Yesterday's tornado experience

[Jerry]

Unbelievable. I had a medical appointment in Washington today so my wife and I stayed at a hotel in Gaithersburg, Maryland, last night. We got back from dinner at 6:30...no hint of any weather issues...but an hour later all hell broke loose.

It suddenly got dark, buckets of rain mixed with hail, thunder, lightning, a wild wind...the whole nine yards...and then repeated blaring alerts on our phones of a Tornado Warning...seek shelter. Internet service went out at that point.

So we're on the top (6th) floor of the hotel and I'm gawking out the big window. When my wife suggested we go to the 1st floor, I'm like, hell no, it'd be romantic to die in one another's arms.

Of course I was joking. The seriousness of the situation just wasn't registering. My brain is going: a tornado??...in freakin' Gaithersburg??...no way. Tornadoes don't happen in Gaithersburg, Maryland. It's probably an overreaction.

Only 15 minutes later everything was over, and I went downstairs to check on our car. All the hotel employees were gathered together in the lobby, and there were, like, 20 people in the parking lot taking videos with their phones of a large black cloud disappearing toward the east.

I asked one of them, was it a tornado? And he's like, uh, yes, as though I were the only doofus in the building who hadn't gotten the word.

This morning, as media reports flowed in regarding the event -- see link below -- I told my wife that my performance the previous evening might qualify me for a Darwin Award. She said, no, you have to die for that. But she suggested that I might be in the running for Clueless Dumbass of the Month at least. The girl is such a smart-aleck.

All in all, a memorable evening. And the damage and injuries, including one fatality, were no joke:

https://www.cnn.com/2024/06/05/weather/tornado-maryland-dc/index.html

 

[WeR0206]

Unbelievable. I had a medical appointment in Washington today so my wife and I stayed at a hotel in Gaithersburg, Maryland, last night. We got back from dinner at 6:30...no hint of any weather issues...but an hour later all hell broke loose.

It suddenly got dark, buckets of rain mixed with hail, thunder, lightning, a wild wind...the whole nine yards...and then repeated blaring alerts on our phones of a Tornado Warning...seek shelter. Internet service went out at that point.

So we're on the top (6th) floor of the hotel and I'm gawking out the big window. When my wife suggested we go to the 1st floor, I'm like, hell no, it'd be romantic to die in one another's arms.

Of course I was joking. The seriousness of the situation just wasn't registering. My brain is going: a tornado??...in freakin' Gaithersburg??...no way. Tornadoes don't happen in Gaithersburg, Maryland. It's probably an overreaction.

Only 15 minutes later everything was over, and I went downstairs to check on our car. All the hotel employees were gathered together in the lobby, and there were, like, 20 people in the parking lot taking videos with their phones of a large black cloud disappearing toward the east.

I asked one of them, was it a tornado? And he's like, uh, yes, as though I were the only doofus in the building who hadn't gotten the word.

This morning, as media reports flowed in regarding the event -- see link below -- I told my wife that my performance the previous evening might qualify me for a Darwin Award. She said, no, you have to die for that. But she suggested that I might be in the running for Clueless Dumbass of the Month at least. The girl is such a smart-aleck.

All in all, a memorable evening. And the damage and injuries, including one fatality, were no joke:

https://www.cnn.com/2024/06/05/weather/tornado-maryland-dc/index.html

Wow, glad to hear you and the Mrs. are ok!

 

[The Spin Meister]

Unbelievable. I had a medical appointment in Washington today so my wife and I stayed at a hotel in Gaithersburg, Maryland, last night. We got back from dinner at 6:30...no hint of any weather issues...but an hour later all hell broke loose.

It suddenly got dark, buckets of rain mixed with hail, thunder, lightning, a wild wind...the whole nine yards...and then repeated blaring alerts on our phones of a Tornado Warning...seek shelter. Internet service went out at that point.

So we're on the top (6th) floor of the hotel and I'm gawking out the big window. When my wife suggested we go to the 1st floor, I'm like, hell no, it'd be romantic to die in one another's arms.

Of course I was joking. The seriousness of the situation just wasn't registering. My brain is going: a tornado??...in freakin' Gaithersburg??...no way. Tornadoes don't happen in Gaithersburg, Maryland. It's probably an overreaction.

Only 15 minutes later everything was over, and I went downstairs to check on our car. All the hotel employees were gathered together in the lobby, and there were, like, 20 people in the parking lot taking videos with their phones of a large black cloud disappearing toward the east.

I asked one of them, was it a tornado? And he's like, uh, yes, as though I were the only doofus in the building who hadn't gotten the word.

This morning, as media reports flowed in regarding the event -- see link below -- I told my wife that my performance the previous evening might qualify me for a Darwin Award. She said, no, you have to die for that. But she suggested that I might be in the running for Clueless Dumbass of the Month at least. The girl is such a smart-aleck.

All in all, a memorable evening. And the damage and injuries, including one fatality, were no joke:

https://www.cnn.com/2024/06/05/weather/tornado-maryland-dc/index.html

Jeebus….. between this and your son starting a war with Australia….. exciting times for you family!

 

[bison13]

I’m not far from you Jerry, glad you made it through the storm.

 

[EdwardoCarrachio]

I experienced one in Kansas when I was about 25. Buddy of mine and I were at the gym, beautiful day, and the sirens started going off. They literally kicked everyone out of the gym (I guess it wasn't rated for a tornado). So, we started walking back to where we were staying.

Then we saw the dark clouds moving in, so we thought, hey let's jog it back. Then those clouds got on us in a hurry and the wind was whipping hard, so the jog became a run. We got inside and I was busting up laughing at my buddy's wind-whipped hair. Apparently, a tornado had ripped through coming within a quarter mile of the hotel. The next day we walked that route back to the gym and there was some serious damage along the path.

 

[heckmans]

Unbelievable. I had a medical appointment in Washington today so my wife and I stayed at a hotel in Gaithersburg, Maryland, last night. We got back from dinner at 6:30...no hint of any weather issues...but an hour later all hell broke loose.

It suddenly got dark, buckets of rain mixed with hail, thunder, lightning, a wild wind...the whole nine yards...and then repeated blaring alerts on our phones of a Tornado Warning...seek shelter. Internet service went out at that point.

So we're on the top (6th) floor of the hotel and I'm gawking out the big window. When my wife suggested we go to the 1st floor, I'm like, hell no, it'd be romantic to die in one another's arms.

Of course I was joking. The seriousness of the situation just wasn't registering. My brain is going: a tornado??...in freakin' Gaithersburg??...no way. Tornadoes don't happen in Gaithersburg, Maryland. It's probably an overreaction.

Only 15 minutes later everything was over, and I went downstairs to check on our car. All the hotel employees were gathered together in the lobby, and there were, like, 20 people in the parking lot taking videos with their phones of a large black cloud disappearing toward the east.

I asked one of them, was it a tornado? And he's like, uh, yes, as though I were the only doofus in the building who hadn't gotten the word.

This morning, as media reports flowed in regarding the event -- see link below -- I told my wife that my performance the previous evening might qualify me for a Darwin Award. She said, no, you have to die for that. But she suggested that I might be in the running for Clueless Dumbass of the Month at least. The girl is such a smart-aleck.

All in all, a memorable evening. And the damage and injuries, including one fatality, were no joke:

https://www.cnn.com/2024/06/05/weather/tornado-maryland-dc/index.html

Used to work in Chantilly, VA, just a bit south from Gaithersburg. Watched a tornado just west of my office go by. It's rare, but not unheard of. Of course, now, I live in St Louis and tornado warning sirens and cell phone alerts are just a way of life.

 

[Katatonic]

Tornado alley has been expanding eastward.

Ohio gets a good amount of tornadoes these days.

 

[Obliviax]

Tornado alley has been expanding eastward.

Ohio gets a good amount of tornadoes these days.

30 years ago, Ohio got hit with a massive tornado outbreak. I was in Warren OH driving home and went past Newton Falls. I was stopped by a police officer who told me I couldn't go to Newton Falls. I told him I wasn't going there and then asked how bad it was. He said "it is a good thing you aren't going there because it isn't there any longer". A co-worker was an EMS who was on a team that found a body in a tree. It took several days to find the body. Why? the legs and arms were gone and the skin was sandblasted off of the body. There were no facial features left. Scarry stuff. I believe we had 12 tornados on a single night.

 

[Lesgo_Brandon]

Used to work in Chantilly, VA, just a bit south from Gaithersburg. Watched a tornado just west of my office go by. It's rare, but not unheard of. Of course, now, I live in St Louis and tornado warning sirens and cell phone alerts are just a way of life.

I'm outside of St Louis myself. If it's not the tornadoes, it's the god forsaken HAIL!!!!! We went from three paid off cars to three new car payments thanks to the hail.

 

[Catch50]

I experienced one in Kansas when I was about 25. Buddy of mine and I were at the gym, beautiful day, and the sirens started going off. They literally kicked everyone out of the gym (I guess it wasn't rated for a tornado). So, we started walking back to where we were staying.

Then we saw the dark clouds moving in, so we thought, hey let's jog it back. Then those clouds got on us in a hurry and the wind was whipping hard, so the jog became a run. We got inside and I was busting up laughing at my buddy's wind-whipped hair. Apparently, a tornado had ripped through coming within a quarter mile of the hotel. The next day we walked that route back to the gym and there was some serious damage along the path.

Space exploration is waste.
Not basic science you clown.

 

[brupsu]

Unbelievable. I had a medical appointment in Washington today so my wife and I stayed at a hotel in Gaithersburg, Maryland, last night. We got back from dinner at 6:30...no hint of any weather issues...but an hour later all hell broke loose.

It suddenly got dark, buckets of rain mixed with hail, thunder, lightning, a wild wind...the whole nine yards...and then repeated blaring alerts on our phones of a Tornado Warning...seek shelter. Internet service went out at that point.

So we're on the top (6th) floor of the hotel and I'm gawking out the big window. When my wife suggested we go to the 1st floor, I'm like, hell no, it'd be romantic to die in one another's arms.

Of course I was joking. The seriousness of the situation just wasn't registering. My brain is going: a tornado??...in freakin' Gaithersburg??...no way. Tornadoes don't happen in Gaithersburg, Maryland. It's probably an overreaction.

Only 15 minutes later everything was over, and I went downstairs to check on our car. All the hotel employees were gathered together in the lobby, and there were, like, 20 people in the parking lot taking videos with their phones of a large black cloud disappearing toward the east.

I asked one of them, was it a tornado? And he's like, uh, yes, as though I were the only doofus in the building who hadn't gotten the word.

This morning, as media reports flowed in regarding the event -- see link below -- I told my wife that my performance the previous evening might qualify me for a Darwin Award. She said, no, you have to die for that. But she suggested that I might be in the running for Clueless Dumbass of the Month at least. The girl is such a smart-aleck.

All in all, a memorable evening. And the damage and injuries, including one fatality, were no joke:

https://www.cnn.com/2024/06/05/weather/tornado-maryland-dc/index.html

Never experienced a tornado but as a kid I was watching tv during a storm.I happened to look out a window and saw what looked like burning tumbleweed heading right at me.It hit the house and smoked the tv..went right up the power cord.There was no insulation left just smoking bare wire and the inside of the tv was one melted mess.
No other damage to the house.The only time I saw ball lightning

 

[Jerry]

Never experienced a tornado but as a kid I was watching tv during a storm.I happened to look out a window and saw what looked like burning tumbleweed heading right at me.It hit the house and smoked the tv..went right up the power cord.There was no insulation left just smoking bare wire and the inside of the tv was one melted mess.
No other damage to the house.The only time I saw ball lightning

Wow, I've heard of that phenomenon called ball lightning but have never seen anything like it. I'm not sure that science has a certain explanation.

 

[saturdaysarebetter2]

Many years ago, the skies turned a light green and the winds were whipping up so I got everyone inside. It sounded like a freight train was coming down our alley. After it had passed, I saw that it had knocked down a tree on the edge of our yard and headed towards my neighbor's house and took out some bricks from his chimney. It was called a microburst. The amazing thing was it did not disturb a styrofoam paper cup sitting on our back porch perhaps 10 yards from the tree that it knocked over.

My son was recently driving back to Denver from Iowa and there were tornado cells in Nebraska and Colorado and he pulled over in a rest stop literally in the middle of nowhere late on a Sunday night to wait out the storms. Thankfully, he was ok, but what does one do in a situation like that? Try go find an underpass?

That makes me wonder about my house. I have windows in every room including the basement.

 

[johnmpsu]

Many years ago, the skies turned a light green and the winds were whipping up so I got everyone inside. It sounded like a freight train was coming down our alley. After it had passed, I saw that it had knocked down a tree on the edge of our yard and headed towards my neighbor's house and took out some bricks from his chimney. It was called a microburst. The amazing thing was it did not disturb a styrofoam paper cup sitting on our back porch perhaps 10 yards from the tree that it knocked over.

My son was recently driving back to Denver from Iowa and there were tornado cells in Nebraska and Colorado and he pulled over in a rest stop literally in the middle of nowhere late on a Sunday night to wait out the storms. Thankfully, he was ok, but what does one do in a situation like that? Try go find an underpass?

That makes me wonder about my house. I have windows in every room including the basement.

Never use an underpass as shelter from a tornado. Very bad place to be.

 

[saturdaysarebetter]

Never use an underpass as shelter from a tornado. Very bad place to be.

Thank you John.

 

[OKLionFan]

Many years ago, the skies turned a light green and the winds were whipping up so I got everyone inside. It sounded like a freight train was coming down our alley. After it had passed, I saw that it had knocked down a tree on the edge of our yard and headed towards my neighbor's house and took out some bricks from his chimney. It was called a microburst. The amazing thing was it did not disturb a styrofoam paper cup sitting on our back porch perhaps 10 yards from the tree that it knocked over.

My son was recently driving back to Denver from Iowa and there were tornado cells in Nebraska and Colorado and he pulled over in a rest stop literally in the middle of nowhere late on a Sunday night to wait out the storms. Thankfully, he was ok, but what does one do in a situation like that? Try go find an underpass?

That makes me wonder about my house. I have windows in every room including the basement.

NEVER go under an underpass. The wind will actually accelerate under an underpass. NEVER, NEVER, NEVER stay in a car. If you’ve ever seen cars in a tornado, they can be rolled down the street like tin cans and just ripped apart. Chances of survival are near zero. You’re better off laying in a ditch if there are no other options. Also, if you’re in a restaurant and they have a refrigerated room for food storage they’re safer. At home a small room on the lowest floor is your best bet. The object is to get as many walls between you and the storm as possible. Cover with mattresses or blankets if possible.

 

[OKLionFan]

PS: A green sky is a mean sky.

 

[The Spin Meister]

NEVER go under an underpass. The wind will actually accelerate under an underpass. NEVER, NEVER, NEVER stay in a car. If you’ve ever seen cars in a tornado, they can be rolled down the street like tin cans and just ripped apart. Chances of survival are near zero. You’re better off laying in a ditch if there are no other options. Also, if you’re in a restaurant and they have a refrigerated room for food storage they’re safer. At home a small room on the lowest floor is your best bet. The object is to get as many walls between you and the storm as possible. Cover with mattresses or blankets if possible.

And in basement go to south west corner as storms rotate counter clockwise and blow over that corner.

 

[OKLionFan]

And in basement go to south west corner as storms rotate counter clockwise and blow over that corner.

Spin, the basement is absolutely the right answer. My comments were assuming no basement was available. Also did you know that not all tornados spin clockwise? See the link below for an article on a rare counter clockwise tornado this spring in Oklahoma. There are many articles on this event on the internet as it is quite the curiosity.

https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/01/weather/oklahoma-tornado-rare-climate/index.html

 

[Lion_Backer]

Just FYI.

Because of the deflection, called the Coriolis Effect, winds go the opposite direction. Tornadoes almost always rotate counterclockwise (cyclonic) north of the equator and clockwise (anti-cyclonic) south of the equator.

 

[Jerry]

Many years ago, the skies turned a light green and the winds were whipping up so I got everyone inside. It sounded like a freight train was coming down our alley. After it had passed, I saw that it had knocked down a tree on the edge of our yard and headed towards my neighbor's house and took out some bricks from his chimney. It was called a microburst. The amazing thing was it did not disturb a styrofoam paper cup sitting on our back porch perhaps 10 yards from the tree that it knocked over.

My son was recently driving back to Denver from Iowa and there were tornado cells in Nebraska and Colorado and he pulled over in a rest stop literally in the middle of nowhere late on a Sunday night to wait out the storms. Thankfully, he was ok, but what does one do in a situation like that? Try go find an underpass?

That makes me wonder about my house. I have windows in every room including the basement.

The standard advice, as others have noted, is an in-ground basement if there is one. If not, the lowest floor away from windows. The bathroom, for example. Standing in front of a 6th-floor hotel window: not recommended.

Still, as I told all my kids when teaching them to drive: follow some basic rules and your odds improve...but there may be a time you're just in the wrong place at the wrong time. That's life. There's no defense against it.

We saw it on the highway (I-270) on our way home from Washington. Terrible accident on the other side of the Interstate. Must have been 8 cars involved, and a few of them were smoking wrecks. Ambulances, fire trucks, and police racing to the scene. One or two drivers probably made a mistake of some sort in heavy fast-moving traffic. The others were just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

But back to tornadoes, that outbreak in Maryland and touchdown in Gaithersburg was a freakish, rare event for that neck of the woods.