Tornados and the severe thunderstorms

Never been in a tornado storm, but when I was in training a line of tornadic storms were 30 miles behind us and me and my trainer stop for a quick rest break. He looked at me and I looked at him and he said. We're gonna keep going, and that we did. I've been through monsoons out west, talking about torrential downpours not fun.

 

True, although they do drop down pretty quickly at times. And while storm chasing, you typically have a 3G internet connection so you can see real-time radar and storm reports, so you usually know where things are happening...which might not be the case for your average motorist or trucker.

This one dropped last April 14 just NE of Salina, KS along I-70 while my daughter and I were chasing. It was less than a minute from droopage until it was on the ground. Good times.

 

Your best defense is to have a CB or Stereo with weather and you'll receive tornado warnings and locations if it is on the ground. The big Nashville flood a few years back I was coming down I-24 through KY at night. The WX alert went off and started giving me 3 different tornado reports. Using my GPS and panning out I figured out where they were. Two already crossed the interstate and one was going to cross my path. I pulled into the Loves and waited for it to pass. It wasn't 5 miles away. It's scary in the dark because you can't see them coming with trees all around.
After it passed I continued on and got caught in the Nashville flood for 2 days. That load wasn't meant to be.

 

Yeah, in the dark is a whole 'nother level.

 

I know 2011 was crazy for truckers because of all those tornadoes.

 

This beginning of this video is when a tornado hit the Schnieder lot in Texas.



I would not want to be in a cab around that! It looks like mostly empty trailers were flying, but they can land on you!

If you are parked in "high" winds lower the landing gear. If you are parked in "dangerous" winds, get inside a strong building!

Mikeeee

 

Something to be cautious about:

It doesn't take much wind to tip you over if you're pulling a van or a reefer. It just needs to hit you at the right angle. Even though your truck is heavy, it's also huge. You might as well be driving a sailboat sometimes, especially if your trailer has sideskirts.

 

Hey everyone I'm curious how do flatbedders fare in the high winds? I have driven vans before - electronics mostly - and the loads were never that heavy. I do recall some white-knuckle driving in Wyoming, and the plains states. Seems to me many flatbed loads are not as high-stacked as a 13'6 van, more "holes" for the wind to whistle through, and less like a big billboard.

 

I would suggest that you get an amateur radio license. Then get a 2 meter radio to put in your truck. It has really helped me over the years.