I agree, they look terrifying...

Never seen one, seen funnel clouds a few times but never an actual tornado. But I have been through a few tornado warnings where we had to take cover. Scary stuff.

When I was a child my dad was stationed at Chanute AFB in Rantoul, Illinois (it's about 100 miles south of Chicago). We did experience a tornado BUT over my loud objections, our mother threw us into a closet. I was so mad I didn't get to see anything. It was reasonably big, blew out the large plate glass windows at the Piggley Wiggley.

I've seen the aftermath, a day or two after the fact, of two closeby tornados that occurred during the last 5 years (the most recent having been approx. 2 years ago). One struck the immediate northern through northeastern outskirts of the next town north of me, and the other was midway between my town and the next town south of me. Widespread destruction (including of several homes) occurred both times, tho neither event was considered nearly as bad (despite one fatality) as many truly cataclysmic tornados are. Thank goodness each traveled thru lightly populated rural areas (mainly fields and woods), rather than through any town.

Btw, the morning after the event that occurred 3-4 miles south of my house, there were two ducks seeming very disoriented, waddling around in my backyard, then all around in the street. Obviously they'd gotten blown far from wherever they normally had been.

@wonder2wonder said:

It must be horrible seeing all that destruction. How can it be exciting for those that chase it?

It can really depend where you are. I live in the upper Midwest, surrounded by the Great Lakes. We've got tornadoes here every tornado season-- although we did have at least one very early this year, in February --but they are generally very tame compared to places like, say, the American South or Great Plains. Property damage only (and sometimes very minimal at that) and most of the time, no deaths. In situations such as those, it is easy for people to "enjoy" a tornado, perhaps even heading out to the porch and cracking a beer in hopes of seeing one, rather than heading for the basement when the warning sirens go off as one should.

But, yeah, places like Kansas or Tennessee or someplace like that-- totally different, with often massive destruction and casualties.

The one that struck immediately north of the town just north of mine was concerning in that it occurred during late-afternoon evening hours...and that it passed right over a major state highway (and flattened or hopelessly wrecked structures on both sides thereof). Even in my town there was severe worrisome storming, and crazy winds, at the time - tho I had no realization such bad things were occuring to the north.

@genplant29 said:

The one that struck immediately north of the town just north of mine was concerning in that it occurred during late-afternoon evening hours...and that it passed right over a major state highway (and flattened or hopelessly wrecked structures on both sides thereof). Even in my town there was severe worrisome storming, and crazy winds, at the time - tho I had no realization such bad things were occuring to the north.

Yes-- I've lived here all of my nearly 50 years, and this is the first time I can remember a tornado occurring in February; they usually don't strike until April or May. And I will say that we did have one this year that caused more extensive damage than usual-- even trapping people inside their damaged homes, although, thank God, nobody died.

Though I am somewhat skeptical of Global Warming, genplant, you'll get no argument from me that Climate Change is happening, global weather patterns are growing more severe, and humans do have something to do with it.

For sure. Where I live (in the US Midatlantic region), north, I notice, and realize, it, unquestionably, every recent year.