twk123 Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 A few years ago I bought one of those Costco tent car ports and thought I had it pretty secure using rope and numerous sand bags etc. Anyway, one really windy day I came home and it had ripped off its supports and tried to flop over a 10' chainlink fence and was destroyed. Luckily it was Costco so I took all the pieces back and got a new one. Literally 2 days after I set the new one up in a better spot it was really windy so I called my Fiance to ask if it was ok and she looks outside and yells, "Babe the car port is gone! I dont know where it is!?!". This is not the kind of words you want to hear when asking about your car port and we live near a freeway so I was freaking out and driving home as fast as I can. This time the car port had launched over our small barn/shed and flew about 120' down on the other side of the chainlink fence. It was still in one piece and about to fly away again when I arrived so I ran out of my car and took out my knife and had to shred it commando style to keep it from going airborne again. It took me all day to get all the pieces back together etc (Getting it back over the fence was a PTA) then I simply drove the wreckage back to Costco, loaded it onto a flat cart to bring it into the store. This time when the guy asked me if I wanted another one and I politely asked for cash instead. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mallette Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 I think straight-line winds are worse than a tornado Experience in an F5 will change your mind in a hurry. Certainly did me. I've dealt with straight line winds at 140 mph in Ike, and it was child's play compared to the Wichita Falls 1979 tornado. 2 miles across on the ground, and left nothing more than a couple of feet high behind. Total destruction swath began less than a quarter mile from my house. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldtimer Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 Microbursts are way worse than straight line. Ask any pilot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mallette Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 Had to dig up a couple of pictures so as to show my words aren't hyperbole. Picture of the tornado. Consider the distance of the camera. Then, look at the debris field as I saw it 30 minutes later. That was McNiel Junior High School, 2 hours after dismissal. Just an even layer of ground up stuff with nothing sticking out. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigStewMan Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 Ask any pilot I'm having dinner with Major Tom tonight--I'll bring this up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paducah Home Theater Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 (edited) We had a mini tornado come behind our house through the middle of a field. Feels like my back yard but realistically it is half a mile away. It hit some houses first though, which is what made it creepy. I didn't realize it had come through and was walking through my field looking for coyotes to shoot. So I find this paper that was folded up under a tree in perfect condition. I open it up and there was some really weird medical reports about how this girl became sick in the early 90's and became increasingly worse, sounded like she was going to die, but then the report stopped. It was just like something you'd expect to find in a horror movie as it relates to some weird ghost story like my land was haunted or something. Come to find out, the tornado sucked the paper out of an open window of a house a mile away, carried it into the field, then deposited it on my land. Freaked me out when I found it. Edited July 7, 2015 by MetropolisLakeOutfitters Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The History Kid Posted July 7, 2015 Author Share Posted July 7, 2015 I'm speaking mainly in the instance of a derecho - simply because while an EF-5 can certainly cause damage to a large area (the Little Rock tornado earlier this year comes to mind), a large derecho can cause 95-150 mph wind damage in a wall of fury over 100 miles long, and last for over 1,000 miles, sparing no individual. Logistically speaking, I can imagine myself out-foxing a tornado to a certain degree - you have enough warning, you have a chance to drive out of its path - despite losing your possessions. But driving out of the way of a derecho if you're in the bullseye is not quite so convenient. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldtimer Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 Ask any pilotI'm having dinner with Major Tom tonight--I'll bring this up. Rock on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigStewMan Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 Only been in one VERY small tornado--still a nice storm. Only been in one Hurricane--Hurricane Gloria. Was in Norfolk, VA at the time...all excited because it was going to be my first hurricane...and i slept through it. Went through a nice storm while underway from Los Angeles to Hawaii--boat was too big for it too be much fun though. Tons of earthquakes though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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