A truly terrifying storm

I wanted to add that there were recently a string of tornadoes in WI. My family there said that it caused a fair amount of damage in the Fox Valley area. Here is the link: www.reuters.com...

Also, I have been experiencing a lot of rainfall in my local area, twice in about two months the areas around me have had some pretty serious floods. Supposedly, it never rains this badly in the area (I wouldn't know, I just moved here).

www.nj.com...

The weather does seem to be very crazy of late.

I live in Sanford, NC... We got rocked pretty hard... Drove around today and looked at some of the damage... Tornadoes are crazy... I grew up in Cali... I'll take a quake anyday... One ripped a brick home completely in half horizontally about 4 feet up from the foundation right down the road.... There are cars in trees... 36 inch diameter oak trees were snapped like toothpicks... It pretty much leveled Lowe's home imrovement... Took the roof off Tractor Supply and the mall it's in... too many homes destroyed to count.... friekin nuts.... luckily all we lost was power... I've lived here for 8 yrs now... I promise you stuff like this doesn't happen in NC very often... It is definitely an anomoly... I heard on TWC today that this will go down as the greatest outbreak of tornadoes in NC recorded history....

The NWS reports say more than 230 tornadoes were reported.

Powerful storms that have ripped across the Southeast killed more than 40 people over three days. A CNN meteorologist called the storms' impact on North Carolina "epic."

cnn.com

This news really bums me out..

My wife and I want to move to S.C or N.C. soon..

We are thinking about Fort Mill area...

I hope this is not normal for that area....

I feel your pain OP. We were lucky in my neighborhood, but the surrounding area didn't fair so well. An entire trailer park was wiped out. www.wral.com...

We were lucky as far as casualties so far. But lots of people have no homes now.

I have heard the argument that we are just more focused on these "natural" events because they are being reported more regularly. However Statistically speaking we have seen an increase in frequency and intensity of natural disasters in 2011. I lived through the QLD floods only to be hit by a cyclone and my sister has been cut off from supplies for over a month. The intensity frequency and magnitude is nothing like I have seen in my 33 years on this Earth. It sounds like the experience changed your perspective.

reply to post by cardicorona


I am in Charlotte and we got a small taste of what you experienced and between the tennis ball sized hail, the wind that was blowing between 30 to 40 mph in various directions, the odd looking cloud formations, and the weird darkness that overcame the skies at an early time during the day i too believe something even more powerful is coming. Scary and im hoping nothing does happen but i think its time that everyone start to get prepared for the worst. Ive been in the Carolinas now for 6.5 years...ive lived on the coast during hurricane season and have never seen anything like this...and we are 3.5 hours inland.

The storms are getting worse. We've skipped nearly all the bad storms in my state for over a year, and it has me nervous that our time is coming. Be sure to have a BOB (bug out bag) bag packed that is well stocked. Weapon, spare shoes (flip flops maybe), food, vitamins, binoculars, water purification tablets, foldable plastic water holders, extra set of clothes, copies of ID and stuff. Grab and go and keep your head low.

Stay safe.

I was excited when I moved to NC after having my second story ripped off of my house in Georgia. After this, 1 spare bedroom and my bonus room have no roof. Been staying with family but I pray for those who lost loved ones.

reply to post by XelNaga



My home state is N.C. but I live in NW Florida now. The bad storm passed to our north but this is the
second time in a few weeks I lost sleep over these thunderstorms with tornado watches and warnings.
Seems like with all the storms and reports of unusual rumblings ( maybe ducting in some cases )
that things are changing rapidly. I hope we don't live out something similar to The Day After Tomorrow.
I just can't wait to see if a "cane" will come thru our area this year..being sarcastic of course. I'm getting
older and it is tougher to stay calm in a way..not that being calm will stop the storm threats. We need
safe rooms but not all of us, inculding me, can afford one. I am surprised in a way that more folks don't
build them.
Keep safe and pray.

These storms are not normal, especially for this time of year. I lived in Raleigh for several years and don't ever remember anything like that. I live on Asheville now, and have for 30 or more years except the few I spent in Raleigh. Last year we have a couples of tornado watches and warnings, this year we have already had several. Normally the mountains will break them up before they can form. But these have occurred on the hot months on the past, and already this year we have had three or four bouts of watches and warnings already. Now I love a good this derstorm, but not this kind of stuff.

My thoughts and prayers for all the victims and others affected by these storms.


Posted Via ATS Mobile: m.abovetopsecret.com

Originally posted by Shirak
I have heard the argument that we are just more focused on these "natural" events because they are being reported more regularly. However Statistically speaking we have seen an increase in frequency and intensity of natural disasters in 2011. I lived through the QLD floods only to be hit by a cyclone and my sister has been cut off from supplies for over a month. The intensity frequency and magnitude is nothing like I have seen in my 33 years on this Earth. It sounds like the experience changed your perspective.

I agree with your post. Having lived on the East Coast storms were not even that intense-not including the Hurricanes- then(about 10 yrs ago). Living, even the West now, surely would have heard of them, beyond Katrina and the other Hurricanes, if they were that destructive over the years. My conclusion is that they are more frequent now.

I live in La Jolla, CA now but I grew up in Virginia Beach..not far from the NC border. Lived there from 1980-2003 and I was an avid storm watcher. We would have lots of thunderstorms and copious amounts of rain..spring showers and storms..but for NC to have this astronomical amount of tornadoes over one storm system is just about unheard of...I recall a few funnel clouds here and there, including one that touched down near the Wright Brothers memorial some years back..but nothing like what they are reporting here! We had a small tornado touchdown way back in the 80's in VB..close to Mt.Trashmore..but this was small fries.
Hope you are staying safe..your ordeal sounds terrifying!

What makes you think they are not normal? If they happen and have happened before I consider that normal. Just because you haven't researched large storms in the area before doesn't mean they haven't occurred. Granted it may be the first time you've experienced them but I will guarantee you it's not out of the ordinary.

Apparenty this was the biggest outbreak of tornadoes in N Carolina since 1984, when 42 people died. Unusual - and tragic - but not unprecedented.

And without wishing to derail the thread, it's long been said that global warming will lead to more extreme weather events of all kinds. Coincidence? Maybe.

reply to post by cardicorona


Northwest Ga here, the storms came through here too, it was terrifying. Straightline winds in excess of 80 mph sheered off trees and broke telephone poles ( snapped the poles off at the ground, perfect break) a phone pole crashed into one car with a woman and 3 kids in it, they were ok, but for hours there were cars stopped with folks in them, who couldn't get out for the number of wires (live) surrounding them. Houses lost to giant 100 yr old oaks crashing right through them. It was bizzare. And we are used to tornados around here, this is a bit of a tornado alley, but the power of this storm, without a tornado, was greater than I have ever witnessed in this area. Over 10000 without power and main roads shut down, all is well today, but, we are told it could be just as bad this coming wednesday.

Originally posted by Essan

Originally posted by XelNaga
i live here in raleigh, nc and we were in that storm. i didnt see any myself, but there were reports of tornados everywhere. i find this odd because im pretty sure its very very rare and highly uncommon for tornados to touch down in north carolina

Not really - they seem quite common in North Carolina:

www.tornadoproject.com...

I guess in the past you've just been lucky

Well this is what a meteorologist says about that,....."The conditions that allowed for the storm occur on the Great Plains maybe twice a year, but they almost never happen in North Carolina", according to Scott Sharp, a weather service meteorologist in Raleigh.

Source: www.seattlepi.com...

i live in atlanta and yes...these storms were brutal. they also felt alien in nature. like not at all natural. the wind down here has been pretty strong and blowing way more than usual and there is an eerie vibe along with the wind. like there's an energy behind it that i'm not used to feeling.

reply to post by ICEKOHLD


You are absolutely right, the storms didn't feel like any other I have experienced, and I have lived in North Ga (rome) for over 40yrs. Storms tend to 'split up' as they come over the Alabama line towards Rome, I have always thought the mountians are why, the west side of this county gets hit then the East side, but not in the middle. This storm took direct aim at downtown Rome, and then the Eastern and Southern side of town. And it did have an 'eerie' feel to it, just wasn't the norm for a storm here.

Not sure what could have changed the dynamics of paths storms usually take here, and how they execute themselves, but something surely did.

reply to post by cardicorona


I hope it is over for you now. I grew up in tornado alley, and remember well the absolute terror.

Maybe other kids had nightmares about snakes, bogey men, or whatever --> mine were always about TORNADOES.

A bad season can be really nerve-shattering. A lot of my senior year of high school was spent waiting out storms underground.