I've had to take cover three times in less than two weeks.

[xmas74]

Compared to the people in Oklahoma we've yet to have a touchdown, at least. (Unfortunately, I believe we are overdue. We haven't had a direct touchdown since 2007 or 2008, I think.) My thoughts are with them right now, as they are anywhere a tornado hits. Once you've been through one you never forget it-and mine was only a high F2.

My area is under a flash flood warning and under an areal flood warning for a few days. There is standing water on parts of the road and talk locally of one hell of a flood season to come.

This summer is not starting off all that well for us in the flyover states.

[KittyWampus]

1. Hugs to you. I live in an area that gets hurricanes and we are overdue. We got to take care of each

other.

[xmas74]

4. The worst part is knowing you're overdue.

It's coming but I'd prefer it comes after I can afford to move out of this trailer!

Good luck to you this year during hurricane season. Keep in touch if something happens!

[calimary]

23. Similar situation here in L.A. We're widely thought to be overdue for the proverbial "Big One."

So in that sense, I can definitely sympathize! Every time I drive under a freeway overpass (or over a freeway underpass, lol) I catch my breath for an instant. In the 1994 earthquake, a portion of the Santa Monica Freeway collapsed - and I had to use another surface street, actually a big, wide boulevard, to get to work downtown every day. It took months to repair. I remember the day after the earthquake, I was running an errand locally and I was pulling up toward a stoplight that was immediately on the other side of a freeway overpass. I was still approaching and on the opposite side of the freeway from the signal. The car in front of me had nobody in front of it, and had plenty of room on the road to be first at the stoplight but he pulled up far short. He did NOT want to drive under the freeway. Not after that earthquake yesterday.

If I wasn't sure that was his motive, I soon had that verified beyond any uncertainty. Another car approached in the lane next to me. It slowed up, too, seeing the red light ahead. The driver in front of me that had stopped on my side of the freeway reached out of his car window and pointed up, at the overpass. The other driver looked up and slowed to a stop alongside the guy in the car in front of me. That whole thing happened in maybe one or two seconds. But it just struck me - such a clear indicator of the way everybody in L.A. felt in the wake of that earthquake. Just trepidation on parade. You noticed it everywhere. Everybody slowed down. Everybody was suddenly a little nicer. A little more patient. Also a little jumpier. But the usual asshole factor dropped WAY down. We'd really been jolted by that quake, and jolted together. And it gnaws at you. Kinda like a low-grade fever. The initial freak-out fades. But you're left with this ongoing unease. For you, xmas74, it's the dreading of an F-4 or F-5 tornado. We grit our teeth about an 8.3-er.

So in that regard - I SOOOoooo sympathize! Your experience just makes for shivers down the spine! Hang in there. I sure hope this isn't a difficult summer for you. I hope things stay uneventful, weather-wise. Seems to me you deserve a big break! Heck, there are quite a few areas of this country that could!

[xmas74]

25. We also have the earthquake dread.

Supposedly New Madrid is overdue for a good one. More than a few sources state that a 7 would be enough to decimate St Louis and Memphis. It's not that uncommon to hear about tremors on the local news. (Usually 2's and 3's.)

We know it's also overdue so we've been waiting, hoping it won't be like the last big one-or series of big ones, that is.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Madrid_Seismic_Zone

We used to have earthquake drills when I was in high school. They thought it was overdue back then. Well, I graduated 20 years ago so...

[hrmjustin]

2. Your nerves must be shot! I wish you more peaceful days in the future.

[xmas74]

5. May 2003-that's when my nerves were shot.

We basically lived in our root cellar for 8 days straight. That stretch had days where we took cover multiple times.

[hrmjustin]

6. We had one here in Bay Ridge Brooklyn in 2006 or 7 and I saw it pass by my house to the north by a

few blocks.

[xmas74]

8. Your first is a bit trippy.

I've only been in the direct line once but have watched quite a few barrel down the way. When I was younger we used to sit outside and watch them while drinking a few beers.

[hrmjustin]

10. I thought the tornado hunters were crazy at first but I realize they do a great service.

[xmas74]

12. You should find out sometime if NWS offers classes in

your area to train storm spotters. It's usually free and you really learn quite a bit about how to spot a storm.

[hrmjustin]

13. I am not brave enough for that.

[xmas74]

14. This is as simple as just knowing what the sky looks like

and calling it in.

You don't follow the storm. Instead, if spotter activation is requested you stage somewhere, sometimes even on your own block, and just watch the sky.

[hrmjustin]

15. You think they would have those here in NYC?

[xmas74]

16. They might.

You'll have to look around the site. Or you could contact them and see what they say.

I've been through it twice-once years ago on my own and once last year with my kid. It was very informative both times. I think you'd really like it.

[hrmjustin]

17. I will give it some thought. I like weather stuff so it might be an idea.

I hope things get quieter for you.

[xmas74]

18. I think it will be a flood season this year.

This year is my twenty year reunion. Twenty years ago I graduated from high school and that summer was an incredible flood summer, which was then repeated in 1995. We haven't had anything quite so incredible since. I think twenty years is probably overdue, especially since 1993 happened after a multi-year drought.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Flood_of_1993

There are little towns that no longer exist because of the flood. I'm not kidding-they no longer exist. Wakenda, Missouri is one of those towns. And the Hardin Cemetery was heartbreaking.

http://www.cityofhardin.com/cemeteries/hardin-cemetery/history.html

[hrmjustin]

19. I remember the 1993 storms were horrible. I hope it is not as bad this year.

[xmas74]

20. You should follow the link about Hardin Cemetery.

The flood waters actually split the cemetery in half, washing remains away. Quite a few were never found while others couldn't be identified. It's called the worst cemetery disaster in American history.

A drinking buddy from high school found some of the remains. He was in the area, looking at the flood waters and drinking beer with a few friends when he stumbled upon them. He said he'll never forget that.

[hrmjustin]

21. Yes I remember seeing pictures of coffins floating in the water.

Very creepy!

[malaise]

3. You're lucky

It's starting off much better than a tornado touchdown. Stay safe

[xmas74]

7. None yet, thank goodness.

I don't know-something tells me that we've been overdue for the last couple of years. My town does get them and it's not all that rare. Right now it's been several years since the last one actually touched down and it just feels overdue.

[nadinbrzezinski]

9. You are in fr a flood season

We are in for a wicked fire season. I wish you could send us the extra water.

[xmas74]

11. We need the water.

My county was in a severe drought the last few years. The rain is wonderful but the problem is that the ground is dry so far down that it cannot absorb all of the rain.

We're going to flood and all that will happen is that it will wash away all the topsoil that actually had some decent moisture from our snow storms this last winter.

[hfojvt]

22. boy if that doesn't sound like Kansas City

"we've yet to have a touchdown"

is it football season already?

I'm still only 1/3 way through building my tornado shelter. Figure I need something since even my basement is 80% above ground. But so far we are blessed by the Tonganoxie split. Missouri river, just a while back at near-record low, is now just one foot from flood stage.

Here, that is. Probably means it will soon be flooding in Parkville. Lots of debris in the water too. I wonder where that all ends up.

[xmas74]

26. Parkville should be flooding shortly.

We know that's ready to happen.

I might take a drive out to Waverly in the next couple of days, just to look at the river. If I get out there, I'll take a few pics and post them. You know it'll be nasty.

And lol about the Chiefs.

[Art_from_Ark]

24. The weather seems to be getting weird

Even my hometown area, which is, what, maybe 100 miles to the southwest of you, has had some crazy weather recently, including tornado warnings, severe flooding (which I never experienced when I lived there), even a freakish May snow And a day or two ago, a couple of guys who were standing out in a car lot got jolted by a bolt of lightning that witnesses said just came out of nowhere.

Stay safe!

[xmas74]

27. It's the cycle.

Another poster said that in California they worry about the big earthquake that they feel is overdue while here in Missouri we worry about F4 and EF5s. I can do nothing about those but most outside of the area don't realize that we worry about earthquakes too.

We both know that New Madrid is overdue and if it finally goes it'll be a good one. I'm on the other side of the state but they say we'll feel it here. Heck, it rang church bells in Boston and New York in 1812.