Is there a way to detect a tornado before it gets too obvious?

The terror on birds faces as they fly like shit to get the hell outta dodge…possibly.

aha, got you in time, stupid typo!

@ucme I do wonder, animals can probably tell way ahead of anyone when something like that is going to happen. There must definitely be animal signs to watch out for.

Oh I was absolutely serious, some of them even rush back to the nest & pack their meagre belongings, such a sad sight to witness.

Assuming you are not listening to the weather reports at all, you don’t get much warning at all. Those storms roll in suddenly. It is like a wall of storms, blue skies turn to gray and then next thing you know hard rain, thunder, lightening, and the winds start whipping up. In fact it is worth mentioning that flash flooding is the biggest natural disaster killer in the US (unless it has changed since I learned that 10 years ago). If you don’t have access to weather reports and you live in the right part of the country during tornado season, best to assume tornadoes could be in or form in the storm. Some warning signs are hail in a storm, the skies turn green, the winds might turn quiet momentarily before the tornado hits, or visibly seeing a cloud of debris that might not look like a funnel but rather a wall. Although, in FL we see black clouds straight to the ground as storms roll in and it is just rain. There isn’t debris, but still it looks like a wall. I once had a client who said to me that where she was from seeing that meant take cover; tornado.

I was going to say taste it, but then I cleaned my glasses and realized that you said tornado and not tomato. My bad.

Tomato? Come on…ketch-up :)

My mother was from the Texas panhandle. They had cotton. She said there was a certain light; pinkish orange first, then green. About 15 minutes before the weather turned really bad, all animal activity would cease and things would get real quiet. Birds would disappear first, then cats, squirrels, prairie dogs, etc. Cows would lay down, plow horses would head for the barn against their reins. The family dog would start barking and jumping around, trying to get people to the house. All those things occurring together and quickly within a 15 – 20 minute period meant it was time to head for the basement under the house. It looked just like Dorothy’s in the Wizard of Oz.

What kind of weather occurs before the tornado comes?

On the days we are issued tornado watches the weather is very warm and humid. The sky is hazy due to the humidity and there may not be very much wind until the cold front approaches, It starts to get windy when the front approaches and then the sky gets darker due to the cloud cover. You then feel a bit of a chill in the air as the temperature drops. We had a tornado watch the day I took this photo. I actually saw a bit of rotation in the clouds and some debris being kicked up on the ground. We never got a tornado with this storm, but I believe there was one within 100 miles from us.

Thanks for the answers yall.

@Espiritus_Corvus I’ve heard this before, that the sky turns an orangy color before a tornado. Incidentally, this sometimes happens over here during a thunderstorm, which is really odd. The orange sky never lasts long though. And it’s more yellow/white. Molecules are cool lol. well not when shit gets destroyed.

@jonsblond Holy crap, that’s hardcore. :O

A couple of days ago, I pruned my privet hedge and a large rosebush. I found a bird’s nest inside of each. I hope I didn’t scare away the little creatures.

No, this has nothing to do with tornadoes. The bird comments just made me think about my tiny “neighbors” and hope they’re alright. Ok, I’ll be leaving now. Good night to all.

I’ve been in a tornado watch area twice. We got a funny message on the TV to warn us. I think Doppler radar had picked up the signs and that was the quickest way to alert people. Outside it was dark and the sky was distinctly greenish coloured

When I’ve experienced it, the sky goes sort of a pinky-orange color and then a green color, and it gets really quiet, like I don’t hear birds or anything. It’s just feels and looks sort of ominous in general.

Sometimes yes but not always. We had storm chasers who were killed here when the storm changed course unexpectedly and hit them. And these guys were experienced. If you live in an area where they are expected it is always wisest to just expect the worst every time and prepare.

Not really.
There are warning signs to watch for that will let you know that there is potential for a tornado to form, but as for accurate prediction: no.

Often the sky takes on an eerie glow and looks almost green, it’s like the air around you is glowing with color. Rotation in the clouds is a good indication, of course, but that’s not necessarily a lot of warning if a funnel decides to drop out of it. I’d guess that most of us who live in tornado prone areas are pretty accustomed to watching the sky and just knowing what to look for, you get kind of used to it.

Most “tornado watches” and “warnings” amount to nothing. You have to pay attention when the weather conditions are bad.

@DigitalBlue I’ve once seen clouds in a swirly shape, looked fucked up. Thing is, they weren’t storm clouds and it wasn’t even windy. Maybe they just ended up looking like that randomly, but it did remind me of a tornado. One never came though. Damn well better not have lol.

If you see wall clouds, that’s an important hint. Signs of rotation are a more serious clue. Listen to the weather reports and if the warning sirens go off, take shelter immediately.

@Symbeline it’s interesting if it wasn’t a stormy day, but I imagine the wind could blow any clouds around in a pattern. I would describe rotation as “swirly” and that’s basically what it looks like. Even rotation isn’t a definite indication that there will be a tornado, but it’s one of the things that are good to look out for if the conditions are right.
Most “professional” chasers or people who study tornadoes have the primary goal of being able to better understand and therefore better predict them.

At the same time, it’s slightly less terrifying when it’s not completely foreign. Yes, they are often large and highly destructive storms, but EF5 and other strong tornadoes are actually pretty rare. For the most part, the more common and weaker tornadoes won’t do a whole lot of damage in most cases. Of course you still want to protect yourself and get out of the way, but that’s not the sort of thing that levels homes and shreds trees into toothpicks. Lightning is a bigger and more probable threat.

Yeah, when searching on the net for information, it makes it seem like F5’s happen like, all the time. But what F5’s there are, of course it will get coverage. And with good reason.
There have been tornadoes where I live, and although I have not seen them myself, I’m not even sure they were an F anything. Lol. But I agree, always good to be prepared, at least if you live in a place where they’re said to be frequent. Frankly, I’d rather witness a small tornado than some huge ass hurricane.

And yeah, those swirly clouds I saw were odd, like almost perfectly round. But I mean, ever seen one of those mini baby tornadoes that last like two seconds, where they gather dead leaves and dirt then they just die? The ones that are barely taller than a human? I figured those clouds were something like that, completely harmless and slightly random. Would have been more alerted if it was all windy and stormy out, but it was a sunny, hot ass day lol.

Looking stuff up now, it’s stated that tornadoes, as well as hurricanes, aren’t fully comprehended yet. :/

I saw one F5 like 28 years ago. We get F0’s relatively often this time of year, but they don’t really do anything but knock down some branches and occasionally the old and dying tree. We had an F0 last year that looked horrifying, it was monstrous and dark and mean looking, and it took off a couple of roof shingles and some tree branches. People who lived right where it hit didn’t even know there had been a tornado. Really nothing, considering how big it appeared. Not that the size affects the rating, but it’s just another one of those aspects of not really knowing what to expect with them.

I heard that the fujita scale bases the tornado’s strength on how much damage it causes.
Also, is this true? Apparently that rating goes up to F10, except that anything that high is extremely rare, or has never happened. But they could, I suppose? Looking it up on Wiki, they say even an F6 is pretty much impossible. :/

Of course. That’s why meteorologists declare tornado watches.

You can feel it. It’s like a heavy wet blanket pressing down on you a long time, hours, before it forms. The air gets yellow. The yellow light causes green street lights to look blue. When the clouds start going all different directions, that’s a good sign too. And if they start rotating then you have a sure thing on your hands, but you don’t know where it’s going to come down. If you see sickly green clouds that’s a sign of hail, and where there is hail there are tornadoes. Don’t go that direction! Also, if the heavy, black clouds end in an abrupt, very well defined edge (a wall cloud) that’s another sign.
We know it for a long time before the sirens go off. The sirens just mean one is on the ground within 5 miles and people then pile into cars to go find it.

We know it for a long time before the sirens go off. The sirens just mean one is on the ground within 5 miles and people then pile into cars to go find it.

LOL go figure. XD

Cool picture. Cloud walls look pretty freaky.

They are freaky! We have some freaky, really scary clouds in Kansas sometimes. We also have the most incredible sunsets because of them though.

Also, wind doesn’t mean anything at all, but just wind, straight-line winds that hit, boom, at 80, 90 miles an hour are damn near as dangerous as a tornado. They’re brief, but they can knock down trees and rip shingles off the house. My back door was open when one hit once. Knocked pictures off the wall, and knick knacks to the ground.
This and This and This were caused by a straight line wind the night before. And life goes on!

—And I’m not kidding about people jumping in their cars to go look fer it! I’ve done it myself when I didn’t have kids! Rick and I were delivering something to a customer once. We were chatting with him and keeping an eye on the sky because we had That Feeling. Suddenly I said, “Rick! Look! Rotation!”
Rick said, “Gotta go!” And we followed the rotating clouds about 10 miles. The back roads were PACKED with storm watchers. Suddenly Rick slammed on the brakes and said “NOW” he knows These Things. He’s seen lots and a tornado dropped out of the center. It’s the only tornado I’ve ever seen and it was BEAUTIFUL! It was white.

Haha oh I believe the whole car thing. I probably would, too. It’s just funny. It’s like, hey! Natural disaster that can fuck shit up big time! Come on, s’go! Lol.

I know a person who saw a big tornado, and when I asked them what it was like, they went, yeah it’s pretty cool. For about two seconds then you piss yourself. Lol.

And yes, winds can be worse than tornadoes, on account that they can last way longer, and cover more ground than a tornado can. We’ve had this terrible wind a few years back, and I’m in my living room when I hear a giant, earth shaking rumble. I go to the kitchen, and in the window, all I see is leaves. A whole tree fell, knocking out power lines and shit. thankfully, they were someone else’s power lines, none of my stuff got affected. LOL. I phoned the fire station, and they came like…16 hours later. Knocked on my door at five in the morning, telling me I have to call the phone company to get this fixed, because they only deal with electricity lines. I’m like, yeah thanks guys.

Yeah. “Tornado Albert!”
“Well, git up on the roof and look fer it!”
At the very least, people come outside and the whole neighborhood is standing in their yards looking at the sky.

Some people around here call 911 to come clean the limbs out of their yard! True story!

Damn man…I called the fire guys because of the power lines. Didn’t want to go near them myself. But when those were sorted out, the landlord and some guys just sawed the tree into small pieces to clean the yard. Lazy people calling the cops to clean up, what the hell lol.

Yeah. It was a few older women though!

Ah, well that is different, but they should probably call friends or family to come help, not the cops lol.

Yeah! The cops said, “No.”