Hellobee Boards

For a watch, no. For a warning, yes. I do live in a large county though so sometimes I haven't done anything because the tornadic part of the storm isn't going to hit me.

It would depend on exactly how close it was. And warnings don't mean as much these days. They issue them if they see any rotation at all, not just if there's an actual funnel cloud, so it's hard to know how seriously to take them. I would definitely be 100% in position to take cover (which means clearing out a closet in our case).

I'm TERRIFIED of tornadoes, well beyond a normal level. I have nightmares about them. So I sort of have to balance not wanting to even know what's going on with needing to be informed. I hate that our current house really has nowhere good to go.

@Torchwood: I am the total opposite. Tornados fascinate me. I wish I could go back for a meteorology degree, but all that calculus scares the crap out of me. I would totally be a tornado chaser.

My area is in the middle of a tornado warning. We're paying attention to the news reports, etc. Until there's imminent danger, I'm not taking cover. I'm at work and the shelter area is only like 15' away so I'm not worried.

When we lived in Wisconsin, there were tornado sirens (which was totally foreign to me having grown up in New England where tornados are rare). If those went off (only happened twice while I lived there), we definitely woke up LO, grabbed the cat and went into the basement. Otherwise, I didn't for a warning - just watched the news. @Mrs. Lion: I hope the bad weather passes soon!

I live in Southern CA and we had a tornado watch/spotted that was literally within a mile of my house. LO wasn't home which was even scarier, but I got my dog into the pantry with me. We don't have basements...or tornadoes! Stay safe!

@Mrs. Lion: they changed the requirements for tornado warnings and watches a few years back. With the new warning I'd be ready to jump in our safe room and grab a flashlight/blanket/etc, but probably wouldn't hang out in a closet until one had been spotted (especially if it meant waking up a napping baby).

I only take action if one has actually been spotted in the area.

We have tornado warnings everyday in the summer it seems. Meh. Now if they said a tornado was spotted in my specific area, maybe. But the tornados here are small and don't affect large areas.

We were under one for a while last night. We didn't take cover, but my mom came down from her third floor loft and we were paying attention to the news. My coworker and her husband did go down to their basement when it was over them, though...she said it just got really loud outside and she got an alert on her phone saying they should take cover. They are pretty sure a tornado did touch down close to her house, and some area buildings did take some damage (NWS is supposed to be coming later this morning to verify a touch-down).