This. I grew up in SW TN close to the MS border. That's as much tornado alley as Kansas over the past couple decades. I've seen two F4's up close and the aftermath of one F5. And a hell of a lot of smaller storms.
The issue is that there are 100 tornado warnings for every one that actually matters to you. And the tornado warnings really are tornados, but they mostly take out some trees on the ridge and the occasional barn roof. A lot of those are big, too.
The issue is the capriciousness of the whole thing.
You get used to close calls. They happen all the time. And sometimes those close calls kill a lot of people.
It's not that folks don't pay attention. The fatigue is real. But even more than that is the simple fact that most take out the barn and not the house. The difference between a lot of downed trees and a town wiped out is a couple hundred yards and random chance.
It's hard to rationalize and it's hard not to just accept the risk and just go on with your life.
I disagree. We always paid attention. Not to panic but to the part of the storm where tornados are as they go past.
One did take out the barn about 40 meters away. (it may have been a microburst, it was dark, anyway two buildings were translated one foot to the side and part of the barn roof ended up upside down on the ground next to the barn)
I don't know why people don't pay attention, I'm not surprised, but it puzzles me. When there's severe weather going past you pay attention to what's happening. There was always plenty of warning and plenty of information available.
The information is there, a whole lot of people who do get hurt by tornados are hurt because they're not paying attention to available information. It's not always enough to survive, true.
The issue is that there are 100 tornado warnings for every one that actually matters to you. And the tornado warnings really are tornados, but they mostly take out some trees on the ridge and the occasional barn roof. A lot of those are big, too.
The issue is the capriciousness of the whole thing.
You get used to close calls. They happen all the time. And sometimes those close calls kill a lot of people.
It's not that folks don't pay attention. The fatigue is real. But even more than that is the simple fact that most take out the barn and not the house. The difference between a lot of downed trees and a town wiped out is a couple hundred yards and random chance.
It's hard to rationalize and it's hard not to just accept the risk and just go on with your life.