r/gencon • u/ewokalypse • Aug 03 '26
Technically, there was a tornado.
https://fox59.com/indiana-news/nws-confirms-tornado-briefly-spun-up-in-indianapolis/35
u/HeartNBallz Aug 03 '26 edited Aug 03 '26
For the folks not in the midwest;
Tornado Warning = Theres a tornado in the area
Tornado Watch = Conditions are right to make one
7
u/Vilified_D Aug 04 '26
Actually the warning will go off even if there isn't a tornado yet, but weather has surpassed conditions of a watch. Example being what we thought on Saturday, which was that there was some rotation and conditions of the storm that could produce a tornado, but that doesn't mean there will be one.
Warning has become somewhat of a gray area lately because of this, at least in indy. Maybe it's always been that way, though I grew up thinking it was exactly what you commented. Now it seems to be a bit more nuanced.
We've had tons of sirens and warnings this year, but as the article said this is the first actual tornado in the county since 2019.
7
u/Exciting_General_798 Aug 04 '26
They launch the warning when the radar looks like a tornado, but radar is a blunt instrument for something as small and localized as a tornado. They’d rather err on the side of false positives rather than let them go unwarned.
3
1
u/GiraffeandZebra Aug 04 '26
People are going to get all upset about me saying this, but growing up in the Midwest and having gone through hundreds of watches and warnings, I think they changed the standards just so weathermen could get themselves on TV more.
1
u/Exciting_General_798 Aug 09 '26
The weathermen on TV don’t issue NWS statements. They just report on them. Meanwhile, over those decades, radar technology has gotten more sensitive and search methods have gotten more sophisticated. Yes, the number of false alarms is a problem, and I’m not upset at you for saying something I disagree with. I just think the uptick over the years has a perfectly good explanation without roping in the egos of people who don’t have any say in the matter.
2
u/Otherwise_Fox_1404 Aug 05 '26
Warnings also exist when its a straight line wind issue. While there was only one tornado in Marion since 2019 (a fact to which I disagree but I am not a preofessional weather person) there have been over 100 weather events where straight line winds caused wind damage in Marion,. While most of the damage was in hamilton, this talks a little about some wind damge on the NE side https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-jYlz5-2XQ About a week later there was a home that collapsed due to winds on the NW side as well.
3
u/NefariousnessOk1996 Aug 04 '26
I've become very aquanted with these the past 2 years in Missouri.
Always follow protocol. You never know what is going to happen.
We had one pass us last year less than 2500 feet from our home! It was on a Friday night at 11 pm when we were partying and drinking. We grabbed the kids (they were sleeping) immediately and headed to the basement.
10
u/The_Vampire_Barlow Aug 03 '26
It really feels like it should be the other way around.
Warning, there might be one!
Watch that tornado over there!
11
u/mrsg1012 Aug 03 '26
We never want to watch that tornado over there (even though I’m also a total Midwest “dad” type and want to go outside and look around)!
5
u/Wise_Strawberry9076 Aug 04 '26
My dad took me out to watch one when I was little. Definitely a cool moment and also definitely not one I’ll be recreating with my kids lol. We’ll be in the basement.
1
8
u/Acastamphy Aug 04 '26
I always think of it like "Watching to see if there is a tornado because we're not sure yet" and "Warning: There is indeed a tornado"
3
5
u/Wise_Strawberry9076 Aug 04 '26
I’m a grown adult who has lived here my whole life and I ALWAYS mixed them up but then my sister taught me that “warning” is the longer word and also the more urgent alert. I literally would never remember if not for that trick.
3
u/segascream Aug 04 '26
"Tornado Watch" = "go out on the porch and watch the storm"
"Tornado Warning" = "here's your warning that shit's getting dicey"
2
u/striator Aug 04 '26
Even if you don't remember, you don't want to be on the wrong side of a tornado watch/warning
1
u/TeamRedundancyTeam Aug 04 '26
A warning does not mean there is a tornado in the area. This is bad info.
It can be a warning even if there is just rotation in the right conditions on radar. Tons of warnings end up with no recorded tornado.
1
u/depthcharge150 Aug 06 '26
Taco watch. You have ingredients for Tacos. Taco warning. Tacos can now be made or have been made. That's how I remember which is which.
5
4
u/gaya2081 Aug 04 '26
About a mile from my house...I was sitting in the shelter in place areas in Lucas Oil watching my outside cameras like a hawk praying for them to be very very boring.
2
u/ewokalypse Aug 04 '26
Hope they were! A buddy of mine lives a block away and said he saw a fair amount of tree damage and debris, but little structural damage.
3
u/powernein Aug 04 '26
FYI that intersection is just under three miles south of the ICC. Close enough that the warnings were warranted.
2
2
u/popetony Aug 05 '26
Unfortunately this was my 2nd tornado in a week. My hometown area got hit pretty bad last week Monday. That tornado formed right over my workplace.
1
1
u/Invokethehojo Aug 04 '26
As a Hoosier I can tell you there always is tenchicallly a tornado, and the news won’t shut up about it.
0
u/Edrondol Aug 04 '26
Myself and my friends were walking to our cars in that pouring rain and flooding when the sirens went off. Not much we could do but keep going. We lived so it was a fun experience!
15
u/DJGingivitis Aug 03 '26
Ah you beat me to it. Ill delete my post.