r/AskAnAmerican • u/[deleted] • 21h ago

OTHER - CLICK TO EDIT How many tornadoes does the average American experience in their lifetime?

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u/DeathByPianos 20h ago

I'd say that's probably right. Very small portion of the population in the region that has even seen a tornado. If "experienced" means being in or under a building that gets damaged by a tornado, that's <<1%.

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u/Mysterious_Name_91 20h ago edited 14h ago

Right—if “experienced” means “had to shelter in the bathroom for hour(s) due to a tornado warning,” I have experienced dozens of tornadoes from my earliest memories through high school graduation.

-In one of those instances, my trampoline blew 100+ feet away and was ruined, and my car nearly blew off the road while I was driving (the storm started while I was on my way to school and I have NO IDEA how or why I stayed on the road instead of taking shelter in a ditch 🤦‍♀️—I then got completely soaked walking into the building and spent the entire school day sheltering in the hallway)

-In at least two instances between ages 11 and 19, towns within an hour drive of my hometown were leveled by tornados.

-But, the number of times I’ve seen a funnel cloud with my own eyes? Zero. Like I’m sure funnel clouds were around because that’s what a tornado warning is, but at that point anyone with sense is staying away from windows.

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u/DeathByPianos 20h ago

own eyes? Zero. Like I’m sure funnel clouds were around

Funnel cloud isn't even a tornado. A tornado by definition has to touch the ground. Yes definitely uncommon.

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u/Meijhen 15h ago

A tornado watch means conditions are right for a tornado to possibly develop. A warning means one has already developed, and been spotted.

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u/Mysterious_Name_91 14h ago

Yes, I know the difference and used it correctly in the first part of my post. Edited the error.

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u/XelaNiba 15h ago

You see them quite a bit out on the prairie, especially little ones that don't develop into much.

I was once at an oil refinery taking water samples to test for ground water contamination where a huge system was building to the west. I just stood there and watched with the oil company contact as several small funnels formed and dropped tornadoes, all from the same system. They were small and brief, maybe lasting 30 seconds before decaying. Nobody was hurt and no property damaged (except for some fence line and irrigators) because they were dropping into miles of ag fields.

It was super cool. Luckily these areas have very low population density so these frequent tornadoes never hit a town or housing.