Re: MR-Tornados

[Robert J Welenc <rjwelenc@erols.com>]

Poster: Robert J Welenc <rjwelenc@erols.com>


>
>Poster: Corun MacAnndra <corun@access.digex.net>
>
>>Actually Corun, the weather service issued a tornado warning for one that
>>they saw on radar 1 mile south of four corners and it was supposedly
>>traveling NE but there was no reports of damage and no confirmation of a
>>touchdown. 
>Ah, that must have been during the cable outage when the TV was offline for
>six hours and we couldn't get to any of the weather service channels.
>Nothing but static (I always said leaving the analog antenna connection off
>newer tvs was a bad idea). Glad to hear there was no damage.
>
>However, as a note to those of you not familiar with the warning signs of
>impending tornados, I can tell you this. Look at the sky. If it becomes a
>sickly shade of yellowish green (and I really mean green folks), then that's
>tornado sky. Watch the movement of the clouds. If they start to form a
>vortex, head for the cellar (not your camcorder).

If the cable is out but you still have electricity, you can still use your
TV as a very local tornado warning device.  Turn to channel 13 and use the
brightness control to darken the screen almost to black.  Change to channel
2 and leave it there without changing the brightness.  (It doesn't matter if
you are getting a station on that frequency or not.)

Tornados generate electrical static on a frequency very close to the
55-megacyle one of channel 2.  If the screen starts to lighten and glow with
a steady white light, a tornado is approaching.  Follow Corun's advice and
take cover!   

If the electricity is out, you can use a battery-powered radio the same way.
Tune it to the low end of the AM dial.  Lightning will cause brief bursts of
static, but a steady regular roar of static means there is a tornado coming.

Alanna the Ex-Texan

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