I have been in them all (The tornado passed within a mile of the house and was only an F2).  Floods, Hurricanes, Earthquakes and Tornados.  WHile Hurricanes (in the states) are usually the most destructive, I have to go with Mason on this.  At least you have warning and can get out if it looks really bad. With the others you have no warning (or very little) and basically only have time to bend over and kiss your tuckus good bye (if you are unlucky or live in a Trailer).

Tornadoes...BRING 'EM ON!

(of course, I'm a stormchaser, so I'm biased!)

I would rather a tornado. They can be tracked rather easily and they don't last that long. We do get some warning the problem is people don't pay much attention to the Tornado Watches so when the Warning comes out they aren't ready for it.
Oh and get this. On the day of Weather spotter training, we were supposed to have a mock tornado warning for the area but the weather turned and we had a real Tornado instead. It made for an interesting day at the jail. Not to mention that everyone was confused for a while on whether it was the real thing or not.

They can be tracked rather easily and they don't last that long.

Yes, and ironically enough, you're safer in the field spotting them than you would be in a house that's in the direct path...the main REAL concerns in the field are lightning and hail.

Gid:
I'm so happy to see another person that is fasinated by tornados. Are you a spotter or do you actually travel around the country chasing them? I'm just a spotter. I run around about 3 counties watching them during the storm season. I can't wait for the storm season to really hit. Although we have already gotten our first one in this area. {It was in early March. Only lasted about 15 minutes and didn't cause much damage.}

I've been through all of them as well as a couple of heavy forest fires and even had a boat overturned once by a sudden water spout.

I'll still take the hurricane. I've ridden out quite a few of them over the years.

By the way, I'm not so sure I'm flattered to have inspired a thread about natural disasters.

Yes, and ironically enough, you're safer in the field spotting them than you would be in a house that's in the direct path...the main REAL concerns in the field are lightning and hail.

Yep, but I won't take my kids out spotting with me. They are always tucked into their Grandparent's basement before we go out. Luckily our little town has yet to be in the direct path. It ususally just skirts around us.

By the way, I'm not so sure I'm flattered to have inspired a thread about natural disasters.

it was the short discussion we started on my other article that inspired this one.

I'm so happy to see another person that is fasinated by tornados.

I did not say I was not fascinated by them.  I am fascinated by all of mother nature.  But if I had to have my choice of whose path to be in........

By the way, I'm not so sure I'm flattered to have inspired a thread about natural disasters.

I am not sure you should be flattered or insulted.

Yep, but I won't take my kids out spotting with me.

I'm training my oldest to spot. But she understands that, when we're in the field, she needs to do EXACTLY as I say without question. The second oldest helps my wife out with the kids back at home.

Unfortunately, I don't have the funds to travel the country looking for them. But I do have a good instinct for it. Last night, we intercepted a storm that had had rotation before it came into our county. We wound up directly below the wall cloud...fortunately, there was no rotation.

I'm hoping to get some good computer equipment eventually...maybe a few years down the road and a few storms later, I can talk some NWS guy into it...lol.

I like blizzards, snow is fun

Either one can be devastating. I was in Oklahoma city following the monsterous tornado damage that took place there as well as south Florida after Andrew and the hurricanes of last year which did do some damage to my area as well.

The above is a quote from Mason on another of Nebraska's articles, but I wanted to respond to it here as this is the more appropriate article.

I use to work for a Catalog company that had a store in Wichita Falls, Texas.  Back in 79, a tornado came ghrough (an F5 I think) and basically wiped out the entire downtown.  It missed our store. 

Some may remember the year also as 3 mile island happened at about the same time.  The residents of Wichita Falls, true to the Texas Independant spirit, erected a sign on one of the destroyed buildings.

It read basically as follows: Pennsylvania, we will trade you our tornado for your Nuclear Reactor.

I always laugh when I think of that sign.

I think I could deal with a stampede of strippers., or a hurricane of Hooters girls.

IG

It's a tough job, but somebody's got to do it.