What do you do when the tornado sirens go off?

[P&R Fan]

With all the tornadic activity lately it got me thinking about twisters. And as an aside, for all of you impacted by the recent tornadoes, my prayers are with you. But anyway, I would be interested in hearing what others do when a tornado siren goes off. I live in Iowa, and tornadoes are a fact of life all four seasons, but especially in the Spring and Summer. When I was a kid in the '70s it seems like we had the sirens go off about every week. Never saw a twister, but they were apparently there. My Mom would hustle my sister and I into the basement and scare us to death. So would my Gramma. My Dad would always go outside and look around. Now that I have my own home and family, that's what I do too. In 2001 I was out mowing way back on our acreage one day. Had my ear plugs in. All of a sudden Missus P&R Fan came running up to me like her hair was on fire. I stopped the mower and pulled out the plugs and she breathlessly told me the sirens were going off. I looked to the NorthWest and didn't see anything ominous. Put my ear plugs back in and told her I was almost done. She stomped off in a huff. A few minutes later she came back out and physically removed me from the mower. I went inside, nothing happened, although a destructive twister went by about 5 miles North of us, destroying a friends farm.
I still don't get worried. When the sirens go off, I go out in the driveway and look NorthWest....and call my Mom and tell her what I'm doin' . She is always upset that I'm not huddled in fear in the basement.
Anyway, what do YOU do when the siren goes off? I'll bet a lot of you do the same as me.
Jim

 

[arjay]

Same as you The first time it happened I watched a garage across the street disintegrate,then we headed for the basement...

 

[blujax01]

The only time they go off around here is at noon every Wednesday when they test the system.

Which leads me to ponder what would happen if there was a tornado at noon on Wednesday?!

 

[Slowhanddd]

I go out in the driveway and look

Pretty much what I do too.Haven't gone to the basement but once in the last ten years or so.Watched one last summer go by 1 1/2 miles to the west.Hit Wichita on the south end.Mom's house was destroyed back in 1999 when it hit Haysville.I don't get too scared any more.Grab a seat and watch outside.We are supposed to "be under the gun"this evening.

 

[bigchuck83]

i tend to stand outside and watch the sky, not sure what drives me to do so.

 

[Aticus]

I go to the basement and get the weather up on the computer and watch the radar.

 

[timn8er]

And you would win that bet too! I grew up in San Antonio, where tornadoes are fairly rare. Later I moved to Lubbock, which was a reality shift in more ways than one. I was watching TV with some friends one day & noticed the small outline of an inverted cone in a corner of the screen. When I asked one of the locals about it, they said it means conditions are favorable for a tornado. So I asked what do we do, where do we go, & was told don't worry about it, you only need to worry about it when its solid white, which means a tornado is on the ground. I was somewhat alarmed, & asked how often does this happen? The told me during tornado season, about every day. I eventually became just as blase as the locals. Now, living in Oklahoma, I think I have a tendency to take the danger too lightly. I'm hoping to move back to San Antonio soon so it won't be as much of a concern.

 

[Brian41]

My wife gets real excited and insists I go to the basement with her. I usually do because the nagging would be just awful if I didn't.

 

[olcop]

I go to my tornado/hurricane shelter, sit down, put my head between my knees and kiss my a@@ goodbye.
olcop

 

[Rugskipper]

'Naders always go from SW to NE around here, so I pull out my smartphone, one-click the radar app, and check the track of the "hook". If it looks to be close, I go outside and watch. If not I ignore it.

 

[steveno]

they supposedly test them in town but I have yet to hear them. I have a 3 rd floor apartment so I guess I will just watch them and you can read about Minden in the paper. if I haven't been on the forum for a while then I probably got bigger problems

 

[lawandorder]

I think we are fixing to find out................

 

[4011]

Mom an dad lost everything they had in 1934. As a kid every time a "cloud " came around we were in a cellar somewhere. I now just set and and watch tv are go outside. Keep the cell and my Carry SW on my belt wallet in my pocket. I believe if it's my time to go there ain't no getting out of it.

 

[Hayden]

Im like Slowhand above. Im to the west of Wichita though. Its just what we do here, grab a chair and watch the show. Its entertainment anymore. Now I lost my mom to cancer and my dad remarred. His new wife lost everything in the Greensburg Tornado. She had her mom and dad there too along with both kids. All lost thier houses. Now if it even thunders, she goes running to the basement. She gets pissed when we go out to look Around.

Hayden.

 

[manyguns]

Live in the mountains where they don't have tornados.

 

[Thuer]

looked very suprised. We do not have any.

 

[Dmaxboy08]

well if its on a Wednesday I lay down my tools and go to lunch(every Wednesday at noon our town tests the sirens). Other than that, my home is located in the country up in the hills so its kinda hard to hear the sirens on a nice sunny day so if theres a storm I wouldn't be able to hear them.
When it storms we usually keep a eye on the tv or our phones for warnings.

 

[shouldazagged]

Don't have a basement, but wasn't big on adjourning to one when I did. I live alone except for my dog, I'm 75, and I'm incurably curious and like storms. If it's pouring rain I'll stand in my door and watch. If it's not I'll be outside.

 

[arjay]

Our sirens tend to sound off after the storm has passed :-D but that weird gray/green color the storm has is hard to miss.

 

[MMA10mm]

If you've ever followed the track of a tornado, you'll see that unless it is a monster, the path is pretty narrow, at least in our parts. About 20 years ago, while volunteering with the Sheriff's Dept., the Dpty. and I followed a tornado from one corner of our county to where it lifted up into the clouds about half-way across the county. The path varied a little, but for the most part it was only about 100-125 yards wide. You have to be pretty unlucky to get hit at that rate. (Though, I did see some unlucky folks that night. About 25 homes altogether.) We have a small town in the southern part of our county which has been hit three times by tornados in the last 25 years. Their police dept. has three twisters on their uniform patch, and their grade/middle school's mascot/nickname is "the twisters."

I go outside. Just like my dad did when I was a kid, and just like several others here - when I was little, had to listen to mom gripe and moan about dad being outside "like a fool idiot..."

I go outside, after ensconsing my family in the basement.