Community Forums

Ebsea · 03-04-2008, 04:10 AM

Watching the news and weather this morning, there's a solid front of severe weather through Alabama. Got me wondering what everyone does for preparations. You obviously can't always avoid severe weather, you have to go through it. If you're on the road or if you're parked, where do you go? What do you do? Need your safety tips! Thanks! EBSea

Ebsea · 03-04-2008, 04:10 AM

Watching the news and weather this morning, there's a solid front of severe weather through Alabama. Got me wondering what everyone does for preparations. You obviously can't always avoid severe weather, you have to go through it. If you're on the road or if you're parked, where do you go? What do you do? Need your safety tips! Thanks! EBSea

1Budman · 03-04-2008, 04:57 AM

Good question. Here is a website I found.
Bud

Ebsea · 03-04-2008, 05:08 AM

Thanks 1Budman! I have weather radios already in use! How about we expand this discussion to real-life stories? What weather-situations have you been in that required emergency action? What did you do? Do most campgrounds allow access to the office or safe building in severe weather?

LindaH · 03-04-2008, 05:30 AM

We were camping at Fort Peck Dam in northeast Montana the end of June/first of July 2000. One day while we were there, the camp host came around and said we were under a tornado warning (this was before we'd bought a weather radio for ourselves). We put the slides in (at the suggestion of the camp host) and headed to the brick bathrooms. While we got lots of wind and rain, fortunately, no tornado touched down...which was a good thing, because if a tornado had hit that brick bathroom, we would all have been toast!

full-timer · 03-04-2008, 05:47 AM

If in a campground everyone usually goes to the club house,if in a state park its off to the rest rooms. If on the road pull off into a parking lot with the front of the rig to take the brunt of the wind. We have been in winds of 70mph.

Joe

Ecker · 03-04-2008, 06:05 AM

Campgrounds usually spell out what can be done in case of storm. Some campgrounds in mid-west have actual underground shelters. I am all ways amused to see them advertise these in the amenities area.

I have been through a number of these but really never found a good answer to the problem. In one case , I was coming through a small town in IN when the radio said the tornado had been spotted right where I was but I never saw it although the winds were horrific. I did say something to my wife about now was the time to pray. They advised all residents to go to basement but I saw no alternative but to keep driving very slowly on through town. I was told in training one time to dismount and lie down in the roadside ditch but I somehow didn't find that appealing. On way out a car came towards me flashing his headlights but I had no clue what he was trying to tell me. Eventually, things quieted down and we got back to normal pace.

Two Bit · 03-04-2008, 07:25 AM

Some great replies above. I'll add that everyone will benefit from attending a weather seminar that is put on by the National Weather Service. These vary from four hours to eight hours in length and info can be obtained about upcoming seminars from your local NWS office.

See this link to another thread here on iRV2.com
http://irv2.infopop.cc/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/2636094452/m/...10369341#56910369341

Ebsea · 03-04-2008, 03:30 PM

Thanks Two Bit! Great websites and tech. info. I also enjoy the real-life "storm-stories", learning from others mistakes or near mistakes. I love your beautiful doggy's expression - what breed? and does he have blue eyes?!

EBSea

TXiceman · 03-04-2008, 04:18 PM

One thing that we do when traveling in unfamiliar territory is to get the map out and look at the name of the county we are located as well as the neighboring counties. If the news flashes a weather alert, we have an idea of where the storm is located and where it is headed.

Ken

Bludog · 03-05-2008, 05:40 PM

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Ebsea:
...where do you go? What do you do? EBSea/QUOTE]
We watch the weather like hawks. DH grew up in southern california where weather is minor. He learned to keep a sharp lookout for FIRES. Now that we're fulltimers, coffee brewing and log onto www.wunderground.com is our morning ritual.
Great forecasts (and weather photos) across the nation. Been blessed to date with watching mid-west spring wind/thunderstorms, AND western wildfires... from A DISTANCE. Have pulled off the freeway and hunkered down in couple Nebraska and Iowa towns to let nasty storms blow by us. Have got to remember to grab the camera next time!

Two Bit · 03-06-2008, 04:03 AM

EBsea,
Murphy is a Weimaraner and has yellow-gold eyes.

Belgian · 03-16-2008, 10:33 AM

TXiceman has some good advice about knowing where you are. Many years ago my wife was traveling through Texas back to our home in S Cal with the kids. The radio was giving warnings about which county was getting the worse weather and possibilities of tornados, but my wife wasn't sure which county she was in. The rain & wind were so bad she could hardly see where she was going. They finally made it to a hotel where she could look at the map to see which county she was in and spent the rest of the night watching the weather on TV. She always knows where we are now.

Ebsea · 03-18-2008, 06:27 PM

Two Bit, Sorry it took me so long to get back to the thread. Murphy is a handsome guy and so thoughtful! Thanks for the solid advice and the storm stories! We barely missed tornadoes in arkansas last year... there was a cinderblock bath house nearby, but it really didn't appear solid enough. I don't know what else we could have done except stay in the rv - with seat belts on. We saw in the morning that tornadoes had touched down all around us...our guardian angel worked overtime that night.