really?

[qwrrty.livejournal.com]

Agreed. Tornadoes are very rare in Massachusetts, and when they do appear it tends to be in Tornado Alley (approximately between Springfield and Worcester). Bostonians don't tend to consider them a significant threat.

The National Weather Service is right now tracking a tornado spotted this evening in Bellingham, which is the closest I've ever heard of one coming to Boston in twenty years.

[ron_newman]

I'm from Ohio, and I recall watch meaning "don't do anything special", while warning meant "go to the basement".

[readsalot.livejournal.com]

I think it means that the force of the wind will break the glass. Did you read the reports from the hospital in Joplin that was hit? There was glass everywhere.

[enhf94.livejournal.com]

Since I'm the only person in Boston in the basement right now, I wonder if you're right. But tornadoes can form in seconds, just as fast as the water swirling in your sink.

[ron_newman]

Yes, but Middlesex County is huge. It starts at Lechmere and goes all the way west to Ashby (which is just north of Fitchburg), Marlborough, and Hopkinton. The county is not an especially granular or useful unit for issuing weather warnings.