Tornado season is here.

[Renatus]

Well we are getting hit by a big tornado generating storm right now here in Wisconsin, with confirmed tornado sightings about 25 miles away, and the heaviest part of the storm is going to hit here soon. I just got word that somthing happened near my grandmother's house which is only 3 miles, though my grandmother isn't sure, and this wild ride is just getting started. Wish us luck.

[Pineapple_Juice]

My mom lives in Iowa and she's going through the same thing. She's from California so she's freaking out. Good luck.

[HumanePain]

I was talking to Renatus on the phone when the sirens began. It was weird, not like the police or fire engine sirens we hear in California, but the scary "air raid" sounding kind. Then he said "sorry gotta go!" and hung up.

[Renatus]

Originally Posted by HumanePain

I was talking to Renatus on the phone when the sirens began. It was weird, not like the police or fire engine sirens we hear in California, but the scary "air raid" sounding kind. Then he said "sorry gotta go!" and hung up.

Congratulations on your 7000th post.

[Saya]

How are you holding up, Ren?

[Renatus]

Originally Posted by Saya

How are you holding up, Ren?

Storms pretty much past, good thing about these storms is they pass by very quickly. Unfortunately it doesnt take very long for them to destroy things, unlike hurricanes.

[Pineapple_Juice]

Glad everything's okay.

[HumanePain]

Tornado, storms hit Wisconsin, leaving thousands without power
http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/06/21/wis...ex.html?hpt=T2

[Renatus]

Here's a little somthing more local for news coverage.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tj6rU...W4&feature=sub

Now the thing about Eagle is it is along a key road for commuting, my father was even employed there for some time, and I know for one my next door neighbor still works there and I dont know if he is supposed to still come into work or not. I would presume not though since his work requires electricity, but you never know since that company produces electric emergincy generators, they could always use their own generators to power their own building.

On a side note the area has some spooky history to it, with hauntings and witchcraft and whatnot. Whitewater further down the road is a college town with alot of old cemetaries. The cemetaries that if you play connect the dots with form a pentagram, with an old watertower at the very center of it all where groups of robed individuals have been sighted performing rituals. Ontop of that the town is surrounded on all sides by water.

[Ben Lahnger]

Renatus, I'm glad you are okay.

For 3 years (from around 1966 to 1968) my family lived in Oconomowoc, WI. We lived on North Walnut Street, and right across the street was Fowler Lake ... I could literally cross the street, take 5 steps and go fishing.

The lake was a known formation point for tornadoes -- there's something about the combination of an open body of water and a low altitude depression that encourages the damn things. Typically we would have at least three tornado alerts each summer where the "air raid" sirens would go off and my mom would freak out about where us kids were and hustle us into the basement.

And we would huddle up holding close to the northeast wall because that was where the experts said we would be safest. And I remember learning at that young age the feeling that the only thing that was really keeping us safe was dumb luck ... the luck that drove all the twisters that did touch down to head anywhere but at our house.

We'd sit there in the basement, with my mom having a flashlight and pocket radio in hand, waiting for the all clear. We didn't talk much, we didn't play or do anything else to entertain ourselves. We just mostly sat there silently with our imaginations going wild about what might be going on out there and waiting to see if we would hear that deadly freight train sound. And sometimes 15 minutes later, sometimes up to an hour later, we would either hear the sirens sound the all clear or it would be announced on the radio that it was okay to come out of the basement.

After living under those conditions for three years, my mother convinced my father to move to a new home 15 miles southwest of Waukesha, in a subdivision placed on one of the highest elevations in the county. And because it was a high elevation, regardless of what other extreme weather conditions we had to deal with there, we never again had to worry about tornadoes. I can't tell you how many microwaves, vcr's, tv's and heating furnaces (!) my parents have had to replace due to extreme lightning strikes since living there, but that's another story.

To give you an idea of how profoundly that 3 years of living in Oconomowoc and waiting for those inevitable hours of terror every summer have affected me, think about this:

I have lived in Texas for 12 years, and in Houston for the last 10 of that. And it still freaks me out that none of the homes here are built with basements. Logically, I know there's good reason for that ... because the heightened risk of flooding here makes them impractical. But the fact that none of the places I've lived at while I'm here have had basements has made me feel, in spite of all logic, just a little less safe.

[Ben Lahnger]

BTW, here's a map showing the location we lived at in Oconomowoc between East Pleasant Avenue and North Oakwood Avenue on North Walnut Street:

GOOGLE MAP

Renatus, you'll notice there is lots of water all around that location too. Wisconsin sure has a lot of lakes.

[KontanKarite]

Not trying to be insensitive but... Tornado season = fucking awesome!

Best storms in the year.

[Lady Sorrow]

Originally Posted by HumanePain

Tornado, storms hit Wisconsin, leaving thousands without power
http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/06/21/wis...ex.html?hpt=T2

ya man its crazy. i live in WI, it did some major damage in the far north of us and in MI. to close to home man way to close for me.

[Renatus]

Well the current estimate for Eagle is 100 homes have been destroyed or damaged. They have entire areas of the town blocked off due to the number of downed powerlines, and a curfew is in place . Unfortunately for the firechief, his home was one of the ones hit, but considering there are only 1700 people that live in Eagle in 592 households he had prettymuch a 1 in 6 chance of being hit. It was confirmed that it was an F2 tornado that hit.

[Lady Sorrow]

that is crazy

[Ben Lahnger]

Originally Posted by KontanKarite

Not trying to be insensitive but...

... and right after that is when you were.

[Lady Sorrow]

i agree with Ben lol that was sorta (ok 'pretty') insensitive

[HumanePain]

Originally Posted by Renatus

Whitewater further down the road is a college town with alot of old cemetaries. The cemetaries that if you play connect the dots with form a pentagram, with an old watertower at the very center of it all where groups of robed individuals have been sighted performing rituals.

OK, not being insensitive, you know I care about you dude but damn it, it bugs me. They're spelled cemeteries.

Whew! OK got it off my chest. That was just simmering away in my brain.
Sorry.

Carry on. Glad you're ok.

[Renatus]

Originally Posted by HumanePain

OK, not being insensitive, you know I care about you dude but damn it, it bugs me. They're spelled cemeteries.

Whew! OK got it off my chest. That was just simmering away in my brain.
Sorry.

Carry on. Glad you're ok.

Sorry heh, it seems even my spelling is going.

[KontanKarite]

Originally Posted by Ben Lahnger

... and right after that is when you were.

Let me reiterate. Tornado season = wicked bad ass storms. They are awesome.

Now for those that are sensitive: Tornados are a terrible thing that happens and destroys lives and homes, a very unfortunate kind of thing indeed. Renatus, I'm glad you're okay.

There. Now everyone should be damned fucking pleased.

[Heretic]

Those heavy storms that hit Wisconsin last week? They were bigger when they passed through my neck of the woods. We lost two entire towns in north central Minnesota and three people died.

This thread caught my attention because I'm looking at the local radar right now. It was 90 degrees here at 9.00 pm, with wicked humidity to match. Maybe southern folks don't blink at that but in the upper Midwest, that's tornado weather. And sure enough, the storm echoes I'm looking at right now are bigger than what we saw last week. They should be rumbling through just before dawn, so for you Cheeseheads, be sure to keep an eye out for morning storms heading your way.

I'd also like to comment in the correlation between water and tornado formation. I totally agree with that contention. The Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul feature dozens of lakes, including the massive Lake Minnetonka (yes, that's where they invented Tonka toys) just to the west of town. Twice in my lifetime, including just last year, we've had tornadoes (F1-level) tear through the middle of Minneapolis. The one that hit when I was a kid started as a water spout on Lake Calhoun in the middle of town, then made a beeline for my house, lifting up and disappearing just two blocks short of it. The suburbs get the worst of it, with an F2 or higher ripping through at least once a year.


- Heretic

[Renatus]

Well it should be noted, that while Minnesota may be known as the land of 10,000 lakes(technecally 11,000), Wisconsin has 15,000 lakes.

[Ben Lahnger]

Originally Posted by KontanKarite

Let me reiterate. Tornado season = wicked bad ass storms. They are awesome.

Now for those that are sensitive: Tornados are a terrible thing that happens and destroys lives and homes, a very unfortunate kind of thing indeed. Renatus, I'm glad you're okay.

There. Now everyone should be damned fucking pleased.

My POINT was that the minute you said "I don't want to be _____, but ..." it immediately meant you WERE going to be the thing you said you didn't want to be ... and the phrase made it clear you WANTED to be it. It applies to anyone using that phrase, anytime.

So why say that part at all?

I'm not being sensitive. I'm suggesting you wear your asshole-ish freak flag proudly, baby!

[Ben Lahnger]

Originally Posted by Renatus

Well it should be noted, that while Minnesota may be known as the land of 10,000 lakes(technecally 11,000), Wisconsin has 15,000 lakes.

Yeah ... that's why I only buy Land-O-Lakes butter ... from Wisconsin! LOL!

BTW, it's a toss-up as to which Wisconsin has more of ... lakes or bars.

[Raptor]

Originally Posted by KontanKarite

Tornado season = wicked bad ass storms. They are awesome.

Truth. I always loved the storms when I stayed with family in Minnesota.

Originally Posted by Renatus

Well it should be noted, that while Minnesota may be known as the land of 10,000 lakes(technecally 11,000), Wisconsin has 15,000 lakes.

Minnesota has more lakes, and way more surface area covered by water. The 11000 - 12000 number is only for lakes of ten or more acres, but the Wisconsin number is for all sizes. Although I think both states have pretty much the same number of tornadoes?