CT Rain Posted May 31, 2012 Share Posted May 31, 2012 It's hard to believe it's already been a year. As a meteorologist it was difficult to watch what was unfolding live on TV and through doppler radar. We've seen images just as impressive elsewhere but to see it in your backyard was tough. Arriving in Monson shortly after the tornado moved out was something I'll never forget and definitely has been something I think about often. I've kept in touch with some of the people I interviewed that night and have gone back a couple times to see the progress of the rebuilding effort in some of the areas I was. Looking back we saw a warning system that was far from perfect but the most important lesson is how vital preparedness and education is for meteorologists, first responders, municipal/state governments, right on down to individual homeowners. I certainly haven't looked at a tornado the same way since. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Torchey Posted May 31, 2012 Share Posted May 31, 2012 It's hard to believe it's already been a year. As a meteorologist it was difficult to watch what was unfolding live on TV and through doppler radar. We've seen images just as impressive elsewhere but to see it in your backyard was tough. Arriving in Monson shortly after the tornado moved out was something I'll never forget and definitely has been something I think about often. I've kept in touch with some of the people I interviewed that night and have gone back a couple times to see the progress of the rebuilding effort in some of the areas I was. Looking back we saw a warning system that was far from perfect but the most important lesson is how vital preparedness and education is for meteorologists, first responders, municipal/state governments, right on down to individual homeowners. I certainly haven't looked at a tornado the same way since. Ryan, I am curious as to how you feel now when you see potential tornadic activity in our area, or any for that matter? Do you have the same excitement as you once did, and do you immediately think about what you saw unfold that day, and what you saw on the ground in Massachusetts. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CT Rain Posted June 1, 2012 Author Share Posted June 1, 2012 Ryan, I am curious as to how you feel now when you see potential tornadic activity in our area, or any for that matter? Do you have the same excitement as you once did, and do you immediately think about what you saw unfold that day, and what you saw on the ground in Massachusetts. Thanks! I don't think it's ever excitement per se. Obviously extreme weather fascinates me... it always has and always will. The strength of mother nature is just awe inspiring. That said yeah when I see a hook echo or debris ball does it bother me a bit more than it used to? sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Torchey Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 I don't think it's ever excitement per se. Obviously extreme weather fascinates me... it always has and always will. The strength of mother nature is just awe inspiring. That said yeah when I see a hook echo or debris ball does it bother me a bit more than it used to? sure. Thanks for responding, I wondered how it would effect you as a professional met, I know the fascination with extreme weather is a normal human emotion, but seeing the damage, the people, the land first hand and how it changes peoples lives I would think that would change it forever for anyone that experiences it. Tornado's will continue, I would imagine it must drive people in your profession to get it right, to get the warnings out earlier to protect people, it must be very intense and immensely gratifying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisM Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 Ryan, I am curious as to how you feel now when you see potential tornadic activity in our area, or any for that matter? Do you have the same excitement as you once did, and do you immediately think about what you saw unfold that day, and what you saw on the ground in Massachusetts. Thanks! I personally immediately flash back to the bloodied, screaming people I saw in Monson. It was awful man,people looking for pets, families...talking about their houses being gone. I remember going into a store to use the bathroom and the lady gave me a flashlight and i came back out and she was sobbing and I.just sat with her. She told me how the store was all that was left etc and I got teary with her. Felt very guilty that night for going home to my safe house and also thinking it was "cool" watching a tornado happen that ruined lives. I'll never forget that day. If you wanna know any more feel free to ask, I remember the entire day like it was yesterday from watching the tornado touch down in spfld to feeling sick in my bed that night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ginx snewx Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 Thanks for responding, I wondered how it would effect you as a professional met, I know the fascination with extreme weather is a normal human emotion, but seeing the damage, the people, the land first hand and how it changes peoples lives I would think that would change it forever for anyone that experiences it. Tornado's will continue, I would imagine it must drive people in your profession to get it right, to get the warnings out earlier to protect people, it must be very intense and immensely gratifying. Excellent thoughts. First responders have the same mindset. Human emotion hits hard. Separating the Science from the on ground reality is a tough chore. Certainly folks like Ryan saved lives last year and that has to be gratifying and inspirational to do even better next time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoastalWx Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 I don't think it's ever excitement per se. Obviously extreme weather fascinates me... it always has and always will. The strength of mother nature is just awe inspiring. That said yeah when I see a hook echo or debris ball does it bother me a bit more than it used to? sure. I think you summed it up for most mets and enthusiasts. Nobody ever wishes damage and the other consequences that come along with it. There's just something incredible about mother nature...how powerless we are and how the landscape in front of our eyes changes forever. That's what fascinates us. Even though I did not see the carnage until recently, the spots I drove through in Brimfield even felt like ghost towns. Still tons of debris and trash everywhere along with some trailers of people that have not rebuilt yet. Unfortunately, it sounds like the State and Feds are not giving victims the money they need. Typical bureaucratic crap as usual. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisM Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 Excellent thoughts. First responders have the same mindset. Human emotion hits hard. Separating the Science from the on ground reality is a tough chore. Certainly folks like Ryan saved lives last year and that has to be gratifying and inspirational to do even better next time. One scary thing was that as my brother and I were driving through Springfield we were screaming at people to get inside and they had no idea why...as an ef3 was ripping 10 blocks away. Scary how ignorant some people can be when it comes to life threatening situations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoastalWx Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 What frustrating is how people tend to view the warnings, and how knee jerky the government can be to try and rectify the problem. Here's the deal. We can always improve and try to educate the public, but there will always be deaths....and with an EF5...there may be a catastrophic amount of fatalities. There's nothing we can do....no tiered warnings can do...to alleviate that problem completely..or perhaps even significantly. The best thing going on now is the research of tornadogenesis which in turn will lead to earlier warnings and those may be the key to really bring the number of deaths down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoastalWx Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 One scary thing was that as my brother and I were driving through Springfield we were screaming at people to get inside and they had no idea why...as an ef3 was ripping 10 blocks away. Scary how ignorant some people can be when it comes to life threatening situations. Remind me. Why were you up there and what were you doing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisM Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 Remind me. Why were you up there and what were you doing? Chasing..was sitting at Bradley and saw the posts about the extreme gtg and all the other parameters so we drove up. Im so glad I got to see it as a huge fan of extreme wx but i still can't help the guilt sometimes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoastalWx Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 Chasing..was sitting at Bradley and saw the posts about the extreme gtg and all the other parameters so we drove up. Im so glad I got to see it as a huge fan of extreme wx but i still can't help the guilt sometimes. I didn't realize you chased it for some reason. Must have been something else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisM Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 I didn't realize you chased it for some reason. Must have been something else. Did you think I just happened to be there lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ginx snewx Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 If you look at the radar archive as the Monson tornado lifted a brief rotation was noted just east of IJD. We were under a warning and for a couple of minutes Matt Noyes was telling folks to hit the basement just to my west. That cell quickly dissipated but after watching the destruction live in Mass you betcha that couple of minutes had my mind racing. Having a tree rip through my house in Irene I can only minutely relate to the angst of those in Mass. That being said, the tornado was the most awesome display of nature destruction I have seen. When I went up there much later in the summer I could not believe my eyes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisM Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 If you look at the radar archive as the Monson tornado lifted a brief rotation was noted just east of IJD. We were under a warning and for a couple of minutes Matt Noyes was telling folks to hit the basement just to my west. That cell quickly dissipated but after watching the destruction live in Mass you betcha that couple of minutes had my mind racing. Having a tree rip through my house in Irene I can only minutely relate to the angst of those in Mass. That being said, the tornado was the most awesome display of nature destruction I have seen. When I went up there much later in the summer I could not believe my eyes. The worst part was the smell. the smell of sap was so strong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ginx snewx Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 FYI this is cool http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2012/05/monson_one_year_after_the_2011.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoastalWx Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 Did you think I just happened to be there lol Well there were warnings in NOHO too...just wondering how you wound up 10 blocks in front of it. That's some good timing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buckeye05 Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 This particular pic always blew my mind. I think this was in the Brimfield area and people actually were inside when it happened. http://farm6.staticf...dcf902f5d_z.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisM Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 Well there were warnings in NOHO too...just wondering how you wound up 10 blocks in front of it. That's some good timing. Ahh, we were on 91 and saw very strong llvl rotation and finally a funnel cloud. We got off the first exit (downtown) and waited. We drove the opposite way from it cause to be honest it wasn't worth the risk.not many ways out in a city setting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisM Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 I'll get pics when I get home Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ginx snewx Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 This particular pic always blew my mind. I think this was in the Brimfield area and people actually were inside when it happened. http://farm6.staticf...dcf902f5d_z.jpg Damn. This is my favorite Brimfield photo, totally unstaged. Brimfield has many Bluegrass folks, reflects well the damage as well as the culture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoarfrostHubb Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 I honestly can't imagine living in a tornado prone area. Those things absoutely terrify me. Fascinating, yes, but so are atomic bombs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CT Rain Posted June 1, 2012 Author Share Posted June 1, 2012 Damn. This is my favorite Brimfield photo, totally unstaged. Brimfield has many Bluegrass folks, reflects well the damage as well as the culture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CT Rain Posted June 1, 2012 Author Share Posted June 1, 2012 FYI this is cool http://www.masslive....r_the_2011.html I was in Brimfield a couple weeks ago and ran into that photographer a couple times. It was a challenge to locate exactly where we were on Haynes Hill Rd because it's so unrecognizable with entire houses gone (and now cleaned up). This is on Haynes Hill Rd from a family I spoke with a couple days after the tornado and then again a couple weeks ago. Here's a before and after picture of their house. This house was one of a few in Brimfield that I thought sustained the worst damage when the tornado was at its strongest. The damage in Monson was certainly severe but I thought Brimfield was worse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoastalWx Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 Wow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CT Rain Posted June 1, 2012 Author Share Posted June 1, 2012 What frustrating is how people tend to view the warnings, and how knee jerky the government can be to try and rectify the problem. Here's the deal. We can always improve and try to educate the public, but there will always be deaths....and with an EF5...there may be a catastrophic amount of fatalities. There's nothing we can do....no tiered warnings can do...to alleviate that problem completely..or perhaps even significantly. The best thing going on now is the research of tornadogenesis which in turn will lead to earlier warnings and those may be the key to really bring the number of deaths down. Well part of the problem with this tornado is that for Springfield, West Springfield, and Westfield there was no warning when there should have been. Additionally the warning was allowed to expire when the tornado was still on the ground! Mistakes happen and this was clearly a big mistake. While you can look at the NWS for part of the problem with this I believe that individual mets (and more important those who play one on TV... who are non-degreed) should spend a significant amount of time learning how to interpret radar and keeping up with the latest science. Many in the media are totally incapable of correctly interpreting doppler radar (even some degreed ones!) and that's a problem! When the warning wasn't issued and was later allowed to expire... a TV met comfortable with and proficient in interpreting radar should have been sounding the warning bells as loud as possible even without an official warning. Sadly, professional development is sorely lacking by some. On a different note I think people are lulled into a false sense of security around here about tornadoes partially because we as a community need to do a better job of educating and partially because they're overwarned. I don't know how to change the latter - I don't think you really can. Anyway sorry for the rant... just some things I've been thinking about lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buckeye05 Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 I see anchor bolts in that pic. Why exactly was this not rated higher than an EF3? Just curious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CT Rain Posted June 1, 2012 Author Share Posted June 1, 2012 I see anchor bolts in that pic. Why exactly was this not rated higher than an EF3? Just curious. The anchor bolts are still there and twisted like they were immediately following the storm. I don't know why this house didn't constitute EF4 damage with the anchor bolts there. I don't necessarily disagree with the rating just don't know the specific rationale or whether or not they even saw this house up close? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buckeye05 Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 Hell, if that debris wasn't laying there in the foreground, I would consider an EF5 rating. Edit: Maybe not.Changed by mind after looking at the before pic. Still a very strong tornado. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowlover76 Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 Hell, if that debris wasn't laying there in the foreground, I would consider an EF5 rating. Why? The bark is still on the trees. In most EF5's it is usually stripped off of the tree. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.