Lake Tapps Tornado
Posted: Mon Sep 07, 2009 5:29 am
The Seattle Times and Seattlepi.com both reported this morning that a funnel cloud touched down in the Buckley-Enumclaw area around 4:30-5:00 PM yesterday afternoon. The twister blew off several greenhouse roofs and knocked down a barn. Several witnesses reported seeing a waterspout on Lake Tapps.
My own personal close encounter with a tornado occurred on June 24, 2003, in the town of Hartford, S.D. That afternoon and evening, South Dakota tied the all-time U.S. record for most tornados on the ground in one state in a 24-hour period, with 67. (Kansas broke this record in 2008 with 73.) I was going west on Interstate 90 and heard on my car radio a town southwest of me had just been hit by a twister moving northeast. Realizing I was in its path, I exited I-90 and hightailed into town looking for shelter. I was towing my fishing boat, and parked behind a cement-block gas station building, as close to the wall as I could get. The deluge was like being inside a waterfall, and I was buffeted by winds approaching 100 mph that bounced my vehicle up and down on its springs. Thinking my rig might go airborne, and not wanting to be in it if it did, I pulled on my raingear and was about to abandon ship when the wind stopped. On the way back to the freeway, it was obvious the funnel had traveled down the road right behind me, as there were damaged houses and uprooted trees on both sides of the road. Fortunately, it veered at the edge of town, sparing most of Hartford. If it hadn't, the gas station would have taken a direct hit. It missed me by about 400 yards. At the freeway, two semi-trailer rigs were laying on their sides in the median strip, and large pieces of sheet metal from truck trailers were wrapped around guardrails. I threaded my way through debris on the on-ramp and got back on the freeway, stopping for the night at a rest area 2 miles farther west that had a concrete building, where about two dozen other refugees had also taken shelter. I learned the next morning that I couldn't possibly have outdriven that stormfront, as it reached all the way into Montana more than 500 miles farther west.
If you ever decide to drive to the midwest for some spring muskie fishing, you may have to contend with tornadoes. I-90 goes right through "tornado alley" in northern Nebraska, southern South Dakota, and western Minnesota. My suggestion would be to take I-94 through Minneapolis at that time of year. Being farther north, you'll be less likely to encounter twisters, although you're not completely out of the danger zone. Be aware of weather conditions; several days of hot, humid, clear weather are high potential for generating the frontal systems that can spawn tornadoes.
My own personal close encounter with a tornado occurred on June 24, 2003, in the town of Hartford, S.D. That afternoon and evening, South Dakota tied the all-time U.S. record for most tornados on the ground in one state in a 24-hour period, with 67. (Kansas broke this record in 2008 with 73.) I was going west on Interstate 90 and heard on my car radio a town southwest of me had just been hit by a twister moving northeast. Realizing I was in its path, I exited I-90 and hightailed into town looking for shelter. I was towing my fishing boat, and parked behind a cement-block gas station building, as close to the wall as I could get. The deluge was like being inside a waterfall, and I was buffeted by winds approaching 100 mph that bounced my vehicle up and down on its springs. Thinking my rig might go airborne, and not wanting to be in it if it did, I pulled on my raingear and was about to abandon ship when the wind stopped. On the way back to the freeway, it was obvious the funnel had traveled down the road right behind me, as there were damaged houses and uprooted trees on both sides of the road. Fortunately, it veered at the edge of town, sparing most of Hartford. If it hadn't, the gas station would have taken a direct hit. It missed me by about 400 yards. At the freeway, two semi-trailer rigs were laying on their sides in the median strip, and large pieces of sheet metal from truck trailers were wrapped around guardrails. I threaded my way through debris on the on-ramp and got back on the freeway, stopping for the night at a rest area 2 miles farther west that had a concrete building, where about two dozen other refugees had also taken shelter. I learned the next morning that I couldn't possibly have outdriven that stormfront, as it reached all the way into Montana more than 500 miles farther west.
If you ever decide to drive to the midwest for some spring muskie fishing, you may have to contend with tornadoes. I-90 goes right through "tornado alley" in northern Nebraska, southern South Dakota, and western Minnesota. My suggestion would be to take I-94 through Minneapolis at that time of year. Being farther north, you'll be less likely to encounter twisters, although you're not completely out of the danger zone. Be aware of weather conditions; several days of hot, humid, clear weather are high potential for generating the frontal systems that can spawn tornadoes.
