Tornadoes at Orlando

[wuzzy6]

Honestly, in FL you should be more concerned with lightning than tornadoes.

 

[Bluegrrl]

Everything said is spot on so far. But the biggest danger in FL is the lightning. Almost all ride building have lightning rods on them (tower of terror gets hit often!). So, if you start hearing thunder, definately take cover because lighting is very close.
The rainy season is upon us though, so expect a rain shower at around 3/5pm that will last for 1 hour. Yay Florida!

 

[gabrielacsarti]

I didn't know that Florida had so much lightning. But for this I am already prepared. Brazil is the #1 country in lightning ranking with around 60 to 100 million lightnings per year. Unfortunately, is the #1 in death caused by lightning too, since many people doesn't realize the danger that is stay under a thunderstorm.

 

[mobay2000]

We were there the last week in March 2013, there were severe storms with funnel cloud sightings in neighboring counties. We had just walked into the Haunter Mansion when they closed the doors and shut the ride down. Those who were still in line were directed toward shelter. We spent the the next hour plus in the stretching room which doubles as a storm shelter. It was funny to hear the track over and over again. It was crowded in there and not really comfortable as we were on the floor, but Disney does have storm plans in place.
Other members of our large party waited it out inside a shop.

We were there then as well. I live in Alabama and considered the experience pretty intense. It was pouring rain sideways and we were on the people mover. We were soaked to the bone already so ran to the monorail as every inch of cover was already taken. The monorails had been struck by lightning but we were still allowed to sit in them for cover. The wind was crazy and the rain was super cold. It finally died down enough to allow us to walk back to the Contemporary where we were greeted with a hearty "welcome home!"

That evening we went swimming and did laundry. If you don't like the weather in FL, just wait a minute.

 

[DOOM1001]

I didn't know that Florida had so much lightning. But for this I am already prepared. Brazil is the #1 country in lightning ranking with around 60 to 100 million lightnings per year. Unfortunately, is the #1 in death caused by lightning too, since many people doesn't realize the danger that is stay under a thunderstorm.

Florida is the lightning capital of the United States,and then within the state the term Lightning Alley refers to the Central Florida stretch of Tampa on the west coast to Titusville on the east coast that gets the most lightning in the state and you even have Tampa's NHL team called the Lightning.When I was younger I was sleeping in my Miami house and woke up to a huge roar of thunder followed by my house shaking and rumbling,later that day we saw roof tiles all over the floor of the side of the house,obviously from lightning hitting it.

 

[MattRyan]

Florida tornadoes are generally mild, being just EF0 or EF1 sizes, but that doesn't mean they aren't dangerous.

Interesting! I never knew that. The only tornado I've seen in my area was an EF4.

 

[StuckInKS]

Living in Kansas, we have warnings often and watches sometimes multiple times a week during spring and fall. I wouldn't worry about tornadoes in FL, but I can understand the concern if you are from a place where they are rare.

As everyone said, take cover and follow directions. If possible, download an app that can alert you (not sure with you being from Brazil if this is a possibility due to coverage issues). Some mentioned the NOAA app and I have also heard the Red Cross one is good. Not sure about FL, but here in KS the main TV stations will move to full weather coverage and tell you where it is headed and what time you can expect it to hit your neighborhood if it continues its current path. A good option if you're in your room, instead of in a park.

I will say this, there are lots of warnings that never mature into full-blown on-the-ground tornadoes (usually because a radar echo or funnel cloud is spotted but it goes away before progressing), so don't freak out if one happens. I have been in lots of warnings, but very few tornadoes have actually hit our area.

We were staying on St. Pete Beach one year when there were some pretty bad storms and some warnings around, I think near the Tampa area. I thought it would be just our luck to leave KS and get caught in a tornado in FL! On the flip side, we were in FL in 2011 when there were some small (EF0 maybe) tornadoes in our area. It was during that 5-day stretch in May where 242 tornadoes where recorded throughout the US, including the very deadly Joplin, MO tornado. It didn't hit our neighborhood, but I still was very glad to be in WDW than home dealing with all of that.

 

[GeorgiaHoo]

Arrived at Yacht Club yesterday with heavy storms on the way to the resort. Was talking to front desk this morning about the weather and one said that a tornado hit her neighborhood in Orlando yesterday. Haven't checked the news to confirm.

 

[reginaastralis]

I live in Tampa, so still in Central Florida, but the west coast of Florida.

I think the best way to describe our tornadoes is that they are short and powerful bursts. We don't, typically, get the sort of storms that stay on the ground long, and certainly not what we've seen that hit the midwest. For example, a few years ago there was a threat of tornadoes in the area, and we were watching the wind spin the rain in circles outside our balcony. A tornado actually hit down around the corner from my house, but it was only on the ground long enough to take out a couple of trees and flattened a small farmer's market.

Interestingly, water spouts "stay on the ground" longest. They can, and will, move onto land (and they'd be called a tornado then) These are pictures of one of my favorite water spouts from last year ... http://www.nbc-2.com/story/22792445/photos-video-of-tampa-area-waterspout#.U2Dpl1et4ug

 

[fla4fun]

(And there are no basements in Florida. It wasn't anything I worried about though, but just wanted to mention that.)

Sorry, I have to tell you our house has a basement and I live near Orlando (can see WDW from the house). That is where we have our safe area for tornados and hurricanes. They are rare in Florida, but they do exist. It depends on the topography and how close to the water table you are.

The February tornadoes in Florida are similar to the ones in the Midwest in April. They are caused by the transition from the cold winter weather to the warmer temps. Although most Florida tornadoes are smaller in size, they can be just as powerful. Other than that, we generally only have tornadoes as part of a tropical system such as a hurricane. Lightning is a much greater risk here than tornadoes.

 

[minnierocks]

We were there then as well. I live in Alabama and considered the experience pretty intense. It was pouring rain sideways and we were on the people mover. We were soaked to the bone already so ran to the monorail as every inch of cover was already taken. The monorails had been struck by lightning but we were still allowed to sit in them for cover. The wind was crazy and the rain was super cold. It finally died down enough to allow us to walk back to the Contemporary where we were greeted with a hearty "welcome home!"

That evening we went swimming and did laundry. If you don't like the weather in FL, just wait a minute.

It's true...this event happened on our first day in the parks and as soon as it was over, the weather was great. We had a full week of beautiful skies and warm weather.

 

[macsandy1957]

Being from Oklahoma, we have lots of tornado watches, warnings and tornado touchdowns. One thing I feel should be added here is that if you are going to be in a car and there are tornados close to you, get OUT of your car. Even if you have to lie flat on the ground, you are safer than in a car. That being said, I've lived in Oklahoma (Tulsa area) all of my 56 years and have never seen a tornado. I've seen damage from them, but they are not at all like the movie "Twisters" where you see them everywhere and cows are flying through the air. Just remember to keep calm and keep away from windows, and most important, do not stay in your vehicle.

 

[DOOM1001]

Being from Oklahoma, we have lots of tornado watches, warnings and tornado touchdowns. One thing I feel should be added here is that if you are going to be in a car and there are tornados close to you, get OUT of your car. Even if you have to lie flat on the ground, you are safer than in a car. That being said, I've lived in Oklahoma (Tulsa area) all of my 56 years and have never seen a tornado. I've seen damage from them, but they are not at all like the movie "Twisters" where you see them everywhere and cows are flying through the air. Just remember to keep calm and keep away from windows, and most important, do not stay in your vehicle.

Why is being in a car in a tornado so dangerous,I'm in Florida so our tornadoes are not those massive ones you guys have and whenever there is a tornado warning on TV they basically just say move to an interior room with no windows,they never really mention what to do if you're in a car.I know when there is lightning they tell you a car is one of the safest places to be so that kinda goes against what you say about tornadoes.I've never experienced a tornado except during Hurricane Andrew which probably had hundreds of them in the storm.We basically went through the worst of Andrew and even though pretty much every house had major damage there would be neighborhoods where one house would look bad with things like major roof damage(like ours) but the house right next door was totally gone(luckily not like ours),second floor totally gone and the first floor all you saw was a couple walls and the stairs to a non existent second floor,you have to think that was a tornado within the hurricane.That hurricane was equivalent to a mid level EF3 tornado with constant winds of 155mph but it had gusts of 200mph in my neighborhood which would make it a top level EF4 tornado.Literally if it didn't move as fast as it did it would have killed thousands,those winds lasted about 3-4 hours.

 

[Kelly014]

Why is being in a car in a tornado so dangerous,I'm in Florida so our tornadoes are not those massive ones you guys have and whenever there is a tornado warning on TV they basically just say move to an interior room with no windows,they never really mention what to do if you're in a car.I know when there is lightning they tell you a car is one of the safest places to be so that kinda goes against what you say about tornadoes.I've never experienced a tornado except during Hurricane Andrew which probably had hundreds of them in the storm.We basically went through the worst of Andrew and even though pretty much every house had major damage there would be neighborhoods where one house would look bad with things like major roof damage(like ours) but the house right next door was totally gone(luckily not like ours),second floor totally gone and the first floor all you saw was a couple walls and the stairs to a non existent second floor,you have to think that was a tornado within the hurricane.That hurricane was equivalent to a mid level EF3 tornado with constant winds of 155mph but it had gusts of 200mph in my neighborhood which would make it a top level EF4 tornado.Literally if it didn't move as fast as it did it would have killed thousands,those winds lasted about 3-4 hours.

If you're in a car the first recommendation is to drive away if possible...like if a tornado is heading north, drive east or west. That way it's not following you so to speak. I think when they say get out of your car it's implied that best case scenario is to get out and get into a shelter/building of some sort. I've also heard to recommendation of lying in a ditch, and my best guess is that that makes you lower to the ground so perhaps debris would be more likely to fly over you? I grew up in tornado alley so I've always heard this but never really thought about it!

 

[disnut8]

I'm watching news in Brazil and was shown tornadoes at Arkansas. I'm heading to wdw in May. Is there any chance of this kind of thing happen in Orlando at this time? If answer is yes, what should I do in case of tornadoes?


Thanks!

I wouldn't worry about it too much in advance because tornadoes don't give very much "heads up" action.

But, if the weather gets to be where tornadoes might be expected and you are in a park, the best thing to do once a siren or warning goes off is to go to the nearest bathroom and wait there. Any place with no windows is the best. And we all know Disney World has tons of bathrooms.

If you are in a park and the sirens or warnings go off do NOT use a Disney bus or boat to get back to your resort. Nor should you attempt to get to your car and drive back to your resort. Stay where you are.

Tornadoes are quick and take things like buses, boats and cars for granted.

All that dooming and glooming aside, I doubt you will have an issue. Yes, the US has tornadoes but the chances of one of a great scale happening on your trip are slim at best and close to zero the rest of the time.

I lived in Nebraska for 11 years, one of the most tornado visited states in our country. I saw zero tornadoes. Zero. I went through many drills and was prepared.

 

[Kate and Family]

Cars can get all twisted, as well as lifted and tipped. Better off out and away from them.

I know they used to say get in ditches, but where I live (coastal Carolina), the ditches would be full of rain -more often than not rapidly moving water. Sometimes it is tough to see the tornado within the extremely heavy rain associated with our storms. I never thought it was a good idea to get in a ditch that could very quickly fill with rushing water. I like the idea of getting flat as possible if you cannot make it to a safe building. Would help with lightning as well, I would think.

Driving away from the storms path (east or west if storm is heading north) makes sense to me. Trying to out run a storm seems idiocy at it's worse.

 

[photo_chick]

I'm watching news in Brazil and was shown tornadoes at Arkansas. I'm heading to wdw in May. Is there any chance of this kind of thing happen in Orlando at this time? If answer is yes, what should I do in case of tornadoes?


Thanks!

The US has fairly good tornado warning systems in place. Especially in places where severe storms happen often. The best thing you can do is be mindful of the weather forecast and heed the warnings from the weather forecasters. Also learn the difference between a watch and a warning. A watch means bad weather, flood or a tornado could happen. A warning means one of those things is happening in your area. Thankfully the National Weather Service is fairly specific in its watches and warnings so you will know what is headed your way. Also keep in mind that the wind and lighting in a severe thunderstorm can be as dangerous as a tornado and you're far more likely to encounter a severe thunderstorm than a tornado.

If you're really concerned about severe weather when you get to a park go to guest services and ask them where the storm shelters are in the park.

But seriously, all these warnings aside, I live in Texas at the south end of what is known in the US as Tornado Alley. Severe storms happen regularly and you really can't do much but duck and cover when they blow through.

 

[MermaidMommy]

If you want some extra peace of mind, the Red Cross has an app called Tornado. You can enter specific locations that it will monitor, and it will alert you when there's a risk of tornados in the area. It also has tips for what to do before or during a tornado.

We also live in Tornado Alley, and I like knowing the alarm will wake me up at night if I'm asleep.

 

[RoosMama]

I wouldn't worry about tornadoes in Orlando. I'm sure WDW has probably one of the best emergency plans - they don't want anything happening to you while you are there!

I've been through a major tornado disaster and they are really good at predicting them even up to weeks in advance now. If you ever happen to be in a tornado, the best thing to do is get into the bathtub if your bathroom doesn't have windows or an interior closet and put a mattress over top of you.

 

[passingmeby]

the us has fairly good tornado warning systems in place. Especially in places where severe storms happen often. The best thing you can do is be mindful of the weather forecast and heed the warnings from the weather forecasters. Also learn the difference between a watch and a warning. A watch means bad weather, flood or a tornado could happen. A warning means one of those things is happening in your area. Thankfully the national weather service is fairly specific in its watches and warnings so you will know what is headed your way. Also keep in mind that the wind and lighting in a severe thunderstorm can be as dangerous as a tornado and you're far more likely to encounter a severe thunderstorm than a tornado. If you're really concerned about severe weather when you get to a park go to guest services and ask them where the storm shelters are in the park. But seriously, all these warnings aside, i live in texas at the south end of what is known in the us as tornado alley. Severe storms happen regularly and you really can't do much but duck and cover when they blow through.

c