Want to travel east, but afraid of the extreme weather!

[waldenbound]

I want to travel to the east coast, southeast really. I also want to spend a lot of time in Texas.
Problem is, I’m so afraid of tornadoes, it’s like in my mind there’s a tornado around every corner, lol.

I was raised in the mid-west, I remember hearing the tornado warnings, and going to the basement, wondering if the house was going to be a pile of rubble the next morning.
The biggest reason I went to the west coast to live was to avoid tornadoes. Ok, Washington got wind storms, and oh, there was that active volcano in the backyard, but hey, it was no problem.

With a tornado, if I were in a sticks and bricks and I had a basement full of food, water, clothes, etc., it wouldn’t bother me as much. But a nomad, knowing a tornado can destroy my van, the trailer, my pets, me, I could lose everything just like that.

I kind of have a immediate plan to stay where I am out of tornado range, and go to Texas when the season has passed, like after Labor Day. Then, when Atlantic hurricane season hits, stay out of hurricane range. Then when that season is over, spend the winter on the Gulf coast. When winter is over, spring looks like the most horrible time to be in Texas, Mississippi, Alabama, etc.
I don’t know, go as far south as I can, Brownsville, and hope I don’t go flying a la Wizard of Oz?

What do you all think, am I being irrational, paranoid, scaredy-cat, all of the above?

 

[Stargazer]

Lol! Maybe all of the above except irrational.  You have a good plan on where to go when.

I remember many times in Missouri and Texas when tornado warnings etc had me hunkered down in a closet.  I now am in a mountainous area in Colorado -- no tornadoes, no poisonous snakes!  No flash floods!  Hopefully, no wild fires??  

I think your plan sounds...well...sound!

 

[Wabbit]

None of the above. I camped Iowa for years and had a few close calls(very close). Yeah... None of the above lol.

 

[Kaylee]

If your "paranoid" plan lets you see what you want to see, and reduces your stress, it's win-win IMO.
Make It So!

Competent Paranoia is not "irrational". Clinical paranoia is. You have a sensible Plan, hence competent.

P.S. Plural pets?!? Mocha has company? Pictures please.

 

[waldenbound]

P.S. Plural pets?!? Mocha has company? Pictures please.

I have a cat also. How do you know Mocha? WRTR? RTR? YARC Camp?

 

[Kaylee]

Over at VD.
Feel free to post pic(s) there, too.

I don't remember any mentions of the cat. Is she/he new? Who adopted whom? Good mouser?


Edited to add:
For years I've described myself as a "Professionally trained Paranoid", due to .mil training in my formative years.
Feel free to use that excuse. Marines are much more intense than Air Force.

 

[waldenbound]

Posting pics isn’t as easy now, but I’ll figure it out. Pics eventually, ok?

 

[Kaylee]

Ok.

I love animals, but am not at a place in my life where I can adopt (or be adopted) by a pet. I did finally figure out an interesting place to mount a bird feeder, so do plan to enjoy some free-range pets.

If it's easier, you could email me some pics (check the Kaylee Engine Fund thread @VD).
Optional: I can easily crop + shrink + post them, if you'd like.
Some of the Coding I did during my recent Mark Twain NF boondocking shakedown trip, was to improve the work flow efficiency of my custom graphics software. I was supposed to be doing "serious" work, but decided to do some fun stuff that would save me time (expect a bunch of new pics @VD and/or here, particularly Food Stuff).

 

[tx2sturgis]

Hey Waldenbound....nice to see you on the board. 

Tornadoes can occur almost anywhere in the USA, but are common here in Tornado Alley, which is a large area from Eastern NM, thru Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and all the way thru the Midwest. Large hail, strong winds, flash floods,  and lightning from those storms can be a dangerous threat too, and are often much more widespread.

Severe storms that spawn the larger tornadoes usually build up over many hours, sometimes the larger storms (mesocyclones and supercells) take 12-18 hours to form tornadoes and are sometimes tracked across a hundred miles or more.

Meaning, they are rarely spontaneous, so we generally have ample warning about the areas at risk. 

In fact, storm chasers and tornado tour buses and vans can often be in the right area at the right time because the atmospheric instability that contributes to them can often be predicted two or three days in advance.

This all means that you can watch the weather, and easily hitch up the trailer and move to a safer area, a day or two before you might get run over by a huge storm. 

A sticks and bricks home can't be moved out of harm's way, but a home on wheels can!

 

[JD GUMBEE]

Not sure if healthy concern makes one paranoid, but last I checked...these worked pretty well.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Midland-...tYCt5Z6oyisXoXgvOmVI-uOQeKayYVJRoCIVUQAvD_BwE

^^^Link to a weather radio with warning alarm^^^

Mrs G even has a program on her smartphone that does similar...but the cell network can and does fail at times, so the old radio style is likely more reliable.

Would this put your mind at ease somewhat?

Flying in a commercial jet is a much higher risk than Texas during tornado season.
Driving an RV on the interstate, is supposedly even more risky than that.

One way or another, we all end.
May you end doing what you want to do with piece of mind.
Maybe..."peace" of mind? LOL

 

[WanderingRose]

Yep, there’s plenty of warning for severe weather, and I wouldn’t let the fear of it dictate where I travel.

The Southeast is one of the most beautiful parts of this country, and one of my personal favorites.

Have a good weather app, keep a watch on things, and be sure it is set to alarm if severe weather threatens.

 

[waldenbound]

Ok, the latest weather technology gives us better tornado predictions.
Last week, a big storm came through, my tornado app was going off like crazy. That system swept through nearly the whole state, Corpus Christi had a tornado warning.
so, you have a week’s warning that a storm will move through. A few days forecast where the system is moving on the local level.

So, a severe thunderstorm warning is issued for San Antonio. I’m in Kerrville, about 35 miles west. Later, a tornado watch is issued for the area. If the system is tracking west to east, do I then start driving so south to outrun the tornado watch? Would it be a good idea to leave an area when a tornado watch is issued, or leave when severe thunderstorms are forecast?

 

[waldenbound]

I had at least two Midland weather radios, and they were so user unfriendly to use, I gave up on them. Couldn’t even get an alert when a major windstorm was coming through.

I got a trusty C Crane, that has multiple charging methods. I do rely on that a lot.
I’ve read the rv blogs that say, if in a storm, get off the road, go to the campground’s shelter, ect. If I can help it, I don’t even want to get that close to a tornado.

I guess I’m becoming a weather nerd.

 

[tx2sturgis]

Hey any weather nerd is BOUND to have this website bookmarked...

Storm Prediction Center Day1 Convective Outlook:

https://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/outlook/day1otlk.html

Day2 Convective Outlook:

https://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/outlook/day2otlk.html

Thunderstorm Outlook:

https://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/exper/enhtstm/

These give you an idea of the possibility of storms a day or two in advance.