We have some storms rolling through tomorrow that have the potential to create isolated tornadoes, and I can’t stop obsessing over it. Every time I see that we have thunderstorms in the forecast, I religiously check weather radars and reports throughout the day. This isn’t something that’s always been a fear of mine, I used to love hitting the bong and watching thunderstorms. But after having a close call last year while out delivering, and tornado sirens going off in the middle of the night a few weeks ago, I’ve developed quite the phobia.
Tornadoes aren’t SUPER common where I live, but we had two yesterday and one a few weeks ago. All of them were super weak, and they petered out after a few miles. But the fear of a gargantuan EF-5 tearing down my apartment building is a constant fear of mine when storms are in the forecast.
You’ll know when a tornado is super close - it sounds like the deep rumble of a train going past. If you don’t hear that, then you’ll probably be alright to quickly run over to the laundry room if it makes you feel safer. Heck, my parents would always sit on the patio for a while and watch the storms go by whenever the sirens started (but I had to stay in the closet under a mattress, since I was just a kid).
Follow your instincts, though. Lightning is nothing to fuck with either. It’s always unlikely that you’ll actually get hit directly by a tornado, so you’ll probably be just fine if you hang out in your bathroom away from windows.
