For people that live in tornado prone areas like mine, evaluate this safety advice question

[brandon429]

So what's your take on this:

prior information and training during tornado warnings is hunker down/centralized part of house/take cover mode, the specific advise comes not to leave the home, that's 99.9% of all training I've ever read on the matter in any setting.


but what if this: today's apps are so powerful and predictive, why not just pack up a leave opposite of a twister when it reaches a certain distance predetermined by the family

set a threshold where we do not hunker down, its the kids and sig other and gizmo in the vehical, driving opposite of a twister you can plainly see on six phones at once instantly as its forming.


the old data is centered around HAM radio and CB spotters with guessing ability, so hunkering was best. times have changed, mobility is best unless you live on a dirt road and can be stuck.


in a city, where cell signal is 100%, is a pocket radar + you leave when its 3 miles away not the safety combo we've needed? new training?

 

[Scorpius]

People can't safely navigate their vehicles on a clear sunny day and you think they could safely outrun a tornado. Lol.

 

[brandon429]

fair input. thank for posting too I really am interested in public idea on it

number of trainings that say: get in your car, arrive at gridlock=0
so some areas may be riskier than others

but in many areas, in most areas, what if simply pre-selecting a vacate time also works and saves more lives collectively.

consider me this: midlife crisis or not I just spent all season chasing tornados only to creep up behind them and fly my dji speed drone up to them/winds permitting.
and with the pocket app I didn't go hunt if there were large rain bands/no fly, in 100% of cases I was able to stay home when rain bands surrounded the tornados meaning at least with enough precision to know if I'd be able to fly or not. if there were six outbreaks a minute, I didnt park in that area I parked on the banding


enough to pinpoint every location knowing if it was flyable about 98% of the time before venturing out.

we need only enough calculation to load a family in a car, and drive away, leave the chihuahua.

Im saying in drivable cities, families need to know any radar app likely stealing your info is also as good as the weatherman at the news station has, exactly that good. you can calculably save everyone, by leaving at a set threshold prior agreed upon, the default mode should no longer be hunker down in all cases.

you can specifically see if there's rain banding, flood risk; don't leave. You can see if its a dry tornado run, whats on the screen is very reliable i just spent all season using it to drive towards them, not away.


For example, in Hale Center Texas, you're allowed to just pack up in the van and head right down the highway any time you want, its not going to gridlock its going to west texas highway. you'd especially take that direction if the pocket app showed you the red spot was heading towards littlefield. you can bet your life on it for sure.


and if one pops up as you head towards Plainview, you're in a living pacman game but you have pavement all around options thankfully.

people need to know the raw power, speed and accuracy of the weather apps in today's pocket. they're pinpointers, its shocking.

is this to the dismay of all legitimate storm chasers? yes.

but the ability to plan an exit based on preset distance maximum to f4, valuable

 

[Scorpius]

I can tell you right now that public safety standards are made for the most ignorant person out there. Following this logic stay in place and shelter is the best option.

Now if you're smarter than the average dummy then driving to safety might be a better option.

 

[brandon429]

Well said that does make sense

to leave during warning puts all safety trust in the vehicle mechanics / no breakdowns no flats etc / drivers skill and luck to avoid being stuck with no shelter… not ideal during heightened risk times given those mechanical risks if any

 

[brandon429]

They Said the Tornado Would Hit at 9:30. It Hit at 9:30.

Morgan Jackson, a cashier at Casey’s General Store, a gas station in Mayfield, Kentucky, checked the weather all day Friday as her phone bleeped with loud alerts, friends and family called to compare notes and customers chatted incessantly about the tornadoes that were likely to head their way...

www.yahoo.com

given that article, the recent devastation, and pocket weather radar free on all iphones/androids etc I still seriously think we need updated safety protocol training for tornados it would work exactly like this:

lives on dirt road yes vs no (where one risks getting stuck)
if yes, hunker down or leave before the rain band hits, have a destination of travel ready/studied for all 4 directions you can leave your home.

if does not live on dirt road/no chance of being stuck, leave town when the dangerous red dots are within 40 miles of your city and heading that way. if someone has a vehicle breakdown that's another serious risk, very unprotected, so given good vehicle reliability for travel all indications seem to be to leave the city when bad dots appear on the iphone

if vehicle is bad + lives on pavement, hunker down safer than being on roadside.

even if this information is disagreeable, it at least spurns thought and planning. my own tornado season approaches in a few months/texas panhandle, and I'm 1000% sure the plan is to bail when the red dot is within 20 mi of my city + heading this way per the app.


in tracking storms all this past season, my cell phone lost signal zero times I believe they're reliable and life saving now.


what are some alternate brainstorms people have if they disagree about leaving early/not being home when the storm arrives? these folks were never given the updated option, they still operated on past decades when radio spotting was the only rough prediction and any form of blind vehicle travel was worse % risk than hunkering down.

of course nobody is going to vacate a city 1 day early just because of a prediction, so set your own family limits, mine's 20 miles and heading this way, we all load up and jet across the county. if the storm is f4~ we leave the area by a hundred miles. if its tiny tornado we go up behind it and be safe until it passes.

if there’s any risk of flooding in the intended travel direction, hunker down. If not, relocate is worth studying as a new 2022 plan