BBC (September 17, 2010)
"US weather experts say a freak storm with two tornadoes was to blame for a trail of destruction across New York City that left one person dead.
"More than 1,000 trees were uprooted and power was cut to hundreds of homes when the storm struck on Thursday.
"he woman who died was in a car hit by a falling tree and had just switched seats with her husband, who survived.
"It was the ninth time New York City has been hit by a tornado since 1950, and the second this year, officials said.
"The US National Weather Service said on Friday that the tornadoes had been part of a fast-moving storm, along with a fierce microburst with speeds up to 125mph (200 km/h)...."
This sort of thing is one reason the Lemming is glad to live in a small town in central Minnesota. We get tornadoes in this part of the world a bit more often than many other places: but most buildings have basements - and not all that many floors above ground.
Having a sort of bunker to head for when a twister is in the neighborhood is a nice option to have - and apparently not available to all that many folks in the big apple.
The U. S. NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) website has a pretty good resource on tornadoes:There's quite a bit there: where tornadoes can form (just about anywhere); how they form; what other sorts of severe weather to look out for; and what to look out for.
The 'what to look out for' list is short, and familiar to folks living in the Midwest:
- Dark, often greenish sky
- Wall cloud
- Large hail
- Loud roar; similar to a freight train
My guess is that is was from a government department. The document was in English, but utilized the dialect sometimes called 'bureaucratese.' After taking maybe a minute, wading through polysyllabic tongue-twisters and arcane admonitions, the radio announcer paused. Then he said something like 'basically, if you see a green cloud with houses in it: duck.'
That's pretty good advice.
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