They’ve confirmed that it was a F1 Tornado that touched down in Colleyville on Tuesday night. As far as tornados go, F1s are pretty wimpy. They only reach wind speeds of about 80-100 miles an hour, which is enough to blow over trees and power lines, or perhaps cause severe roof problems for the house, but usually don’t cause fatalities. Basically, after a F1, homeowners need to contact their insurance companies about getting a new roof!
Another thing that matters is the width. Our tornado was only a couple hundred yards in width.
However, just an HOUR north of us in Lone Grove Oklahoma, an F4 hit at the same time. F4s are a whole different story. Their windspeeds reach between 210-250 miles an hour! F4s flatten entire towns. Not a building remains in Lone Grove and 8 people have been reported killed. Smaller tornados also ripped through downtown Oklahoma City most of Tuesday night.
It’s hard to believe that all of this occurred just an hour north of us. It is comforting to know, however, that the last big tornado we had was in 2000, and it was only an F2. The most recent before that was an F2 in 1953 that was only a 100 feet wide. Dallas’ weather may be crazy, but we are not in tornado alley. Sure, there have been other strong tornados in Texas, but they occurred out in the flat country-side, far away from large cities.
So, if we have a small tornado every decade, I guess I can handle that. As long as it doesn’t flatten the Anthropologie down the road, I’m ok 🙂
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nyx says
man, yeah, my friend’s sister was driving through OK right before that happened. She had just made it out right before the tornado hit…scary. *shudder* I am still confused about what you all are supposed to do in apartments though. I mean, is there a community storm shelter or basement or do you just sit in your car with the windows down for suction and pray?
themrscone says
For any apartment or house, you are supposed to find a closet without an outside facing wall. Most fire departments will come out and assess your house for free and tell you where the best place is. Unless it is an F4 or F5, this will be safe. Since only 2-3 tornadoes of this caliber have ever been recorded in Texas, homes aren’t built with basements. In OK, however, they are. Houses here are also made with brick, which I think is supposed to be stronger.
Of course, trailer parks are a whole different story…
themrscone says
And, to be honest, if an F5 ever hit, a basement wouldn’t be of much help anyways!
Courtney says
KELLY!!!! Are you trying to give me nightmares????!!!!