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Tornado warnings.....the human condition.

B

bigbadwulff

Android Expert
So, we just had a front come thru and the tornado sirens went off. We close and lock our doors of our office and go into the basement. We can see the front door.
We had 3 people come up to the door to come in while the sirens were blaring and the front clearly visible coming in. These were not rattled people looking for a place to take shelter, they were customers we know.

Just how dumb are people?
 
I guess the question would be, where are you located?
In Oklahoma, we're pretty used to that sort of thing, so it wouldn't surprise me at all to see that. Now, if you said we were going to have an earthquake, people would be taking cover left and right.
 
West Tn. We are used to it also but to expect a business to cater to your wants(ie put other people in danger) is pretty, well, either just dumb or plain rude.
Oh sure, I will put my staff in danger to serve you. And put you in danger also?
I can see the law suit coming now...
 
Here in Ames (IA) we have a flood about once every 2-3 years (from what I can gather, I'm only here for school). A bunch of businesses are built right on the flood plane. Last summer there was a flood that was getting bad fast. Even as the water was rushing in the doorway, people were trying to get into the local Wal-Mart to buy things. The river was literally spilling into the parking lot and people were parking their trucks near the front and wading through shin deep water to get to the entrance. In short, I am not surprised by people wanting to be serviced even in stupid weather. Then, if you let them in and they are injured, you have a lawsuit on your hands...
 
this winter in MA was decently bad. there were a few days where we had a good foot and a half/2 feet of snow. i showed up to the store early to shovel the doorway out and try to clean out the parking lot a bit, and there were people driving when it was still blizzard conditions and a state of emergency. I had one lady try to come in right when I got there because she needed a car charger.
 
Maybe they didn't see the tornado and didn't worry about it. I grew up in KS and am WAY used to the sirens. Generally we never even acted on it until it was visible or within earshot.
 
Ks here as well. The sirens are county wide warnings where tornadoes are typically a couple of blocks wide. Not that we don't become more observant.. but we don't hit panic mode until a visual. If we closed up shop every time the sirens went off we'd never get anything done.
 
olbriar said:
Ks here as well. The sirens are county wide warnings where tornadoes are typically a couple of blocks wide. Not that we don't become more observant.. but we don't hit panic mode until a visual. If we closed up shop every time the sirens went off we'd never get anything done.
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This. I'm in KS as well. You grow up where the tornado sirens go off and nothing happens all the time. If you panicked every time the sirens went off, you'd spent your tornado season in the basement. The sirens go off here and everyone generally ignores them because they're almost always nothing to be worried about. I can think of one or two times in my entire life where the sirens went off and there was an actual tornado in the area that did damage. 99% of the time they mean absolutely nothing so they're generally ignored. It's like the boy who cried wolf. Local emergency management sets them off every time the sky darkens pretty much.
 
Actually, the new radar systems can pick up rotation in the clouds. If you get a warning otherwise, it could be for large hail. Golf ball to softball size hail is not uncommon here.
The town took our sirens out. Due to terrain we mostly get the smaller tornados, but we do get them.
Sirens went off one day - sky was clear overhead, but about 30 miles away there was a tornado over another area. Only one I've seen.
 
I'd also like to add to my previous post that I would be extremely pissed if I found a business locked up tight because the sirens were going off. Now, if you can see visible rotation from the parking lot, that's one thing. But the sirens going off with no rain or the sirens going off when it's simply dark and gloomy outside is no reason to lock up shop in the parts I live in.
 
A.Nonymous said:
I'd also like to add to my previous post that I would be extremely pissed if I found a business locked up tight because the sirens were going off. Now, if you can see visible rotation from the parking lot, that's one thing. But the sirens going off with no rain or the sirens going off when it's simply dark and gloomy outside is no reason to lock up shop in the parts I live in.
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So you want to put other people in danger for your own wants. That's nice. How typically modern American of you. What is wrong with people today? I want it now! I have to have it now! And to heck with anyone else!
Then when the tornado DOES hit, they will want to blame someone for not warning them. How typical.
 
bigbadwulff said:
So you want to put other people in danger for your own wants. That's nice. How typically modern American of you. What is wrong with people today? I want it now! I have to have it now! And to heck with anyone else!
Then when the tornado DOES hit, they will want to blame someone for not warning them. How typical.
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Like I said, if you went to the basement and locked up every single time the sirens went off, you would never get anything done. They go off at least every month and usually every other week here during tornado season. In my life time (and I'm 30 and have lived here all my life) we've got 2-3 twisters that I can think of that did significant damage in town. Yet, the sirens will easily go off 10-20 times a year.

It really is like the boy that cried wolf. They yell at you that a tornado is coming. You hide in your basement. Nothing happens. Two weeks later, it's the same thing. A week after that, same thing. Next month, same thing. No tornadoes are even sighted. Media makes a big hoopla because someone saw a cloud with rotation. No tornadoes. Sometimes you get damage from straightline winds. A week later, the sirens are blaring. Nothing happens again. After a few months of this you quickly realize that you look like a fool for hiding every time the sirens go off. You also realize that everyone thinks you are a fool every time the siren goes off.

I have elderly grandparents who forward me every single terrifying email they get - don't flash your headlights or people will kill you, beware of needles at gas pumps, check your toilet seat for spiders, etc... You name it, they forward it to me and swear it's real. I love my grandparents so I just delete the messages and move on with my life. I pay no attention at all because it's just plain paranoia. Here in KS, those who jump into a hole every time the sirens go off are treated the same as those who forward the ridiculous email chains. If they're elderly, you might give them a pass. If they should know better, you get irritated.
 
In Colorado we don't get tornados as often as you guys out in the plains, but it's still quite common. I rarely ever head to the basement as everyone else has mentioned. I remember even just ignoring sirens one time and going back to sleep. I'll just keep doing whatever if it's just sirens alone.

If it's raining, super windy, clouds everywhere, then yeah I'll probably take action and head to the basement. But that is so rare anyways.

There was one time I was working at Wal-Mart when the sirens went off. As usual, the store kept on with its business, they did announce over the announce system there was a warning but that was about it. But then a bit later they had all the employees pull to the back of the store, that's when I knew there was an actual tornado nearby. They also urged all the customers too.

Some customers were furious they couldn't pay for their stuff and were complaining. Our management simply said we recommend you stay here since there's a tornado spotted a few miles away, but you're free to leave on your own if you want. Many left, many thought they were cool and stole as they left as "retaliation" for being inconvinienced (America loots again when there's a natural disaster, haven't we seen that one before).

Anyways, the tornado actually ripped up another Wal-Mart a few miles away, so there was real threat to actually have a store lockdown like that. But even in lockdown, customers were free to leave at their own risk, and many did with no care even though there was a clear danger outside.
 
Here, most people know to take cover if there's an actual threat. Tornado sirens don't mean an actual threat here and most people know when the sirens are serious and when they're not. It's kind of like your mom yelling at you when you're a kid. You know when you can safely ignore her and you know when ignoring her will get your butt whipped.
 
Since you guys are on the subject, I thought I'd share a radar image from the software I use to track, and sometimes spot/chase, storms in my area.
That line of storms has produced over 20 tornadoes so far today and is still quite active as of 9:38pm CDT.
All of the hooks an the southern end of each storm represent an area of circulation.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/10861860/tornadoes.png (FULL SIZE IMAGE 1273 x 925)

I'm at the very top of the pic in Lavon.
 

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I didn't realize there were so many Kansans here :).

I've been out in public many times when the sirens were going off, & only once did operations cease. That was for the Hesston tornado in 1990. March 1990 Central US tornado outbreak - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Typically, when I'm out & people hear the sirens they run to see what the weather is like outside. If it's clear, they keep shopping. If it's dark & ominous they usually leave.

The funny thing, the one time I've actually seen a tornado, the sirens never went off. It was when I was living in Emporia. I saw it form from my 3rd story apartment that faced I-35. It headed away from Emporia & pretty much up I-35, but I never did hear the sirens go off.
 
I think you all are vastly overestimating "getting nothing done" if you took cover every time a siren went off. Seriously, how often do you guys get a siren? You make it sound like they go off 24/7.
 
During the spring & summer I hear them a couple times a month. When I lived in central Kansas it was a lot more frequent than that. People who live around here typically know when the threat is real. When there's a tornado threat in a county, sirens all around the county go off, even if the tornado is east of your town & moving east or northeast. When I hear the sirens go off I want to know exactly where the storm is. If it's east of me or south moving east, I'm gravy.
 
pantlesspenguin said:
During the spring & summer I hear them a couple times a month. When I lived in central Kansas it was a lot more frequent than that. People who live around here typically know when the threat is real. When there's a tornado threat in a county, sirens all around the county go off, even if the tornado is east of your town & moving east or northeast. When I hear the sirens go off I want to know exactly where the storm is. If it's east of me or south moving east, I'm gravy.
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This. The county I live in is the same way. It's about 40-50 miles wide. Most (85%+) people live in the eastern part of the county. If there's a tornado on the ground in the far western part, it'll set off the sirens in the entire county even though there is no threat in the populated area and the skies will be completely clear. Sirens can easily go off several times a month or even several times a week. Once you've lived here through a tornado season or two, you learn when the sirens are serious and when they are not.
 
So a couple times a month (over a 3 or so month period I assume) equates to not getting anything done? No offense intended, but I wouldn't rip on a business for being cautious myself. If I was that displeased I would take my business elsewhere. I am sure there would be complainers if they DIDN'T play it safe as well. Someone is going to complain no matter what you do...
 
lordofthereef said:
So a couple times a month (over a 3 or so month period I assume) equates to not getting anything done? No offense intended, but I wouldn't rip on a business for being cautious myself. If I was that displeased I would take my business elsewhere. I am sure there would be complainers if they DIDN'T play it safe as well. Someone is going to complain no matter what you do...
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That is why people don't do it. If you shutter the doors every single time the sirens go off, your business develops a reputation in the public eye as a business that shuts down whenever it rains. You will lose a ton of revenue that way and you will lose lots of business to your competitor across the street who only closes when there is an actual threat.
 
A.Nonymous said:
That is why people don't do it. If you shutter the doors every single time the sirens go off, your business develops a reputation in the public eye as a business that shuts down whenever it rains. You will lose a ton of revenue that way and you will lose lots of business to your competitor across the street who only closes when there is an actual threat.
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That's true, especially in the smaller communities.
 
Eh, IDK. Here in Iowa, people take the sirens pretty seriously. I've honestly not heard one complaint. At the urgent care clinic where I work, our policy is basically to close shop even though we are in the basement level of a large building. I guess it's different depending on where you are. All that said, I don't think tornados are as prevalent here as elsewhere.

Still, what on earth is the point of the siren if people basically ignore it anyway?
 
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