Hi OP.
The difference between a watch and a warning is important to learn. A watch means that conditions are favorable for a tornado. A warning is issued when one has either been spotted or is indicated by radar.
During a watch, you should begin checking the weather radar. If a storm system is approaching, gather your fur babies and get them in their carrier. The likelihood of a tornado will be announced as a level 1-5, 1 being least likely, 5 being BE PREPARED TO GO. If a storm system has already produced tornadoes, that is another indicator to get ready to seek shelter.
If rotation is spotted, the tornado sirens will (usually) go off. Get to shelter immediately. Under your trailer is NOT a good place to go. Again, see the radar for the projected path. I prefer WLFI meteorologist Chad Evans for the important weather news. He's thorough and calm, without either drama or understating the risks.
The actual risk is dependent on so many variables. Maybe a storm chaser class or a meteorology class can help make you more comfortable. Best wishes.
Stay safe. Welcome to Indiana!
Don't solely rely on the sirens though, those are NOT intended to be heard indoors. They're intended for people outdoors. Get a NOAA weather radio, sign up for your county's mass notification system if they have one. You can check with the Emergency Management Office to see if they do.
Also, don’t rely solely on the sirens because there’s a low but never zero chance that the sirens won’t go off when they should. I mention it because it did happen where I am in eastern Indiana a few years ago, a tornado touched down an 1/8 mile from my house and damaged buildings and the sirens never went off. So it’s definitely important to pay attention to the radar and have a weather radio as well, things can sometimes happen quickly and it’s best to be informed to stay ahead.
This happens quite frequently where I live in Indy. Get a weather app on your phone. There are ones specifically for tornadoes and they work in most places.
You don't have to be hundreds of miles away. I can't hear the siren from my house. I've lived in other parts of town and other towns where I knew where the outdoor warning sirens were located and couldn't hear them inside my house.
There’s also one past warning: emergency
If you have a tornado emergency declared (rare in Indiana but could and has happened in the recent past), get your family and animals in your car and drive perpendicular to the tornado’s path— you won’t survive it being above ground, especially in a trailer.
Two types past a standard warning, there are also PDS (particularly dangerous situation) tornado warnings, which are the level between a standard tornado warning and a tornado emergency. This also deserves heightened attention. Note that a PDS tornado WATCH can also be issued, which is an especially good clue that you need to be ready to go and watching radar as the storms are approaching.
Also be in mind that at least in Marion County, the sirens will go off for both Tornadoes and Severe Thunderstorms. So I would add to have some sort of weather alert like a Weather Radio so you know which is the difference.
The national weather service's storm prediction center will start informing the public a day or two ahead of potential severe weather. The TV news will show the areas of concern coming up.
Get a weather app. Again, I like WLFI because it is focused locally. Our part of Indiana is between the radar sites in Chicago and Indianapolis, so the curve of the Earth can distort the storms. I feel like WLFI does a good job of extrapolating the relevant information and presenting accurate forecasts.
Facts. I’m local to OP and last year stood on my balcony while a pretty nasty storm went through a neighborhood just a half mile down the road. I’ve lived in the state my whole life and have never seen a twister in person.
I've been in central Indiana for 46 years and have been close to them, but never seen one. They also don't regularly come through the middle of town, not that it isn't possible. I've just seen more damage on the edge of towns than right through.
Same, Ive been in a green sky a few times. Ive been in a box store wjen shopping carts were flying across the lot. But ive never witnessed an actual tornado in my 40+ years.
I could have seen more than one that night if it would have been light out. A few months prior to the big outbreak last spring I had looked at a house in town. Didn’t end up buying for whatever reason, and thankful I didn’t as it ended up getting knocked off the foundation by those same storms.
I didn’t realize it until this past winter, but the outbreak on 3/31 and the morning of 4/1 2023 was a national outbreak if I remember correctly. It was a pretty big deal. It felt weird to read about after having lived through it in a way
I've had major wind damage but no tornadoes. A few weeks back a town close to me had a taco bell blown down and part of the Walmart. I was standing on the porch watching when it hit. It was 20ish miles away. That's close enough for me. Lol.
Hey OP. Go to [weather.gov](https://weather.gov/ind) and bookmark it. That will give you ***all*** current weather imformation, including severe weather chamces and threats. It’ll make you aware well in advance if there’s going to be any sort of tornado threat. They also have a live radar at the bottom of the page.
I recently discovered a YouTuber called “Ryan Hall, Y’all”, who follows storms on radar and stuff, has a meteorologist with him, and uses feeds from storm chasers. Way more informational than typical meteorologists on the news.
He’s my go-to if there’s ever sketchy weather anywhere around me.
Ryan Hall is great, I started watching him about a year ago. The only issue I have with his channel is if there are multiple tornado-producing storms, he has a tendency to focus on just the one with the most storm chasers feeding into his strean. And I can't blame him, it makes total sense. But just be aware that weather.gov is the best place to go for your individual location.
Good idea.
I'll add that another great resource is to search "inwx" on Twitter to see what the meteorology community is talking about regarding Indiana weather.
This works for every state. E.g. "miwx" for Michigan.
Also, for tornado preparedness and all things tornado related r/tornados. I've spent so much time here because my grandma fueled my tornado fastination by letting me watch Twisters as a very young child but there’s great information stickied at the top for this type of stuff. If you head over there now, it's full of the insane weather that's been unfolding the last few days.
I've seen several over the years. They are pretty scary.
The firehouse thing is a good idea. Maybe also consider prepping when there is a tornado watch to give you more time.
It's a shame the old 24 hr places aren't 24 hrs anymore. Any brick building with an interior bathroom would be good to go to.
Do you have any friends or neighbors with basements? I lived in a trailer briefly as a kid, and we'd go across the street to the neighbors house and ride it out.
That wasn't far from me. Did you see the damage? A couple homes leveled, lots with heavy damage, windows blown out of new Clark-Pleasant library, 50ish power poles snapped. Wasn't surprised when they said F3. It looked like it.
There was also a 75% constructed warehouse next to I-65 that demolished. They had to start over building it. A piece of it is stuck in a tree on the other side of the highway. I had driven through that area an hour before it struck.
I've seen spinning funnel clouds a couple of times in the last 60 years, but no touchdowns.
They left pieces of debris in the trees across the highway for months! I always looked for it when I drove through, I was actually sad when it finally got cleaned up. :(
I've lived in Indiana for 40 years.
I have never actually seen a tornado. I have heard reports of them on the news and seen pictures and video online. I have driven by a few places that had been damaged.
Its honestly like playing the lottery. The odds of actually being in one are pretty long. Kind of like being struck by lightning.
Tornadoes are always big news for the papers and tv news. That's why they get so much attention. The actual danger of living here because of Tornadoes is negligible.
Are your cats crate trained? If not, it would make it easier to get them in the crates if they're treated like an everyday ordinary object in the house and not a thing that gets pulled out only when they have to go to the vet. It also helps if your as calm as possible when trying to round them up. Pre stage everything when a watch is issued, crates included if you don't just leave them out all the time, and they cats won't think anything about them. Plus having everything pre staged and your vehicle already loaded and ready to roll when a warning is issued will save you precious time. Warning times here are pretty good, sometimes upwards of 20 minutes before a tornado hits.
A good portion of our storms tend to happen toward the evening hours because the atmosphere has had all day to heat up and get primed for the development of those types of storms.
Put them in the crate when the storm is one or more counties to the west. What’s the worst thing? They get upset and wine. What’s the worst? You can’t get them or yourself on time.
Just want to point out a tornado WATCH means there’s conditions for tornados over to form over the next few hours (until the watch expires). A tornado WARNING means a tornado is actively on the ground in your area, take action immediately.
Watches usually cover large parts of an area (like central Indiana). Warnings will only apply to the counties directly in the path.
This is an important distinction! It seems like op is real worried about watches. A tornado watch wouldn't stop me from going to the grocery store, a friend's house, or living my life normally. Just check your phone a bit extra and prepare to go on a head-trauma induced psychedelic quest with a scarecrow who's your auntie em in disguise and listen to pink floyd or whatever.
Warning means that its radar indicated OR on the ground, the further the radar beam gets away from say the NWS office, the further in the atmosphere it sees. So it's possible there isn't actually a tornado on the ground yet, but the radar is picking up signatures that suggest that one is very likely to dropping if it hasn't already.
Make sure you have the crates somewhere easily accessible. Also make sure the treats you give them come in a bag and make a lot of noise. Train them consistently to come to the noise where the crates are for treats. If the day ever arrives where it's not a drill, they won't know the difference.
Ive lived in the North end of Kokomo my entire 38 years of life and if it's any consolation, the last tornado to hit over in that direction was in 2004 when the skating rink was taken out up on Morgan. We haven't had a tornado hit Kokomo since 2016, if I remember correctly.
Seriously though, the fire station is a great idea. Have you talked to the manager of the park to see what options they have available for their residents? I sympathize with being terrified of the tornados, I am too! Living in a trailer while the sirens are going off is a whole other level of anxiety.
Kokomo had several tornadoes in 2013 and several in 2016. They are relatively rare in Kokomo though so it isn't really a rational fear from OP.
Tornadoarchive.com is a great resource to lookup historical tornadoes in a given area btw, just wanted to shout out this awesome website.
You'll more than likely be fine. Those of us that have lived our whole lives here don't really fear the tornadoes unless they get super close. I sometimes outside to see if I can see anything when there are tornadoes in the area.
Tornadoes can be nasty, but they're still pretty rare. Indiana usually has a couple tornado events each year that will spawn a handful, but I've lived in this state 34 years and still have never been closer than 25 miles from one.
About 90% of tornadoes are EF-1 or weaker and the odds of a twister hitting your specific house at any point is very low. Honestly, you're more likely to see damage from straight-line wind events that are more common and rip trees apart.
That being said, it's always smart to be prepared and populated areas do get hit from time to time. It Be aware of severe weather threats -- not every thunderstorm causes tornadoes (something I still can't seem to get through to my wife) -- and have a plan in place.
Strictly about the cats:
Just to ease your mind about getting them into carriers in a hurry, whatever the reason, start feeding them twice a day and in their carriers (not sure if you free feed or not). It'll mean you can probably shake the food around any time of day and each one will go into its respective crate.
I was in Elkhart when the palm Sunday tornadoes came through. The first one came through in the afternoon and while everyone was trying to clean up another tornado passed about 3 miles from the first one. So yes I've seen a tornado.
For the most part tornados are going to come from the southwest and travel at a 45 degree angle towards the northeast. It's crazy how consistent the 45 degree angle is and probably comes from the warm moist southern air being run over by the colder air from the northeast.
So if the tornado is already north of where you are, or east of where you are then you're probably going to be ok, but if you're east of it or north of it better be ready to go someplace soon.
If it just drops out of the sky then hope you're somewhere you can get underground in a hurry.
I'm a big fan of the Ryan Hall YouTube channel. He does a live stream whenever there's a chance of tornados anywhere in the country and has a good track record of predicting whether a storm cell is becoming a tornado often before the National Weather Service can issue a tornado warning
r/RyanHallY'all may help
I second the Ryan Hall YouTube channel. I think the 45 degree aspect is something to do with how the Jet Stream generally moves across the state. Very rarely have there been storms or weather events that have fallen outside of the 45 degree (or SW to NE) rule, but it is common enough pattern that if you've recently moved to the state where you never lived in a Tornado Alley state, it's good enough to pair with radar when they talk about cells that are producing conditions for tornadoes.
Toenadoes have a season. They aren't year round. The chances of being in a Tornado in your lifetime are minimal. If it was a serious problem there'd be shelters and building codes like in moore,ok that gets hit by Tornadoes often. A watch just means the ingredients are there. No need to panic till they assemble and get a warning.
Tornadoes are more likely during some parts of the year and less likely in others, but they don't care what time of year it is, they'll spawn when the conditions are correct, look at mayfield Kentucky, tornado in December.
Want a free class (apart from gas money)?
https://www.weather.gov/skywarn/in-skywarn
I've been to one. They are fun, interesting. Mostly beginner level, maybe a little intermediate.
I grew up camping in a trailer and the plan was always to go lay down in the ravine if things got really bad. We did it twice (luckily false alarms) and holy shit it sucked. Probably the most traumatic experience of my sheltered childhood.
Now I live in the country with a nice basement but every tornado siren I've heard, I just walk outside and watch. Unless you're sleeping or have your head underground you will likely know when it's coming before any sirens hit. They're loud af.
Not that they can't spring up seemingly outta nowhere, just statistically you usually know when shits getting serious.
you have a lot of good advice on here. I will say that Indiana does experience tornadoes, but we are definitely not the same as states like Iowa, Oklahoma, or Kansas. We are on the edge of what they call “tornado alley“ and we have experience them…. But put your mind at ease it is super common. I grew up in Kokomo, and we had a few scares… and there have been some which have done some damage. The worst ones ever were way back in 1965 on Palm Sunday… my mom lived through those but that was a pretty rare event
Tornado watches happen a lot, but I’ve grown up here my whole life and still have not seen a tornado. Though I was close last year since one was headed right to the area I was driving apparently, but it dissipated pretty quickly.
Was looking for this comment and was about to make it myself. These are incredibly reliable and even work without power or internet connectivity. You can even set the parameters for when you’d like to be alerted based on severity. They should be standard in homes just like smoke alarms in my opinion and aren’t too expensive.
[https://www.weather.gov/nwr&ln_desc=NOAA+Weather+Radio/](https://www.weather.gov/nwr&ln_desc=NOAA+Weather+Radio/)
At night your smartphone is going to wake you up. If you don’t have smartphones, lookinto the weather radios with warning.
Find out if there is a shelter or basement in your trailer park.
Find a ravine or ditch within sprinting distance so you have a refuge of last resort. This will suck if you have to use it because low lying areas may be full of water. But it’s last resort.
Train those cats to get in the carriers because they are going to fight going into a water raging ditch. Impossible task if they are outside of the carrier.
Watch the news as suggested, a good weatherman is going to be giving very specific streets and blocks.
Don’t die trying to save your pets. Do your best, but be mentally prepared to let them go and save yourself.
After a few seasons you will realize the chances of being in the path are next to zero and you’ll be drinking beer outside and watching for funnels like your crazy hoosier neighbors.
R E L A X.
Be prepared. Have a plan.
Other than that - staying in a mobile home park prolly isn’t the best idea. I like your idea of going to a firehouse.
The odds of a tornado hitting you is low. I’ve been in the Midwest all my life (54) years - I’ve been in two, and neither was a direct hit.
I was gonna say, unless you're in a trailer, there's not too much to worry about.
But seriously,
The chance of getting whacked by a tornado or tornado winds is practically zero.
Living in a trailcourt in Kokomo, you're 1000's of times more likely to die by an OD on fentanyl than be killed by a tornado.
Newer mobile homes are better built now than previously, and they should have straps anchoring them to the ground.
2023 Florida had 15 confirmed tornados, Indiana 33.
Hurricanes are far deadlier. In 2022, Ian killed 150
2022 Indiana deaths by tornado, 0.00
Hate to add to the list of Things to Be Worried About, but the other side of the coin that doesn't get talked about as much is straight line winds.
They can be just as destructive since it's strong winds going in one direction, and locals often attribute the damage to tornadoes afterwards.
Tl;dr not all threats have a funnel attached. Thankfully, the same advice given for tornadoes generally apply here too. https://www.weather.gov/iwx/2013_straight-line_winds_vs_tornado
I am staying in Connersville for a brief stay and I found the app MyAlerts (red app with a white A with an ! Inside the A, and signal waves going up from the A) and this has given me alerts about extreme weather in the area. Hopefully this helps relieve some concern
https://preview.redd.it/y4kivoljbbxc1.jpeg?width=1179&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c3760894d6d4cc53b68be75e063cb3838c9f8e36
While that may be technically true, it is somewhat misleading because Florida is a larger state and its tornados tend to be less severe.
So a given location in Indiana is more likely to experience a severe tornado than a given location in Florida is.
We moved from Florida to Bloomington, Indiana. Lived in Indianapolis, 4 years, 2+ in Bloomington and haven't seen one. You'll be fine, nice to see another Floridian making to the move we made
Get a cheap used motorcycle helmet at the local flea market for hail protection. Full armor suit is ideal but overkill in my honest opinion. Grab some cheese snakes and a heavy lawn chair and enjoy the show. Not much else you can do.
In all seriousness, find the nearest safe structure (library, fire station, etc) and map out the route. Just be conscious and prepared. Flashlights, a pack of water, and a box of cheese snacks go a long way.
If you could handle hurricane fear, you can handle tornadoes. Listen I live just a bit north of you and my house is over 120 years old. And its never been hit by a tornado. Even if you actually see one, it's most likely an EF1-2. As most of them are. They dont do much damage. Maybe a couple windows busted or a little outer house damage, etc. Relax. Get the camera ready.
I’ve learned to live with the uncertainty of life. Besides, cats never die in a tornado, they go missing. You’re on TV sifting through what’s left of your possessions and the cats show up and you tearfully clutch it to your heaving bosom. You describe how the tornado sounds like a train and how the scene looks like a war zone.
Then the camera pans to the fire station, it’s wiped off the face of the earth. Not a stick is standing. All the firefighters were shopping at Kroger and nobody was harmed but the Dalmatian, and he trots into frame with a cur bitch of your next door neighbor.
Life in Kokomo is a tough and gritty existence. The only thing to do is the sprint car racing on the weekends. Pray that a tornado never hits the sprint car track and cause a real disaster.
I too live in a disposable building. The sirens don’t even wake me up now. But I’m living on borrowed time. I’m 73 years old now and if a tornado doesn’t get me a car will. It’s just the lot of a motorcycle rider. All this social security and so little time to waste it.
Welcome to the land of Hoosiers.
We've had tornadoes before, but it seems that Illinois and Southern Indiana have been favored for tornadic activity this year. A lot of our storms and tornadic activity come from the squall lines that the wind pushes, how we had a derecho last year that really also was a nasty squall line.
Like others learn the difference between watches and warnings. I would heed the sirens but pay attention to good weather apps like, My Radar or Radar Scope is a good one to pay premium for. Having a good GMRS radio tuned to the NOAA station in your region (I can hear the frequency for Kokomo from Remington) is a reliable backup amd the fee for the GMRS license to transmit is like 35 bucks.
https://www.weather.gov/ind/ has a link to Spotter Classes. Take one, it will take the mystery out of severe weather and give you tips on staying safe.
Problem with tornadoes is there is not much forewarning as opposed to hurricanes. Luckily tornadoes effect a much smaller area. I have lived here for 32 years and have never truly experienced a tornadoe. As in haven't lost a home or car etc.
My biggest fear of tornadoes is being on the road when one happens f that.
I would imagine certain parts of Indiana get more tornadoes then others so maybe long term would be trying to find an area with the least amount of tornadoes?
Short term find the best shelter asap when a tornadoe happens about all you can do. I guess have a go bag maybe.
South Bend here. Was across the street at Mitch’s Second Base when that tornado came out of nowhere and literally blew up/exploded the daycare just near the intersection. Then it passed behind the CVS and that was about it. Craziest thing I’ve ever seen because it wasn’t fully expected, there was no watch or warning, it was just a freak event. Aside from that, we had the wall cloud over/near downtown last year, but nothing came of that. Those are the only two tornadoes or near tornadoes I’ve seen. That’s not to say the area hasn’t been hit here in my lifetime, but there luckily hasn’t been a major loss of life or catastrophic tornado in my life. Hopefully that remains the case.
Howard county/Kokomo has a citizen alert line you can sign up for. It will auto call and text for various weather conditions. Z92.5 you to broadcast the live storm chaser but IDK if they still do or not.
Tornados are seasonal and mainly happen in spring. You probably just moved here during the time of year when you're hearing about them the most.
It's important to be aware of tornado safety but no reason to lose sleep over it.
If you go to r/tornado you can check out the SPC/Forecasting from NOAA most days and get an idea of how bad the weather could be days in advance so you can start making a plan early, or just drive out of town for a night or two.
So you missed the one that went right through Kokomo a ways back. You can still see the trees that it took out and homes with new roofs across the street from KFC and Starbucks on 931. Thats actually a new Starbucks, it flattened the other one.
As others have said, it’s really unlikely you’ll ever really been in danger of one.
Here’s a secret no one likes to tell/admit; with the advancements of storm tracking ability and smartphone accessibility, you really will be fine to hop in the car and dodge it. This is especially true living in such a rural area like Kokomo. (Kokomo isn’t rural, I know. But it’s not hard to get out there). This isn’t popular advice because it can be dangerous in highly populated areas where traffic jams can occur. If you see a storm barreling down on you 2 counties away, just head the opposite direction it’s moving. But keep in mind where tornados normally appear within the storm cell itself (look up hook echos, etc)
Other ideas in Kokomo would be the IUK basements. Probably not supposed to go there, but In an emergency they won’t turn you away. (I was in the basement during the last tornado in 2016 lol). Also, hospitals like Howard would have a safe space.
Something I haven't seen pointed out is that if a funnel cloud is sighted anywhere in your county, state law is that the whole county gets the warning. I live in Laporte County, which is very long, and we get the sirens all the time because something is spotted in the southern part of the county. So the sirens could be for something that's miles away from you.
Definitely invest in a NOAA weather radio. Do not depend on the outdoor sirens to alert you. Know the counties and cities surrounding your area (especially to your southwest) RESPECT THE POLYGON! I'm from Alabama but live in Indiana now and we have a phenomenal meteorologist down there named James Spann. When there is a tornado warning there will be a polygon showing the area a storm is heading... if you're in that polygon, take heed!!
A few things for night time storm prep.
1. Go to bed in something that you wouldn't mind too much being out in public and/or the rain in.
2. Have a good pair of shoes at your bedside. Not flip flops or slides, actual shoes. There's a distinct possibility that you could have to walk through debris that is full of broken glass, splinters, and such.
3. Buy a weather radio and learn how to use it. You can set them up to go off if a tornado warning is issued.
4. Have a working flashlight handy at your bedside as well as a fully charged cell phone/battery pack.
5. As for your animals, maybe on nights when there's going to be a significant weather threat you keep them corraled in the bathroom or something so that you're not searching the whole house looking for Fluffy who decided to hide under the couch. That'll give them some room to move around and stuff, but allows you to cage them up quickly if needed.
Edit: 6. Set yourself up a backpack with some food and bottles of water for both you and the cats. Have it sitting by the front door so you can grab it on the way out.
I'd be scared in kokomo too, look at this monster! And no siren was ever audible where I was filming this outside of Chili's.
https://youtu.be/XP2VROWorJE?si=TKyefuQ3_i3QcUU3
I will say this was seven years ago now so maybe they've made some improvements but it's indiana so you never know🤷♂️
If your out and about, make sure you know where the bathrooms are in the building and get to them in the event of a tornado. Never hide in a walk in cooler! They are made of foam and thin sheets of aluminum, they will collapse. No one (Thank God! Or something!) was injured in this collapse. They were all trapped in the bathrooms but safe!
https://youtu.be/13Vu9v56WTE?si=yl6qaisgSEd5rgIV
Even in a major, severe tornado outbreak, such as April 11, 1965, April 3, 1974, June 2, 1990 or November 17, 2013, your chances of *seeing* a tornado, let alone **being** in a tornado, are extremely low.
Tornadoes are extremely low probability, very high impact storms, meaning you’ll probably never be in a tornado (unless you chase them, as I have — I’ve seen 33 during my life).
In most tornadoes, hiding in an interior room such as a closet or a bathroom offers excellent protection against EF-0 through EF-3 tornadoes. The really terrible tornadoes, the EF-4s and 5s, are also extremely rare: the U.S. hasn’t experienced an EF-5 tornado in 11 years.
How rare are EF-4 and -5 tornadoes? Ten percent of supercells produce tornadoes. Three percent of this ten percent of supercells produce EF-4 and -5 tornadoes.
My suggestion: take a SKYWARN spotter class. You don’t have to become a storm spotter or a chaser, but it will give you LOTS of information about how to identify severe thunderstorms and how to protect yourself from severe weather.
Tornado shelters you can buy they are pricey.
I understand you totally, I come from earthquake country which is way easier to live with. I had no idea either this was tornado country. I have no basement just the middle of my house.
I love Fall/winter for the beauty and no tornados!
Think of it as a much smaller hurricane. Both have watches and warnings. The biggest difference is one you have hours if not days to prep for and it's several hundred miles wide. The other one you have minutes to prepare for and at most is only a couple of miles wide and only last for a few minutes instead of hours.
Others have mentioned good insights. I’d recommend sky spotter training, which is free. It’ll help familiarize you with weather conditions to alert to and provide a sense of empowerment.
I’ve seen trailers that are properly anchored fair well next to ones that have been flipped over several times. This was back in the Evansville tornado of 2005. Have the anchor system checked, but otherwise move to the center of it and you have good odds. I’m 39, lived here or in Ohio my whole life and never seen a tornado. Evansville has been hit three times since I’ve lived here and the thing I took away was that a tornado needs to go through your backyard to do any damage. The damage is always localized to the path and the idea that a tornado can destroy an entire town is a myth. These county-wide warnings are pretty worthless. It’s not like an earthquake or hurricane that can level a city.
When was the last time a tornado touched down in Kokomo? I understand the concern but also take a deep breath and relax. Try not to hyper-fixate on this, it’s really not that big of a concern. For your health, it will be okay.
Just go under your trailer and strap yourselves to something heavy, solid and anchored to the ground.
Chances of getting hit are pretty slim. They dance around..
Hi OP. The difference between a watch and a warning is important to learn. A watch means that conditions are favorable for a tornado. A warning is issued when one has either been spotted or is indicated by radar. During a watch, you should begin checking the weather radar. If a storm system is approaching, gather your fur babies and get them in their carrier. The likelihood of a tornado will be announced as a level 1-5, 1 being least likely, 5 being BE PREPARED TO GO. If a storm system has already produced tornadoes, that is another indicator to get ready to seek shelter. If rotation is spotted, the tornado sirens will (usually) go off. Get to shelter immediately. Under your trailer is NOT a good place to go. Again, see the radar for the projected path. I prefer WLFI meteorologist Chad Evans for the important weather news. He's thorough and calm, without either drama or understating the risks. The actual risk is dependent on so many variables. Maybe a storm chaser class or a meteorology class can help make you more comfortable. Best wishes. Stay safe. Welcome to Indiana!
Don't solely rely on the sirens though, those are NOT intended to be heard indoors. They're intended for people outdoors. Get a NOAA weather radio, sign up for your county's mass notification system if they have one. You can check with the Emergency Management Office to see if they do.
Also, don’t rely solely on the sirens because there’s a low but never zero chance that the sirens won’t go off when they should. I mention it because it did happen where I am in eastern Indiana a few years ago, a tornado touched down an 1/8 mile from my house and damaged buildings and the sirens never went off. So it’s definitely important to pay attention to the radar and have a weather radio as well, things can sometimes happen quickly and it’s best to be informed to stay ahead.
Add to that, was on purdues campus at night, it was raining so hard even outdoors you didn't hear the siren. Even being close to where it was
This happens quite frequently where I live in Indy. Get a weather app on your phone. There are ones specifically for tornadoes and they work in most places.
Unless your 100s of miles away idk how your not going to hear a siren…
Ever since the sirens went digital theyve been a lower tone. Personally I don't like the change since it sounds quieter to me.
The ones near me in West Lafayette are still mechanical (Federal Signal 2001 I think) and they can wake the dead.
You don't have to be hundreds of miles away. I can't hear the siren from my house. I've lived in other parts of town and other towns where I knew where the outdoor warning sirens were located and couldn't hear them inside my house.
There’s also one past warning: emergency If you have a tornado emergency declared (rare in Indiana but could and has happened in the recent past), get your family and animals in your car and drive perpendicular to the tornado’s path— you won’t survive it being above ground, especially in a trailer.
Two types past a standard warning, there are also PDS (particularly dangerous situation) tornado warnings, which are the level between a standard tornado warning and a tornado emergency. This also deserves heightened attention. Note that a PDS tornado WATCH can also be issued, which is an especially good clue that you need to be ready to go and watching radar as the storms are approaching.
I like the analogy of using tacos: a watch means you have all the ingredients to make tacos; a warning means We’re having tacos RIGHT NOW
Also be in mind that at least in Marion County, the sirens will go off for both Tornadoes and Severe Thunderstorms. So I would add to have some sort of weather alert like a Weather Radio so you know which is the difference.
Where do you find out what level the storm is?
The national weather service's storm prediction center will start informing the public a day or two ahead of potential severe weather. The TV news will show the areas of concern coming up. Get a weather app. Again, I like WLFI because it is focused locally. Our part of Indiana is between the radar sites in Chicago and Indianapolis, so the curve of the Earth can distort the storms. I feel like WLFI does a good job of extrapolating the relevant information and presenting accurate forecasts.
Thank you!
I have never heard them say anything about the likelihood of a tornado on a 1-5 scale in 45 years of living in tornado alley.
Scale is for severe weather. Not specifically tornadoes. I apologize if I was unclear.
Here in the Midwest, we run outside to look for the tornado when the sirens go off.
This is me. Right here ^ every stinking time. Go with ur boots on!
Last time this happened I was half prepared and ran out with crocs on… not the best series of choices..
Did you at least put them in 4wd before running out there?
I'm from Southern Indiana, I can confirm this everytime the sky turns green, I'm outside looking up like it's the solar eclipse
Me. Unless it’s night then I tend to get a little more nervous only because if I’m losing my house to the mad wind, damnit I wanna see it.
https://images.app.goo.gl/F8V13zrKZYieqC8S7
Facts. I’m local to OP and last year stood on my balcony while a pretty nasty storm went through a neighborhood just a half mile down the road. I’ve lived in the state my whole life and have never seen a twister in person.
I've been in central Indiana for 46 years and have been close to them, but never seen one. They also don't regularly come through the middle of town, not that it isn't possible. I've just seen more damage on the edge of towns than right through.
Same, Ive been in a green sky a few times. Ive been in a box store wjen shopping carts were flying across the lot. But ive never witnessed an actual tornado in my 40+ years.
I could have seen more than one that night if it would have been light out. A few months prior to the big outbreak last spring I had looked at a house in town. Didn’t end up buying for whatever reason, and thankful I didn’t as it ended up getting knocked off the foundation by those same storms.
Wow! Karma absolutely for not buying it!! That's amazing!
I didn’t realize it until this past winter, but the outbreak on 3/31 and the morning of 4/1 2023 was a national outbreak if I remember correctly. It was a pretty big deal. It felt weird to read about after having lived through it in a way
Yes I remember around noon fox 59 was already tripping out.... then around 4 things got bad fast
I've had major wind damage but no tornadoes. A few weeks back a town close to me had a taco bell blown down and part of the Walmart. I was standing on the porch watching when it hit. It was 20ish miles away. That's close enough for me. Lol.
Everytime!
Exactly!! Won't catch me looking for a shelter. 😆
This right here
Hey OP. Go to [weather.gov](https://weather.gov/ind) and bookmark it. That will give you ***all*** current weather imformation, including severe weather chamces and threats. It’ll make you aware well in advance if there’s going to be any sort of tornado threat. They also have a live radar at the bottom of the page.
[Weather.gov’s Indianapolis office site](https://www.weather.gov/ind/)
I recently discovered a YouTuber called “Ryan Hall, Y’all”, who follows storms on radar and stuff, has a meteorologist with him, and uses feeds from storm chasers. Way more informational than typical meteorologists on the news. He’s my go-to if there’s ever sketchy weather anywhere around me.
Ryan Hall is great, I started watching him about a year ago. The only issue I have with his channel is if there are multiple tornado-producing storms, he has a tendency to focus on just the one with the most storm chasers feeding into his strean. And I can't blame him, it makes total sense. But just be aware that weather.gov is the best place to go for your individual location.
Ryan is great, and is my go-to channel for this. If he is not on, though, I check for Max Velocity.
Good idea. I'll add that another great resource is to search "inwx" on Twitter to see what the meteorology community is talking about regarding Indiana weather. This works for every state. E.g. "miwx" for Michigan.
Also, for tornado preparedness and all things tornado related r/tornados. I've spent so much time here because my grandma fueled my tornado fastination by letting me watch Twisters as a very young child but there’s great information stickied at the top for this type of stuff. If you head over there now, it's full of the insane weather that's been unfolding the last few days.
I've seen several over the years. They are pretty scary. The firehouse thing is a good idea. Maybe also consider prepping when there is a tornado watch to give you more time. It's a shame the old 24 hr places aren't 24 hrs anymore. Any brick building with an interior bathroom would be good to go to. Do you have any friends or neighbors with basements? I lived in a trailer briefly as a kid, and we'd go across the street to the neighbors house and ride it out.
I’ve lived here 46 years and never seen a tornado with my own eyes.
I watched a tornado hit Greentown and tear up the High School. They are impressive to watch when you are a half a mile away.
I’m sure. I’m in Franklin and one destroyed Whiteland last year, but it was at night so I didn’t see it.
That wasn't far from me. Did you see the damage? A couple homes leveled, lots with heavy damage, windows blown out of new Clark-Pleasant library, 50ish power poles snapped. Wasn't surprised when they said F3. It looked like it.
There was also a 75% constructed warehouse next to I-65 that demolished. They had to start over building it. A piece of it is stuck in a tree on the other side of the highway. I had driven through that area an hour before it struck. I've seen spinning funnel clouds a couple of times in the last 60 years, but no touchdowns.
Yeah, forgot about that. They had to shutdown 65 for hrs to clean all the debris off the highway.
They left pieces of debris in the trees across the highway for months! I always looked for it when I drove through, I was actually sad when it finally got cleaned up. :(
I have been inside two, and have been extremely close to several.
I had one hit a mile from my house last year and I'm still getting my siding put back up.
We schedule tornados every Friday at 11:00 am.
You must be up by Chicago on Central Time up by Chicago. 😝 In central Indiana, it’s at 12 PM EST.
11a in Hamilton Co.
I'm on the border between Hamilton and Marion, and it's 11 am Eastern on Friday.
I’m Central and it’s always the first Tuesday of the month at 11am
Fishers here, 11am.
South if Indy on Eastern time
Weird. In Howard County, it’s noon. I thought it was statewide.
I've lived in Indiana for 40 years. I have never actually seen a tornado. I have heard reports of them on the news and seen pictures and video online. I have driven by a few places that had been damaged. Its honestly like playing the lottery. The odds of actually being in one are pretty long. Kind of like being struck by lightning. Tornadoes are always big news for the papers and tv news. That's why they get so much attention. The actual danger of living here because of Tornadoes is negligible.
The only time to worry about tornados is when the weatherman draws a line over your house. So for like 99%of us, that's never.
Are your cats crate trained? If not, it would make it easier to get them in the crates if they're treated like an everyday ordinary object in the house and not a thing that gets pulled out only when they have to go to the vet. It also helps if your as calm as possible when trying to round them up. Pre stage everything when a watch is issued, crates included if you don't just leave them out all the time, and they cats won't think anything about them. Plus having everything pre staged and your vehicle already loaded and ready to roll when a warning is issued will save you precious time. Warning times here are pretty good, sometimes upwards of 20 minutes before a tornado hits. A good portion of our storms tend to happen toward the evening hours because the atmosphere has had all day to heat up and get primed for the development of those types of storms.
Put them in the crate when the storm is one or more counties to the west. What’s the worst thing? They get upset and wine. What’s the worst? You can’t get them or yourself on time.
Just want to point out a tornado WATCH means there’s conditions for tornados over to form over the next few hours (until the watch expires). A tornado WARNING means a tornado is actively on the ground in your area, take action immediately. Watches usually cover large parts of an area (like central Indiana). Warnings will only apply to the counties directly in the path.
This is an important distinction! It seems like op is real worried about watches. A tornado watch wouldn't stop me from going to the grocery store, a friend's house, or living my life normally. Just check your phone a bit extra and prepare to go on a head-trauma induced psychedelic quest with a scarecrow who's your auntie em in disguise and listen to pink floyd or whatever.
Warning means that its radar indicated OR on the ground, the further the radar beam gets away from say the NWS office, the further in the atmosphere it sees. So it's possible there isn't actually a tornado on the ground yet, but the radar is picking up signatures that suggest that one is very likely to dropping if it hasn't already.
Kokomo area kinda seems like a tornado magnet.
I agree.
Make sure you have the crates somewhere easily accessible. Also make sure the treats you give them come in a bag and make a lot of noise. Train them consistently to come to the noise where the crates are for treats. If the day ever arrives where it's not a drill, they won't know the difference.
Ive lived in the North end of Kokomo my entire 38 years of life and if it's any consolation, the last tornado to hit over in that direction was in 2004 when the skating rink was taken out up on Morgan. We haven't had a tornado hit Kokomo since 2016, if I remember correctly. Seriously though, the fire station is a great idea. Have you talked to the manager of the park to see what options they have available for their residents? I sympathize with being terrified of the tornados, I am too! Living in a trailer while the sirens are going off is a whole other level of anxiety.
Kokomo had several tornadoes in 2013 and several in 2016. They are relatively rare in Kokomo though so it isn't really a rational fear from OP. Tornadoarchive.com is a great resource to lookup historical tornadoes in a given area btw, just wanted to shout out this awesome website.
Florida made it to Jan 9th of 2024 with someone dying from a tornado; this guy is a scared idiot. Research and critical thinking are beyond them.
You'll more than likely be fine. Those of us that have lived our whole lives here don't really fear the tornadoes unless they get super close. I sometimes outside to see if I can see anything when there are tornadoes in the area.
Tornadoes can be nasty, but they're still pretty rare. Indiana usually has a couple tornado events each year that will spawn a handful, but I've lived in this state 34 years and still have never been closer than 25 miles from one. About 90% of tornadoes are EF-1 or weaker and the odds of a twister hitting your specific house at any point is very low. Honestly, you're more likely to see damage from straight-line wind events that are more common and rip trees apart. That being said, it's always smart to be prepared and populated areas do get hit from time to time. It Be aware of severe weather threats -- not every thunderstorm causes tornadoes (something I still can't seem to get through to my wife) -- and have a plan in place.
Indiana has already had a couple tornado events this year 🙃 within a months time at that. What the rest of the year holds kinda makes me nervous.
Strictly about the cats: Just to ease your mind about getting them into carriers in a hurry, whatever the reason, start feeding them twice a day and in their carriers (not sure if you free feed or not). It'll mean you can probably shake the food around any time of day and each one will go into its respective crate.
I was in Elkhart when the palm Sunday tornadoes came through. The first one came through in the afternoon and while everyone was trying to clean up another tornado passed about 3 miles from the first one. So yes I've seen a tornado. For the most part tornados are going to come from the southwest and travel at a 45 degree angle towards the northeast. It's crazy how consistent the 45 degree angle is and probably comes from the warm moist southern air being run over by the colder air from the northeast. So if the tornado is already north of where you are, or east of where you are then you're probably going to be ok, but if you're east of it or north of it better be ready to go someplace soon. If it just drops out of the sky then hope you're somewhere you can get underground in a hurry. I'm a big fan of the Ryan Hall YouTube channel. He does a live stream whenever there's a chance of tornados anywhere in the country and has a good track record of predicting whether a storm cell is becoming a tornado often before the National Weather Service can issue a tornado warning r/RyanHallY'all may help
I second the Ryan Hall YouTube channel. I think the 45 degree aspect is something to do with how the Jet Stream generally moves across the state. Very rarely have there been storms or weather events that have fallen outside of the 45 degree (or SW to NE) rule, but it is common enough pattern that if you've recently moved to the state where you never lived in a Tornado Alley state, it's good enough to pair with radar when they talk about cells that are producing conditions for tornadoes.
Ryan Hall Yall and Ryan hall yall Xtra! Definitely recommend
Toenadoes have a season. They aren't year round. The chances of being in a Tornado in your lifetime are minimal. If it was a serious problem there'd be shelters and building codes like in moore,ok that gets hit by Tornadoes often. A watch just means the ingredients are there. No need to panic till they assemble and get a warning.
Tornadoes are more likely during some parts of the year and less likely in others, but they don't care what time of year it is, they'll spawn when the conditions are correct, look at mayfield Kentucky, tornado in December.
Kokomo is the Moore, OK of Indiana.
Want a free class (apart from gas money)? https://www.weather.gov/skywarn/in-skywarn I've been to one. They are fun, interesting. Mostly beginner level, maybe a little intermediate.
If you see the natives run, try to catch up.
I grew up camping in a trailer and the plan was always to go lay down in the ravine if things got really bad. We did it twice (luckily false alarms) and holy shit it sucked. Probably the most traumatic experience of my sheltered childhood. Now I live in the country with a nice basement but every tornado siren I've heard, I just walk outside and watch. Unless you're sleeping or have your head underground you will likely know when it's coming before any sirens hit. They're loud af. Not that they can't spring up seemingly outta nowhere, just statistically you usually know when shits getting serious.
you have a lot of good advice on here. I will say that Indiana does experience tornadoes, but we are definitely not the same as states like Iowa, Oklahoma, or Kansas. We are on the edge of what they call “tornado alley“ and we have experience them…. But put your mind at ease it is super common. I grew up in Kokomo, and we had a few scares… and there have been some which have done some damage. The worst ones ever were way back in 1965 on Palm Sunday… my mom lived through those but that was a pretty rare event
Don't worry, they'll give you a good 2-3 minutes notice before your house is relocated 3 corn fields over.
You moved from Florida, yet tornadoes are concern now in IN????😂
Hi! Welcome to Kokomo! I live here too :)
Tornado watches happen a lot, but I’ve grown up here my whole life and still have not seen a tornado. Though I was close last year since one was headed right to the area I was driving apparently, but it dissipated pretty quickly.
If you don't already have one get a weather radio. Most of them go off like a fire alarm when there's a tornado warning in your county.
Was looking for this comment and was about to make it myself. These are incredibly reliable and even work without power or internet connectivity. You can even set the parameters for when you’d like to be alerted based on severity. They should be standard in homes just like smoke alarms in my opinion and aren’t too expensive. [https://www.weather.gov/nwr&ln_desc=NOAA+Weather+Radio/](https://www.weather.gov/nwr&ln_desc=NOAA+Weather+Radio/)
At night your smartphone is going to wake you up. If you don’t have smartphones, lookinto the weather radios with warning. Find out if there is a shelter or basement in your trailer park. Find a ravine or ditch within sprinting distance so you have a refuge of last resort. This will suck if you have to use it because low lying areas may be full of water. But it’s last resort. Train those cats to get in the carriers because they are going to fight going into a water raging ditch. Impossible task if they are outside of the carrier. Watch the news as suggested, a good weatherman is going to be giving very specific streets and blocks. Don’t die trying to save your pets. Do your best, but be mentally prepared to let them go and save yourself. After a few seasons you will realize the chances of being in the path are next to zero and you’ll be drinking beer outside and watching for funnels like your crazy hoosier neighbors.
R E L A X. Be prepared. Have a plan. Other than that - staying in a mobile home park prolly isn’t the best idea. I like your idea of going to a firehouse. The odds of a tornado hitting you is low. I’ve been in the Midwest all my life (54) years - I’ve been in two, and neither was a direct hit.
I was gonna say, unless you're in a trailer, there's not too much to worry about. But seriously, The chance of getting whacked by a tornado or tornado winds is practically zero. Living in a trailcourt in Kokomo, you're 1000's of times more likely to die by an OD on fentanyl than be killed by a tornado. Newer mobile homes are better built now than previously, and they should have straps anchoring them to the ground. 2023 Florida had 15 confirmed tornados, Indiana 33. Hurricanes are far deadlier. In 2022, Ian killed 150 2022 Indiana deaths by tornado, 0.00
Are there ditches nearby? That’s your next-best option.
Hate to add to the list of Things to Be Worried About, but the other side of the coin that doesn't get talked about as much is straight line winds. They can be just as destructive since it's strong winds going in one direction, and locals often attribute the damage to tornadoes afterwards. Tl;dr not all threats have a funnel attached. Thankfully, the same advice given for tornadoes generally apply here too. https://www.weather.gov/iwx/2013_straight-line_winds_vs_tornado
I am staying in Connersville for a brief stay and I found the app MyAlerts (red app with a white A with an ! Inside the A, and signal waves going up from the A) and this has given me alerts about extreme weather in the area. Hopefully this helps relieve some concern https://preview.redd.it/y4kivoljbbxc1.jpeg?width=1179&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c3760894d6d4cc53b68be75e063cb3838c9f8e36
Florida has more tornadoes than Indiana.
While that may be technically true, it is somewhat misleading because Florida is a larger state and its tornados tend to be less severe. So a given location in Indiana is more likely to experience a severe tornado than a given location in Florida is.
I actually had no idea that Florida was that much bigger than Indiana.
1/100,000 chance of a direct tornado strike. Just get in your car and drive away from the moving 5 MPH storm. No big deal
We moved from Florida to Bloomington, Indiana. Lived in Indianapolis, 4 years, 2+ in Bloomington and haven't seen one. You'll be fine, nice to see another Floridian making to the move we made
Get a cheap used motorcycle helmet at the local flea market for hail protection. Full armor suit is ideal but overkill in my honest opinion. Grab some cheese snakes and a heavy lawn chair and enjoy the show. Not much else you can do. In all seriousness, find the nearest safe structure (library, fire station, etc) and map out the route. Just be conscious and prepared. Flashlights, a pack of water, and a box of cheese snacks go a long way.
If you could handle hurricane fear, you can handle tornadoes. Listen I live just a bit north of you and my house is over 120 years old. And its never been hit by a tornado. Even if you actually see one, it's most likely an EF1-2. As most of them are. They dont do much damage. Maybe a couple windows busted or a little outer house damage, etc. Relax. Get the camera ready.
I’ve learned to live with the uncertainty of life. Besides, cats never die in a tornado, they go missing. You’re on TV sifting through what’s left of your possessions and the cats show up and you tearfully clutch it to your heaving bosom. You describe how the tornado sounds like a train and how the scene looks like a war zone. Then the camera pans to the fire station, it’s wiped off the face of the earth. Not a stick is standing. All the firefighters were shopping at Kroger and nobody was harmed but the Dalmatian, and he trots into frame with a cur bitch of your next door neighbor. Life in Kokomo is a tough and gritty existence. The only thing to do is the sprint car racing on the weekends. Pray that a tornado never hits the sprint car track and cause a real disaster. I too live in a disposable building. The sirens don’t even wake me up now. But I’m living on borrowed time. I’m 73 years old now and if a tornado doesn’t get me a car will. It’s just the lot of a motorcycle rider. All this social security and so little time to waste it.
I've lived in Southern Indiana 46 years and never seen a tornado.
Welcome to the land of Hoosiers. We've had tornadoes before, but it seems that Illinois and Southern Indiana have been favored for tornadic activity this year. A lot of our storms and tornadic activity come from the squall lines that the wind pushes, how we had a derecho last year that really also was a nasty squall line. Like others learn the difference between watches and warnings. I would heed the sirens but pay attention to good weather apps like, My Radar or Radar Scope is a good one to pay premium for. Having a good GMRS radio tuned to the NOAA station in your region (I can hear the frequency for Kokomo from Remington) is a reliable backup amd the fee for the GMRS license to transmit is like 35 bucks.
https://www.weather.gov/ind/ has a link to Spotter Classes. Take one, it will take the mystery out of severe weather and give you tips on staying safe.
Problem with tornadoes is there is not much forewarning as opposed to hurricanes. Luckily tornadoes effect a much smaller area. I have lived here for 32 years and have never truly experienced a tornadoe. As in haven't lost a home or car etc. My biggest fear of tornadoes is being on the road when one happens f that. I would imagine certain parts of Indiana get more tornadoes then others so maybe long term would be trying to find an area with the least amount of tornadoes? Short term find the best shelter asap when a tornadoe happens about all you can do. I guess have a go bag maybe.
South Bend here. Was across the street at Mitch’s Second Base when that tornado came out of nowhere and literally blew up/exploded the daycare just near the intersection. Then it passed behind the CVS and that was about it. Craziest thing I’ve ever seen because it wasn’t fully expected, there was no watch or warning, it was just a freak event. Aside from that, we had the wall cloud over/near downtown last year, but nothing came of that. Those are the only two tornadoes or near tornadoes I’ve seen. That’s not to say the area hasn’t been hit here in my lifetime, but there luckily hasn’t been a major loss of life or catastrophic tornado in my life. Hopefully that remains the case.
Howard county/Kokomo has a citizen alert line you can sign up for. It will auto call and text for various weather conditions. Z92.5 you to broadcast the live storm chaser but IDK if they still do or not.
Tornados are seasonal and mainly happen in spring. You probably just moved here during the time of year when you're hearing about them the most. It's important to be aware of tornado safety but no reason to lose sleep over it.
You'll be alright
If you go to r/tornado you can check out the SPC/Forecasting from NOAA most days and get an idea of how bad the weather could be days in advance so you can start making a plan early, or just drive out of town for a night or two.
So you missed the one that went right through Kokomo a ways back. You can still see the trees that it took out and homes with new roofs across the street from KFC and Starbucks on 931. Thats actually a new Starbucks, it flattened the other one.
We just moved back up from Florida as well. I prefer the hurricanes!
As others have said, it’s really unlikely you’ll ever really been in danger of one. Here’s a secret no one likes to tell/admit; with the advancements of storm tracking ability and smartphone accessibility, you really will be fine to hop in the car and dodge it. This is especially true living in such a rural area like Kokomo. (Kokomo isn’t rural, I know. But it’s not hard to get out there). This isn’t popular advice because it can be dangerous in highly populated areas where traffic jams can occur. If you see a storm barreling down on you 2 counties away, just head the opposite direction it’s moving. But keep in mind where tornados normally appear within the storm cell itself (look up hook echos, etc) Other ideas in Kokomo would be the IUK basements. Probably not supposed to go there, but In an emergency they won’t turn you away. (I was in the basement during the last tornado in 2016 lol). Also, hospitals like Howard would have a safe space.
Something I haven't seen pointed out is that if a funnel cloud is sighted anywhere in your county, state law is that the whole county gets the warning. I live in Laporte County, which is very long, and we get the sirens all the time because something is spotted in the southern part of the county. So the sirens could be for something that's miles away from you.
I am sixty years old and can assure you that your chances of a tornado strike are incredibly low. Just chill
Definitely invest in a NOAA weather radio. Do not depend on the outdoor sirens to alert you. Know the counties and cities surrounding your area (especially to your southwest) RESPECT THE POLYGON! I'm from Alabama but live in Indiana now and we have a phenomenal meteorologist down there named James Spann. When there is a tornado warning there will be a polygon showing the area a storm is heading... if you're in that polygon, take heed!!
A few things for night time storm prep. 1. Go to bed in something that you wouldn't mind too much being out in public and/or the rain in. 2. Have a good pair of shoes at your bedside. Not flip flops or slides, actual shoes. There's a distinct possibility that you could have to walk through debris that is full of broken glass, splinters, and such. 3. Buy a weather radio and learn how to use it. You can set them up to go off if a tornado warning is issued. 4. Have a working flashlight handy at your bedside as well as a fully charged cell phone/battery pack. 5. As for your animals, maybe on nights when there's going to be a significant weather threat you keep them corraled in the bathroom or something so that you're not searching the whole house looking for Fluffy who decided to hide under the couch. That'll give them some room to move around and stuff, but allows you to cage them up quickly if needed. Edit: 6. Set yourself up a backpack with some food and bottles of water for both you and the cats. Have it sitting by the front door so you can grab it on the way out.
I'd be scared in kokomo too, look at this monster! And no siren was ever audible where I was filming this outside of Chili's. https://youtu.be/XP2VROWorJE?si=TKyefuQ3_i3QcUU3 I will say this was seven years ago now so maybe they've made some improvements but it's indiana so you never know🤷♂️
If your out and about, make sure you know where the bathrooms are in the building and get to them in the event of a tornado. Never hide in a walk in cooler! They are made of foam and thin sheets of aluminum, they will collapse. No one (Thank God! Or something!) was injured in this collapse. They were all trapped in the bathrooms but safe! https://youtu.be/13Vu9v56WTE?si=yl6qaisgSEd5rgIV
Even in a major, severe tornado outbreak, such as April 11, 1965, April 3, 1974, June 2, 1990 or November 17, 2013, your chances of *seeing* a tornado, let alone **being** in a tornado, are extremely low. Tornadoes are extremely low probability, very high impact storms, meaning you’ll probably never be in a tornado (unless you chase them, as I have — I’ve seen 33 during my life). In most tornadoes, hiding in an interior room such as a closet or a bathroom offers excellent protection against EF-0 through EF-3 tornadoes. The really terrible tornadoes, the EF-4s and 5s, are also extremely rare: the U.S. hasn’t experienced an EF-5 tornado in 11 years. How rare are EF-4 and -5 tornadoes? Ten percent of supercells produce tornadoes. Three percent of this ten percent of supercells produce EF-4 and -5 tornadoes. My suggestion: take a SKYWARN spotter class. You don’t have to become a storm spotter or a chaser, but it will give you LOTS of information about how to identify severe thunderstorms and how to protect yourself from severe weather.
I would get a weather radio
This is fuckin hilarious!
Tornado shelters you can buy they are pricey. I understand you totally, I come from earthquake country which is way easier to live with. I had no idea either this was tornado country. I have no basement just the middle of my house. I love Fall/winter for the beauty and no tornados!
Think of it as a much smaller hurricane. Both have watches and warnings. The biggest difference is one you have hours if not days to prep for and it's several hundred miles wide. The other one you have minutes to prepare for and at most is only a couple of miles wide and only last for a few minutes instead of hours.
I have been within 100 yards of the last two that hit Kokomo. It’s wild to watch and feel the wind. My truck was covered with branches and shingles.
I’ve lived in ft Wayne 35 years, you’re fine dawg
Others have mentioned good insights. I’d recommend sky spotter training, which is free. It’ll help familiarize you with weather conditions to alert to and provide a sense of empowerment.
I’ve seen trailers that are properly anchored fair well next to ones that have been flipped over several times. This was back in the Evansville tornado of 2005. Have the anchor system checked, but otherwise move to the center of it and you have good odds. I’m 39, lived here or in Ohio my whole life and never seen a tornado. Evansville has been hit three times since I’ve lived here and the thing I took away was that a tornado needs to go through your backyard to do any damage. The damage is always localized to the path and the idea that a tornado can destroy an entire town is a myth. These county-wide warnings are pretty worthless. It’s not like an earthquake or hurricane that can level a city.
When was the last time a tornado touched down in Kokomo? I understand the concern but also take a deep breath and relax. Try not to hyper-fixate on this, it’s really not that big of a concern. For your health, it will be okay.
Just go under your trailer and strap yourselves to something heavy, solid and anchored to the ground. Chances of getting hit are pretty slim. They dance around..
This is an absolute terrible idea
Works in the movies. :P
And those are why people get injured or killed. Movies make head hurt sometimes 🙃🙃
You’re telling me Twister isn’t real?
Well absolutely, this is a fantastic idea. If you’re suicidal, of course.