<p>Just follow the yellow brick road, and watch out for falling houses. ;)</p>
<p>I have this fear too. I’m used to dealing with earthquakes but not tornadoes. What states that usually have tornadoes? I’m sure some states have it more frequent than others just like earthquakes.</p>
<p>^^^^^^Dr. Google, here is a pretty interesting list regarding tornado statistics:</p>
<p>[Top</a> Ten Tornado Lists](<a href=“http://www.tornadoproject.com/toptens/topten1.htm]Top”>http://www.tornadoproject.com/toptens/topten1.htm)</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.usatoday.com/weather/wtornavg.htm[/url]”>http://www.usatoday.com/weather/wtornavg.htm</a></p>
<p>As someone who grew up in the mid west ,but has lived in California for the last 37 years, I have had the pleasure of experiencing the epicenter of a 6.3 Equake and I have also crouched in the basement while a sizable tornado passed. Though I do like the warning associated with bad weather, the actual experience of waiting out the tornado was far, far scarier than watching an earthquake make my piano jump across the room. Now the firestorm that crept over the hills and came close to engulfing our house…that’s a whole 'nother story. It’s always something.</p>
<p>the green sky that is often preceeded by the need to use headlinght in the middle of the day is a pretty good indicator you need to seek shelter. i understand your fear, however, mother nature gives you plenty of warning of the impending bad weather.</p>
<p>See, I had the exact opposite experience. I’ve lived in Michigan, Minnesota, California, and Costa Rica. I’ve experienced sizable earthquakes and have been within 2-3 miles of a tornado more than once. Earthquakes are far more terrifying to me. There is no protection from them due to warning. At least with tornadoes you can go underground because of the warning sirens. With earthquakes… not so much.</p>
<p>The warning is great, but the noise and violence of a tornado passing by or over a house is a horrifying thing. In the earthquakes, I’m always worried about where my loved ones are but in the midst of a tornado, I was just worried about my own sorry lfe coming to a sudden violent end.
A different sort of terror, but terror nonetheless. :(</p>
<p>Living in tornado country I have never in all my years had to pull off the side of the road and lay down in a ditch. Yes, tornadoes happen but not all that often and rarely this time of year. They don’t pop up out of the blue, there will be severe thunderstorms first, probably huge hail as well. Usually weather forecasters have a good 15 to 20 minute lead on tornado formation so there is a good chance she will be able to find a building if necessary. Maybe we will run into them at Truman, we will be there next week too.</p>
<p>The list in #23 doesn’t include Indiana, so it is obviously incomplete :)</p>
<p>I am seeking a living destination where it is 78-82 all year, no tornadoes, no earthquakes, no tyhpoons or hurricanes. Preferably 1" of snow at Christmas, but I can omit that if everything else works. Please post when you find it. Preferably with lots of open land, because I’m not so keen on neighbors either 
:)</p>
<p>OP- go to [National</a> and Local Weather Forecast, Hurricane, Radar and Report](<a href=“http://www.weather.com%5DNational”>http://www.weather.com), enter the zip codes of your travel areas, and go to the 10 day forecast. That should help put your mind at ease!</p>
<p>SteveMA–I definitely disagree they do not happen this time of year. April and May are the BIGGEST tornado months!!</p>
<p>My post above changed my internet reference… go to w w w . weather dot com.</p>
<p>sryrstress–I guess it depends on where you live but April and May in Iowa are not common months for tornadoes, it usually just is not warm enough for them to form. Yes, it happens sometimes but it is rare.</p>
<p>^^^^It was last April, I believe, when the horrible chain of tornadoes in Alabama and Missouri happened (obviously south of Iowa). A local Texas girl was killed in the Tuscaloosa tornado, just 10 days from the end of her senior year. She and her boyfriend and roommate were huddled in a closet, clinging to each other. The boyfriend and roommate survived. Films of that tornado captured by a local news camera are just horrifying.</p>
<p>^that’s it. UoB is off D2’s list.</p>
<p>NOAA states the most common months for tornadoes in Iowa are May and June. Either month, it’s after the May 1st decision date!</p>
<p>Wikipedia says Indiana is 2nd only to OK for severity of tornadoes. So, I guess we go for quality rather than quantity (although we have more than enough).</p>
<p>I think you are wise to plan ahead and ask about severe weather. I agree with others - you are extremely unlikely to encounter a tornado. If there is ‘rotation’ reported on local radio, they will tell you where it is and what direction it is headed - usually from the SW to the NE - and how fast it is going. IF you are tuned to a local station, you will have plenty of warning should the rotation develop into a tornado. I too would use the green sky as the ultimate warning. If it looks like you are in a dirty aquarium, it’s time to take cover. If you are concerned, pull off at an interchange ahead of the worst weather and ask a local about it.</p>
<p>One time while on the IL interstate we heard detailed reports of a funnel cloud sighting. They were telling everyone to get off the road. There were a few semis on the road, but very little traffic. We found the location on the map and figured that, even though we were east of it, we could outrun it, get north of it before it reached the interstate, and we did. We figured that we were safer that way than pulling off the road and waiting to get hit.</p>
<p>But another time we were in a tri-state region and the radio was reporting tornados by county location, and we never did figure out what state those counties were in. So, if you end up driving on a bad weather day and the sky looks threatening, tune in a local station and figure out exactly where that station is broadcasting from so you know whether the warnings are applicable to your location.</p>
<p>It is quite possible that you will drive in some very windy weather, or very heavy rain. Keep both hands on the wheel in heavy, gusty winds, and prepare when approaching semis and overpasses, as they change the amount of wind you feel and may have to adjust steering during the bypass.</p>
<p>As for heavy rain, if it gets really bad you will see people pull off to the side of the road to wait out the worst of it. Usually they pull over at underpasses. IMO this is a bit dangerous and I keep going if I can. As long as I can see some road and the tail lights ahead of me, I keep a good distance and keep moving. One time I could only see one stripe of the dividing line, but I could see the tail lights shine ahead of me so I guided the car by the single stripe and maintained a maximum distance from the guy ahead. I just drove though very heavy rains today. The spray from the cars and semis was very heavy. It helps to get away from the trucks if you can and position yourself to maximize distance from other cars. Kill the cruise control in heavy rain.</p>
<p>I do think you will see some hilly country, and I think tornadoes are less likely there. It sounds like a nice trip!</p>
<p>BTW I’d listen to AM radio in bad weather - it’s more likely to have a really local station and you can hear the lightening strikes. Prepare yourselves for less-processed country music and occasional farm reports… Now that I think of it, you could always look up local station call numbers for your planned route, if you want to be especially prepared.</p>
<p>We’ve had an extremely early spring and it’s beautiful in the midwest right now.</p>
<p>We live in TN and D1 was on campus at U of Alabama in Tuscaloosa when the tornadoes happened on 4/27. Since I lived the first 4 decades of my life in an area where tornadoes are rare, I’ve taken the past 9 years to educate myself. Here’s what you should know:</p>
<p>1) Unlike hurricanes, blizzards, earthquakes and tsunamis, tornadoes only affect a small area when they touch down. Granted it can be catastrophic, but they’re rarely wider than a few hundred years, and with the exception of long track tornadoes, their paths are limited. An EF-3 tornado went through the back of my subdivision in 2003 but only 2 houses had damage. </p>
<p>2) Just because rotation is noted on a radar, that doesn’t mean there is a tornado on the ground.</p>
<p>3) If you’re truly worried about tornadoes happening when you’re traveling, I wouldn’t rely on radio, only because it can sometimes be difficult to find a local radio station when you’re not familiar with an area. If you have a smart phone, I’d download a weather app that uses the GPS chip in your phone in conjunction with the weather information to inform you if there are any alerts at your “current location.” I downloaded the iMap Weather Radio after James Spann (weatherman extraordinaire in Birmingham, AL) recommended it. It’s about $10 but worth every penny for the peace of mind. </p>
<p>4) Professional and amateur meteorologists know days in advance of major tornado outbreaks due to computer modeling. Dr. Greg Forbes of the Weather Channel has a product called TORCON that is basically a prediction of the chance of tornadoes based on the atmospheric variables necessary for them to form. Good thing to keep an eye on if you’re confirmed. </p>
<p>5) As for all weather events, a WATCH is issued if conditions are ripe for a particular weather event to happen. A WARNING is issued if radar shows rotation, or if a trained spotter has seen a tornado. A TORNADO EMERGENCY is issued when “a large and catastrophic tornado has been confirmed and will continue (a radar signature alone is not sufficient;) the tornado will have a high impact and/or affect a highly vulnerable population; the tornado is expected to cause numerous fatalities.” There have only been 70 tornado emergencies issues since 1999.</p>
<p>Also growing up and living in tornado territory for my whole life, I, too try to educate myself on the dangers, and yes, there is usually at least 1-2 days notice that bad enough weather will be moving through that could increase the possibilities for tornado formation. As long as you check the weather each day, you’ll be fine.</p>
<p>However, that being said, what does scare me is when I’m traveling in an area that I’m not familiar with. Those warnings on the radio/TV mean NOTHING to someone who is not familiar with an area. Last spring I was in Allentown after D’s graduation to help her pack to move back home. I left her apartment one evening (it was getting dark), and stopped by an ice cream place on my way back to my hotel. I could tell the weather was turning bad, and when I went into the ice cream shop, the radio was on and they were announcing a tornado warning, listing off some counties and towns. Of course, those counties and towns meant nothing to me in relation to where I was. So I asked someone in the ice cream shop if they thought we were in the pathway of this tornado, and being teenagers, they looked at me like, “I dunno know… why are you getting so worked up?” So I grabbed my ice cream, and headed back to my hotel, which was about a mile down the road. I had the AM radio station on, but again, these towns and counties they were mentioning had no meaning to me. So when I got back to the hotel, I asked the desk clerk if it was safe for me to go up to my room (I was on the third floor of a three-story hotel). Again I get, “Why?” I say there’s a tornado warning but I have no idea where it is in relation to where we’re at. So they turn on the TV, get a handle of where the tornado supposedly is, and what direction it’s heading in. He says I’m safe, but I hung out in the lobby for about 20 minutes before I headed up to my room. Other guests coming and going in the hotel were oblivious other than it was pouring. Oh, the other thing that worried me was that it was now dark; nighttime tornadoes are trickier because you can’t always see them coming. You HAVE to depend on radar to pick them up. </p>
<p>Once I got back up to my room, I turned on the weather channel, powered up my laptop and was able to put some pieces of information together that made me realize I was not in the pathway. But I know I did not fall asleep that night until I knew the storms had basically passed out of the area. </p>
<p>I also attended a wedding in Davenport, IA last July and stayed overnight the night some bad storms came through. When the weather woke me up, I turned on the weather channel, got whatever information they were giving and plotted it out on my computer to determine if I should head down to the lobby. Ends up I was fine, but again, being in an unfamiliar area, where you don’t know the names of the teensy tiny towns often mentioned in warnings can be a bit unnerving. </p>
<p>Otherwise, living in a house with a basement, I’d pick this over earthquake country any day. Around here, the men are known to head outside to watch for tornados when they hear there’s a warning! They all think they’ll have plenty of time (they’re likely right) to get from their front or back porch during the time they’d first spot a tornado and until it would hit their house. In our house, that trip could be done in ten seconds or less. You just don’t get ten seconds with an earthquake. Not that I’m condoning the behavior, but that’s how lightly they take it around here sometimes. </p>
<p>I remember when we were having D1’s college graduation party, and a funnel cloud had been spotted about four-five miles from where we live. I herded up as many people as would listen to me to head down to the basement, while most of the dads hung out in the garage looking toward the direction the tornado was supposedly spotted at. Go figure!</p>
<p>The road trippers should ask for the radio station with the best weather reports when they pick up the car, and then adjust the dial as needed. Most adults in that part of the country has a very clear preference, and will be glad to advise the Californians about how to keep on top of weather issues. They also can get the weather on any mobile devices that they have with them - just change the zipcode as needed to pick up the information through weather.com. Key words to pay attention to if the weather looks ugly, “Seek Shelter Now”. If the broadcaster uses those words, they are most often followed by specific advice for different situations.</p>
<p>Nice choices to visit on this trip! Coe, Luther, Augie, Truman State from the looks of it. This is my old home turf. I’m sure they will have a wonderful time!</p>
<p>Just in case it hasn’t already been mentioned, if you are in town they will have sirens blare if a tornado is in the area. And, at least around here, the sirens go off at 10 AM on Tuesdays every week as a test. And yes, I remember a Tuesday when the weather was very threatening at 10 AM 
You can ask at the motel desk about their tornado shelter.</p>
<p>I think the smart phone ap idea using GPS is ideal for your needs. People have ‘weather radios’ into which you enter your code and the thing goes off with warnings, but on the road the ap would be great.</p>