Weather Has Moved On

"Matt Nichelson" (whoismatt)
02/23/2016 at 19:54 • Filed to: Weatherlopnik

Ended up having an eventful afternoon. Had to take shelter at one point for a tornado in my county a couple of hours ago. Thankfully everybody is ok. My wife ended up stuck at my mom’s house and the tornado passed only a few miles from her, then tracked northeast and passsed only a couple of miles from our home. There’s damage not far from here, but we have power and are safe.

Unfortunately, some were less fortunate. Louisiana and Mississippi received a lot of damage and as of this writing, two people lost their lives. One of those was in an RV park in LA that was hit hard.

The above picture was taken in the southern part of the county we live in here in Mississippi. The owner lived in a mobile home and.... Well... Yeah....

The storms are now moving through Alabama, so I hope those of you living there stay safe.

DISCUSSION (39)

Brian, The Life of > Matt Nichelson
02/23/2016 at 20:00

Jesus. And people freak out about our earthquakes in CA. Tornadoes are more frightening, IMO, and earthquake frequency/intensity isn’t changing as the climate does. Glad you’re all ok.

MUSASHI66 > Matt Nichelson
02/23/2016 at 20:04

Hot damn, glad you are OK. I am in Colorado and we had a mini tornado pass a few miles away from my house in Denver, but nothing like the stuff you guys get. I do like living in the middle of the country - no earthquakes, no (real)tornadoes.

Jcarr > Brian, The Life of
02/23/2016 at 20:05

My mom lived through an F-5 in 1968 and is writing a book about it. She has stories ranging from 2x4s stuck straight through trees, to people getting their clothes sucked completely off, to her parents marriage certificate being found over 100 miles away.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Matt Nichelson
02/23/2016 at 20:06

We were camping in Missouri a few years back and tornadic activity came through the area. Our tent trailer was at a park that was right in the tornadic activity zone, but we were sixty miles away in Independence, watching Weather-dot-gov on a computer. I said to my wife, “We’ve got to get back there!” My wife said, “Honey, if a tornado demolishes our tent trailer, wouldn’t you rather be here ?” My wife married a genius.

PorkchoPlissken > Matt Nichelson
02/23/2016 at 20:07

Just glad you’re safe.

Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap > Matt Nichelson
02/23/2016 at 20:08

I currently have an advisory for wind and flash floods, but as of right now, no tornado in central as far as I’m aware.

blacktruck18 > Matt Nichelson
02/23/2016 at 20:09

Glad you’re ok and not living in a FEMA trailer. (Too soon?)

RallyWrench > Matt Nichelson
02/23/2016 at 20:12

Wow... glad you and your family made it through ok, hope the rest of the season stays clear of you as well.

Matt Nichelson > Jcarr
02/23/2016 at 20:18

Which one was it? There were 5 that year. I would love to read that book once she finishes it. I can only imagine what she saw and heard.

OpposResidentLexusGuy - USE20, XF20, XU30 and Press Cars > Matt Nichelson
02/23/2016 at 20:19

If there was one good thing about this it’s that the tornado put that Sentra out of its misery sooner.

Matt Nichelson > Brian, The Life of
02/23/2016 at 20:20

Tornadoes can be very frightening if you have nowhere to run. I’m one of those weird ones though. Where most would run away, I run to. Unfortunately today there was no time to do anything other than to take cover. Thank you sir.

Matt Nichelson > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
02/23/2016 at 20:22

Hehe yeah well. I can’t say much. I have done some tornado chasing before. Probably not the brightest thing when I live in a state that doesn’t have much flat land and does have a ton of trees where I live.

Matt Nichelson > MUSASHI66
02/23/2016 at 20:24

Indeed. It’s weird if you have paid attention to the weather over the last couple of decades. Used to, all the big tornadoes were in Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, etc since they are considered part of tornado alley. Over time, it seems as if it has shifted this way.

Jcarr > Matt Nichelson
02/23/2016 at 20:25

Charles City, IA. She was 9 at the time. They had their house leveled. Not sure where the book stands. She’s been working on it off and on for about 15 years. There is a Facebook page about the tornado, though.

https://m.facebook.com/Charles-City-T…

Matt Nichelson > Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap
02/23/2016 at 20:25

That’s good. Hopefully it will stay that way for ya.

Matt Nichelson > RallyWrench
02/23/2016 at 20:26

Thank you. That’s the funny part. We tend to get them year-round. The spring is usually when things get really wild. But since our winters typically are not very cold, we get stuff like we did today while the northern US has snow. Weather is a fickle thing.

Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies > Jcarr
02/23/2016 at 20:31

During the April 27, 2011 outbreak through north Alabama, we found a girl’s track jacket from nearly 100 miles away. When that storm went over(ended up being an F5, touched down a few towns over), it was and is to this day, the scariest moment of my life. The sky turned tannish yellow, thunder so loud it was knocking stuff off walls, and then an eerie silence right afterward. My neighbor was actually in his garage when he watched the forming funnel pass over our house. That said, I almost kind of miss the erratic weather.

Matt Nichelson > Jcarr
02/23/2016 at 20:32

Gotcha. Part of the May 1968 tornado outbreak. Thirteen people killed, 450 injured, millions of dollars in damage, and other stuff I am sure you already knew. I remember reading up on that outbreak a couple of years ago. I am a big weather dork and love to research past storms. Did not know about the facebook page, so will definitely look at that. Thank you for sharing it!

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Matt Nichelson
02/23/2016 at 20:32

On that same trip, we followed a tornadic storm cell across Nebraska one night on I-80.

Algebra Problem (I’m a math teacher):

Mr. S is driving west on Interstate 40 in Nebraska at 75 MPH. A tornadic supercell is 50 miles directly west of Mr. S, moving in the same direction at 25 MPH. How long will it take Mr. S to catch up to the storm cell?

Matt Nichelson > blacktruck18
02/23/2016 at 20:35

Lol nah you’re good. Thankfully my family and I never had to stay in one of those formaldehyde laden trailers. I do hope I don’t live long enough to see another Katrina again, though. We lived in Purvis, MS, at the time and the eye went directly over us. That was an odd feeling, especially since we lived over and hour and a half away from the coast and it was still together enough to have an eye by the time it reached us.

Matt Nichelson > OpposResidentLexusGuy - USE20, XF20, XU30 and Press Cars
02/23/2016 at 20:37

Unfortunately it did the same to the owner.

Matt Nichelson > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
02/23/2016 at 20:44

Ah man I haven’t done Algebra in 16 years! I would say around 55-60 minutes but that is probably wrong.

OpposResidentLexusGuy - USE20, XF20, XU30 and Press Cars > Matt Nichelson
02/23/2016 at 20:47

Dang. Tornado’s are rough. Here in Tennessee they come through every once in a while but luckily in my particular area the hills are enough to push them other ways.

Matt Nichelson > OpposResidentLexusGuy - USE20, XF20, XU30 and Press Cars
02/23/2016 at 20:49

Yeah. The problem, though, is when yall do have a tornado, almost half the time it occurs it night. Those are not fun at all.

OpposResidentLexusGuy - USE20, XF20, XU30 and Press Cars > Matt Nichelson
02/23/2016 at 20:52

Yup. Also I’m pretty sure the density of people is higher here so night time tornadoes at night in dense places. Never good. Glad it doesn’t happen more then once or twice a year max.

blacktruck18 > Matt Nichelson
02/23/2016 at 21:01

Cool, I didn’t want to be offensive.

Katrina was a trip, I was stationed in Korea at the time and I remember me and my roommate watching the news talking about how something that crazy could happen in the States. New Orleans went to 3rd world country levels real quick. It was ridiculous how unprepared the government was.

I remember when Hurricane Gloria hit New York when I was a kid. My Dad took me out driving around during the eye, it was crazy. I was 4 at the time and that is one of my first clear memories of anything. Everything went from insanity to super peaceful in about an hour. The electricity was out and everyone was inside. I what so quiet it was creepy.

Jcarr > Matt Nichelson
02/23/2016 at 21:14

No problem, I've heard tons of stories over the years. I actually have a Sears canoe that my grandpa had just bought before the tornado. He pounded the dents out and it's been fine ever since.

BKosher84 > Matt Nichelson
02/23/2016 at 21:15

Wow. Glad you guys are okay. I was born/raised in Oklahoma (ITS NOT THAT BAD OKAY?!?!) and I was in many a tornado. We moved in 1995 and I remember watching the 1999 and 2013 outbreak that almost destroyed OKC. Scary stuff.

Matt Nichelson > blacktruck18
02/23/2016 at 21:22

Nah you’re good. I don’t get offended that easily. It was a running joke for us, too. For the longest time there was a huge piece of property a few miles from where we lived that was filled with hundreds of those damned trailers. It was a sight to behold.

Katrina was one of those storms that nobody who lived through it will ever forget. Until Katrina came through, it was always said that there would never be another Camille. Katrina obviously changed that mindset.

Matt Nichelson > Jcarr
02/23/2016 at 21:24

That’s awesome. Yeah I can imagine so. You should definitely hold onto that canoe.

Matt Nichelson > BKosher84
02/23/2016 at 21:27

Indeed! Lol eh at least you take it in stride. Yes, I can imagine you were. I honestly do not see how Moore still exists. That place is cursed as far as tornadoes go.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Matt Nichelson
02/23/2016 at 22:55

Answer: 1 hour. I think. I’ve never actually worked it out.

Brickman > Matt Nichelson
02/23/2016 at 23:19

Glad you’re safe. It was pretty windy and eerie looking outside.

Matt Nichelson > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
02/23/2016 at 23:28

Well I was close. That counts, right?

Matt Nichelson > Brickman
02/23/2016 at 23:29

Thanks. Hopefully everybody else will be safe as this front moves through overnight.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Matt Nichelson
02/23/2016 at 23:50

I’d give you partial credit, but I don’t think you could show your work.

Matt Nichelson > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
02/24/2016 at 08:48

You are correct in that assumption!

TheRealBicycleBuck > Matt Nichelson
02/24/2016 at 09:03

Glad you made it through unscathed.

Matt Nichelson > TheRealBicycleBuck
02/24/2016 at 09:09

Indeed. I’ve seen some of the pictures and videos of that one down in LA. So tragic. Glad yall are good too.