where to go in a tornado?

[Gatordad]

I think you probably should worry more about getting hit by a golf cart driven by a 12 year old.

I'd go to Anchorage Alaska to avoid tornados.

 

[MandMLUVMMandDVC]

IMHO the safest place at FW would be inside the reception building or bike barn or HHDR (no windows in any of them). The 2nd safest would be the comfort stations in whatever side doesn't have windows. My 3rd choice would be those ditches.

 

[fla4fun]

Did anyone notice that a tornado warning was issued today just before 4pm. We were in our cabin but didn't notice any alerts from WDW people. Only knew because I was checking the weather on the web.

flamtap

I noticed, because I checked out of FW on Friday morning, and was glad that I wasn't there to have to worry about it anymore. That's why I have a small battery powered weather radio that I take with me - so I know. I grew up where there were tornado sirens to let people know to take shelter. I don't like not knowing until it's right on top of me that there's a weather issue. I ended up in cabin 2447, which was about a two minute walk from the cabin pool complex where I planned to take shelter, should the weather have turned bad while I was there. But I lucked out and just had rain - no storms.

 

[retired and happy]

Having lived in hurricane prone areas for 25 years, I can tell you cinder block construction (as mentioned above) is one of the poorest safety areas unless it has been built to newer standards that require filling the holes in the blocks with concrete and rebars. The blocks by themselves are too big relative to the joints to hold together in a really big wind or something like a car or tree being thrown into them. I don't know the construction of the comfort stations, but would still consider them the safest alternative out in the Fort. And you usually don't have much time to seek alternative safety for a tornado. A good weather radio is your best device for the most advanced warning.

 

[SandrA9810]

I thought one of the recent tornadoes (that hit like 2 years ago), took out the office building of a college, and then part of an apartment complex. I think it was the same time that the one hit the villages and took out the mobile homes.

I'm hoping disney hasn't been grandfathered in on the new safety measures for trailers. But most modern trailers can withstand some pretty high winds, and most of them are rated high enough to pass a major hurricane (like 135mph winds... or something like that). All trailers have tie straps that go up and over the roof and anchor very very deep into the ground.

fla4fun: that is so cool that you have a basement... how did you managed to get some one to build it for you?

 

[DisneyBishops]

Here in florida we don't usually get Tornados without a bad storm. So i would be more worried about the bad thunderstorm than a tornado. Last memorial day we had some terrible storms at the fort. But no tornados. So i just don't worry too much about them.

 

[fla4fun]

fla4fun: that is so cool that you have a basement... how did you managed to get some one to build it for you?

We live in a rather hilly section of Florida, to the west of Disney, and not in one of those developed subdivisions. The house is on top of the hill, with the basement underground. They said on the news yesterday that about 3% of Florida homes have basements - I was surprised it was that much since I only know of two houses, including ours, that have an underground basement. Maybe most of them are in north Florida. You need to be in an area where the water table is farther underground - and the hills do that for us. Our house is built like a pp mentioned - block with rebar and poured concrete, with walls about a foot thick - it's a bit like a bunker really. It stood up to all the 2004 hurricanes with no damage at all.