Okay, so I'm a teen who just is in love with her boyfriend and also Storms and Tornadoes!!! A lot of people would not be even want to see a tornadoe! Did you know that some Tornaodes can come in the total opposite of counter clock wise! Imagine seeing a tornadoe! I don't know about my parents but I'd start filming it!! For my Senior trip I'm going on a tour for Storm chasing! It's going to be so much fun! I was once in a Tornadoe! It was pretty scary but cool at the same time. I could see the funnel coming down and the wind going around in circles!! Then it hit me and our cottage! (Well our friends cottage) I love storms and Tornaodes I mean I know almost everything about a tornadoe except on how to spot it! I'm taking this class May 7th at my local fire dept. on how to spot Tornadoes!! I can't wait!! If people actually took Tornadoes seriously there would be a lot more living people saying how scared and terrified they were! Are you scared? E-mail me and tell me what your most afraid of...

-- Marching band girl (Meaderachel@Yahoo.com), April 01, 2001

Answers

Had a tornado skip over me many years ago. Not a pleasant experience, and will never forget the path of damage left behind.

-- woodsbilly (coleenl@penn.com), April 01, 2001.

Ever since I was a teen, I dreamed of being able to somehow harness the tremendous power unleashed by tornadoes. Its safer to chase them in wide open flatlands, but if you want to study them, check with the University of Alabama in Huntsville. Many experts consider the Madison,Marshall and Jackson counties area of North Alabama "tornado alley" and prime research area. Our local meteorologist also has information available. He seems to take greater interest in them as he came from OK. Their websiste is www.whnt19.com , go to weather and email Dan.

-- Jay Blair in N. AL (jayblair678@yahoo.com), April 01, 2001.

Around here the local meteorologists and emergency preparedness people sponser what they call SkyWarn each year. The public is invited to an all day seminar on thunderstorms and tornadoes and all the interesting weather events and cloud formations that lead up to them. It really is fascinating to see the pictures and have the formations explained. Last year, not long before SkyWarn(we call it StormFest:-) , we took the children to the SanAntonioZoo, and were trying to get home before an afternoon storm, but it caught up with us north of Austin, and the children were able to video the formation of a tornado to the west of us. It really was quite exciting, and not as scary as it might have been, since it was a small tornado, and traveling south and parallel to us. Boys found Skywarn all the more interesting as they described all the events we had videod leading up to and following it. Tornadoes are an awsome force, certainly to be respected. The larger ones have caused considerable deaths around here in recent years.

-- mary, texas (marylgarcia@aol.com), April 01, 2001.

one of my earlist memories with my father,, was driving on tornado alley,, (in Mich,, thats M59),, car was lifted,, then slammed down,, all while moving,, dad was trying to outrun it,, gues he did,, we made it home,, I thought it was a roller coaster ride,, took me years to figure out why he couldnt do it again

-- stan (sopal@net-port.com), April 01, 2001.

Sounds like you need to come to Oklahoma University and go to meteorology school. After the May 3rd tornado a few years back I can't say people here like them that much. We have excellent warning systems here because the National Weather Service is based at this University. Storm chasers here are everywhere. It is very scary when and F4 or F5 tornado is spotted. They are so unpredictable and deadly it is very scary,especially if your afraid they might hit in the middle of the night. If you really get that excited about them you should consider a career in weather service. Have fun on your storm chasing tour! As for me I would love to send all of them your way!

Vickie in OK

-- Vickie Allen (ouvickie@hotmail.com), April 02, 2001.

You should contact your local National Weather Service office or Red Cross to get details about becoming a SkyWarn volunteer. They train you to recognise all forms of violent weather and what to do with that info so that you can help warn others.

My husband and I have been SkyWarn volunteers for several years. One of my hobbies is storm photography. The SkyWarn classes really helped me recognise and understand severe weather events. Do not take the power of the weather too lightly. Lightening and debris can hit far from where you'd expect and always remember to periodically check behind you - things can creep up on you before you know it, especially if you're enjoying the show in front of you.

If you want to see some great photos and read some fascinating stuff, type in "storm chasing" on your search engine of choice. Mother Nature is fabulous!

-- Lori in SE Ohio (pricephotos@juno.com), April 02, 2001.