a tornado watch for western Pa.

[davidpizzica]

*Waiting* till it gets "windy" can be a mistake ...

I survived the 1985 Newton Falls - Nilles - Hubbard F5 Tornado by being
about 6 miles south of the storm path - standing outside the Shop and
keeping a 'sharp eye' on the western sky. I was expecting to 'hear' the storm
if it happened ... the ole "Freight Train" everyone says they hear ...

No train that night ... from dead calm and not a sound to jet black sky,
torrential rain, knock-me-over wind gusts, and lights OUT took about
60 seconds - and I was *watching* for it!

The FurKid was already down in the basement - by the time I got to the basement door
I was soaked and had fallen down twice.

Since then, I've spent many a 'Watch' and 'Warning' sitting in a basement
with my little collection of Furry Kids gathered at my side.

Phred, there was a tornado sighting in Monroeville last night which made me a little nervous since it's really close to Penn hills. It didn't touch down, though.

[Moesha]

Just a little information from my obsession with The Weather Channel and my Storm Spotter course. A watch means that conditions could become favorable for a severe storm or tornado (depending on what the watch is). A tornado warning for instance means that Doppler radar has indications of wind conditions indicating rotation. Radar can only relate what is happening in the clouds. So a tornado warning does not mean that a tornado is on the ground. It just means that there the radar indications rotation in the atmosphere. Sometimes you can see this rotation. It is called a funnel cloud. It is technically not a tornado unless it touches the ground. That's where storm spotters come into play. There are certain things to look for to indicate that the funnel cloud has touched down and become a tornado. For instance, as a storm spotter I can call into the weather service and say that I see a rotating wall cloud or a funnel cloud, but I cannot call in and say I see a tornado unless I see debris from the funnel cloud on the ground.

[davidpizzica]

There's another round of severe weather coming towards the western Pa. area sometime between late tonight and early tomorrow morning. People here are still trying to clean up after the last storm!

[Medusa]

It was dark this morning, then bright and hot and humid this afternoon, now it's very foreboding out there. Stay safe, David.

[davidpizzica]

It was dark this morning, then bright and hot and humid this afternoon, now it's very foreboding out there. Stay safe, David.

I will, Mary. There's a severe thunderstorm watch for Washington, Allegheny, and Westmorland counties until 11:00 tonight. Just in case, I cleaned off a storm drain in front of my house so that the water (I hope) will go there instead of my basement.

[chocolatepuppy]

Chance of bad storms here tonight also.