"dpb" wrote in message
...
Robert Green wrote:
wrote in message
m...
...

... Until that day, tornadoes were something that happened to
Dorothy in movies and people in the midwest and the devastation was
about a
TV screen's worth. It just did not compute until I saw it for myself.

Indeed, that's generally true and in my observation while living in VA
and TN is far more so for those east of Mississippi and not on the
coasts where really severe weather isn't so common or generally _quite_
as severe. City dwellers also generally are more protected from the
consequences other than the rare direct hit than are more rural areas w/
fewer services, etc., also, I think contributes to the problem.

Eventually, either a Cat5 'cane or an F5 tornado is going to barrel through
a major US city. We've had a lot of near misses - the F5 that hit La Plata,
Maryland could have just as easily hit the nation's capital. If the 'cane
of 35 happened today, crossing over Long Island and into Rhode Island, the
damage would be close to incomprehensible. Evacuating Long Island wouldn't
be very easy if it's possible at all - everyone would have to go through NYC
and just a few bridges to find safety.

Anyone who's been in NYC during a bad rush hour knows that many, many
islanders won't make it. The same problems go for many, many coastal areas.
If that happens, we'll be bailing out the insurance industry, who will make
their denial of Katrina claims look like a big money giveaway. The Feds, I
am sure, have been vigilant regulating the insurance industry as thoroughly
as they did the stock market, the banks and the off shore drilling industry.
There hasn't been a big payout from insurers since the stock market tanked
and I am sure they bought up junk CDO's just like every other large
investor. They've just been able to conceal their losses better than other
investors.

I don't know the record for storm-carried objects, ...

I've no idea about "records" either, as I don't think there is any such
thing other than anecdotal evidence generally collected as anything
except novelty (as opposed to an actual study of same except as done by
NOAA/NWS for classification purposes).

But, my latest relatively local (100 mi) example of the incredible is
the Greensburg (KS) EF5 that obliterated 90+% of the town. It left a JD
9600-series combine over ten miles from its starting point in the
dealer's lot on the west edge of town.

Ouch! That's quite a trip. Now that video cameras are everywhere, there's
some unbelievable close-up footage of tornadoes and their power. I recall
seeing slo-mo footage of a tractor trailer, a cow, a couch and a pickup
truck all airborne and whirling around in the debris cloud.

--
Bobby G.