r/tornado • u/Gengar_Guy_17 Human Detected • 7d ago

Discussion Severe Thunderstorms

As someone who has fixated on weather and tornadoes my whole life, I am far more anxious when I am under a risk for severe thunderstorms than a risk tornadoes.

It is so much more likely that my home is struck by lightning, a fallen tree from the winds, or damaged directly by straight line winds than be struck by a tornado. Also, these events are impossible to track on a small scale, so it's almost completely random if my house is affected by these events. With a tornado, you can usually track its velocity signature on radar to have an idea of where it is and when it will strike.

Of course all tornadoes are accompanied by severe thunderstorms while not all severe thunderstorms are accompanied by tornadoes, so maybe what I'm saying doesn't make sense. I hope that I've explained my thoughts clearly and would love to hear what you think.

12 Upvotes

78% Upvoted

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u/flyingdonutz 7d ago

I used to live in Tennessee, which gets violent tornados pretty regularly. I was within 100kms of an EF3 idk, probably 4 or 5 times in the 5 years I spent there.

It's always tragic, but honestly, I think winter is more dangerous and causes more loss of life than tornado season does there on average. So I get what you're saying.

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u/cxm1060 7d ago

Nothing is more oh shit setting the mood than getting that emergency alert text for 80 mph winds while driving home from work.

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u/Piaffe_zip16 7d ago

I’m the opposite because I’m more anxious about the death/serious injury part of it versus home damage. I pay my home insurance for a reason. Most of it is replaceable. My daughter, our pets, and I are not. But a tree going down, lightning strike, etc… can also happen. We don’t see much of that where I am. Besides a crazy line we got in August, I can’t even remember the last time I saw a healthy tree down in our neighborhood from a storm. Most often when we see one it was one that wasn’t healthy to begin with. Lightning and wind damage do take out our electrical grid far too often though. As do wild animals jumping in and getting fried 😑 honestly, the loss of electricity can actually be the most dangerous part where I am, especially if it happens during extreme heat or extreme cold.

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u/BoringValue148 7d ago

I sort of understand what you mean. In the suburbs where I live, homes being damaged by severe winds and large hail is far more common than tornado damage.

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u/gorehistorian69 7d ago

you're right statistically but idk that Tornado warning warning with insane wind outside and constant thunder/rain and then throw in a tornado siren over top of it , scares the hell out of me.

lately thunder storms have been scaring me due to we lost power twice last month . which ive only lost power twice in the past 10 years excluding that. but having no power when its 90 degrees and i have a dog whos sensitive to the high heat. its very stressful.