Starship Asterisk*

WIKI wrote:The most extreme tornado in recorded history was the Tri-State Tornado, which roared through parts of Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana on March 18, 1925. It was likely an F5, though tornadoes were not ranked on any scale in that era. It holds records for longest path length at 352 km (219 mi), longest duration at about 3.5 hours, and fastest forward speed for a significant tornado at 117 km/h (73 mph) anywhere on Earth. In addition, it is the deadliest single tornado in United States history (695 dead).

For 37 years, the most extensive tornado outbreak on record, in almost every category, was the Super Outbreak, which affected a large area of the central United States and extreme southern Ontario in Canada on April 3 and April 4, 1974. Not only did this outbreak feature an incredible 148 tornadoes in only 18 hours, but an unprecedented number of them were violent; 6 were of F5 intensity and 24 were F4. This outbreak had a staggering 16 tornadoes on the ground at the same time at the peak of the outbreak. More than 300 people, possibly as many as 330, were killed by tornadoes during this outbreak. However, this record was later broken during the April 25–28, 2011 tornado outbreak, which resulted in 325 tornadic fatalities and had 358 tornadoes touch down

Not much could have saved the homes and businesses destroyed by the Moore twister, but is there a way to ensure that the lives of people in tornado country can be protected from extreme weather?
The answer is yes—with the right policy and the right incentives. But first we have to understand how the risks from extreme weather are changing—and for the most part, increasing. (Hat tip to Andrew Revkin of Dot Earth, whose post earlier today touched on much of this material.) As I wrote yesterday, there’s no clear trend on the frequency or strength of tornadoes hitting the U.S. It had actually been a historically quiet 12 months for tornadoes until recently. And it’s not clear what, if any, impact warming temperatures are having on tornadoes.

Building a private structure and full underground shelter that could withstand a major tornado is certainly possible, but as the economist Kevin Simmons of Austin College told me, “it would be out of the reach of anyone who is not wealthy.” Private safe rooms can be built—Simmons, who lives in tornado country north of Dallas, just put one in his own house for $4,000—but it’s still likely to be out of the reach of a lot of people in Oklahoma.

The state of Oklahoma and the federal government have begun to use financial incentives to encourage more resilient construction in tornado zones. Oklahoma is instituting a lottery to provide people with a maximum rebate of $2,000 to go towards building a tornado safe room, using funds provided by the federal government. More than 10,000 above and below-ground safe rooms have been built so far using that money.

bystander wrote:
If you wait until you start turning red, you've been out way too long.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunburn#Duration wrote:
<<Sunburn can occur in less than 15 minutes. Nevertheless, the inflicted harm is often not immediately obvious. After the exposure, skin may turn red in as little as 30 minutes but most often takes 2 to 6 hours.

Pain is usually most extreme 6 to 48 hours after exposure. The burn continues to develop for 24 to 72 hours, occasionally followed by peeling skin in 3 to 8 days. Some peeling and itching may continue for several weeks.>>

neufer wrote:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunburn#Duration wrote:
<<Sunburn can occur in less than 15 minutes. Nevertheless, the inflicted harm is often not immediately obvious. After the exposure, skin may turn red in as little as 30 minutes but most often takes 2 to 6 hours.

Pain is usually most extreme 6 to 48 hours after exposure. The burn continues to develop for 24 to 72 hours, occasionally followed by peeling skin in 3 to 8 days. Some peeling and itching may continue for several weeks.>>

geckzilla wrote:Went to the beach today because the weather was so perfect for it with the warm sun and cool breeze. Ended up a little bit crispy fried. I definitely was watching my skin to make sure it wasn't turning red while I was laying there. It was such a delayed burn! The redness and burning feeling didn't start until hours later around dinnertime. Thanks for the UV rays, Sol. 8-)

What's the harm in sunburn? A person's risk for melanoma--the most serious form of skin cancer--doubles if he or she has had five or more sunburns.

Unfortunately, getting sunburned is much more common that it ought to be. In a recent survey conducted in partnership with iVillage, The Skin Cancer Foundation learned that 42 percent of people polled get a sunburn at least once a year

bystander wrote:
Exciting evening. Had a multiple vortex tornado spring up west of OKC. At one point the storm track was over a mile wide. The storm was tracking due east toward OKC. Lifted and set down again twice as it swept across the south side of the city.

orin stepanek wrote:bystander; I was thinking of you and all the people there for the CWS and all the people in the storm area!

neufer wrote:So, where do you go when the sirens sound

bystander wrote:

neufer wrote:
So, where do you go when the sirens sound

The sirens go off whenever a tornado warning is issued in the county. That's a big area. A lot of sirens yesterday, but these storms weren't really very close to me. I live on the north side of the city, near the intersection of I-44 and I-235. The tornadoes were on the south side.

When the sirens go off, I turn on the TV, if it's not already on.

bystander & Toto going to neighbor's house

• • Gary England
  PBS shows make him out to be some sort of Wizard.

bystander wrote:
If it looks like it's going to come close, the neighbors have a basement. There is also a public shelter in a church basement about 4 blocks south of me, if the neighbors aren't home.

neufer wrote:

• • Gary England
  PBS shows make him out to be some sort of Wizard.