Tornado missed us by 1/2 mile

[Ripsnort]

Last week-end we had a family reunion at the farm in Hugo, Minn.  A tornado came through and killed 1 boy and sent dozens to the hospital. We were just 1/2 mile North of it. Outside like fools (though only a few steps to the basement) we sat there in the "hook" cloud (on the wall where tornados like to form) and recorded with DVD cam. Little did we know when the siren went off, 5 minutes later the tornado hit. 50 homes were destroyed. Another 300 to 400 homes were evacuated because of safety concerns created by downed power lines and leaky gas lines.  You can't get any closer to a tornado without being part of the damage!

This video has no "defined" funnel cloud as it was inside a bigger cell, but this EF3/EF4 tornado was too close for comfort.  After the tornado hit, we had another thundercell pelt us with golf ball sized hail, damaging everyones vehicles and RV's. We were in no danger, as the basement cellar was just steps away and everyone except us storm chasing fools were down in the basement cellar.

VIDEO: (If you are dial-up connection, you may have to wait awhile)
YouTube - Hugo Tornado 2008

Additional video of still pics of the damage (Not my video)
YouTube - HUGO

Size of the hail chunks:




News Story:
kare11.com :: KARE 11 TV - Homeowners return to their tornado torn neighborhood

[Dago]

Glad you are okay, and didn't have any family property damage to report.

[Fulmar]

A very appropriate item to help 'size' the hail.

[Ripsnort]

A very appropriate item to help 'size' the hail.

Hell ya! Beer and storms!  Ya sure you betcha!

[REP0MAN]

Sounds like a quiet May weekend here in Oklahoma.

Glad you and yours are good to go Rip. Those sucka's can really relocate some crap....

[AWMac]

Man we had some bad storms roll thru Tulsa today.

Pitch black outside at 9:30am, trees bent sideways, branches flyin, most of all my yard stuff is in the pool.

But Hell anyways Oklahoma is still OK.

Glad yer ok Rip!

Hope you did well today also REP0!

 

Mac

[REP0MAN]

We were in Pryor this morning Mac, in church. Was black as coal outside at 9-10am when we were driving up. Thunder and lightning but no rain till we got inside the church. We heard it rain and blow but otherwise uneventful. We got home about 2pm and it looked like some really bad tree trimmers had massacred the neighborhood trees and just left everything on the sidewalk. 61st and Garnett was without power but we were up (south and east of there). Work called and wanted me to come in tomorrow on my day off to help with storm recovery. Guess there was a buncha Cox lines that got kilt. Electrical storms usually reek havoc on our modems and digital converters too.

Still glad you're okay Rip. Sorry for the thread detour....

[AWMac]

71st and Memorial had power out for awhile also. Wifey came home from work then got called back again after 2pm.  Had a tree here topped. Seems like my pool is a magnet for stuff.

Yeah Cox went out about 3 times between that time...*sigh*
I was watchin "Band of Brothers" on the History Channel at that time. 
Like I almost missed the storyline LOL.

Glad all is good.

Same with you Rip!

Mac

[Getback]

Glad you are okay Ripsnort. Very sad to hear about the lad.

[boxboy28]

Back in my day we didnt name tornados............we didnt have time to!


lol glad you made it thru rippy!

but seriously when they start naming tornados?    must be a west coast thing!

[Donzo]

Back in my day we didnt name tornados............we didnt have time to!


lol glad you made it thru rippy!

but seriously when they start naming tornados?    must be a west coast thing!

Who named the tornado?

Hugo?...that's the name of the city in MN where the tornado hit.

[Getback]

Hail and Ale! I know I've seen Cooled by mountain streams, Cooled by glaciers, but cooled by pummeling hail!

[Ripsnort]

Back in my day we didnt name tornados............we didnt have time to!


lol glad you made it thru rippy!

but seriously when they start naming tornados?    must be a west coast thing!

Well, if you lived in Fridley, MN, you remember the Fridley tornado of '65 and '87.

Most small towns name the tornado by town name and year, unless you live in tornado alley, then you might name it by the week, month and year. 

Now Hugo, MN will remember the "Hugo Tornado of '08".

Consider it a country thang.

And yes, Hugo is a town.

[Masherbrum]

I was on the way to work from lunch, in 2006 and had to sit through 3 cycles of traffic lights.    Why?   The temperature was 80+ degrees and I stop at the light.   Suddenly, it was like someone dropped you in the Antarctic.   I immediately close the moonroof and windows.   The guy next to me wasn't so "quick".   After 5 seconds, the heavens dropped hail stones the size of marbles.   You could NOT see in front of your car.   It was hailing like this for about 4 minutes.   No rain, just hail. 

The hail stops and you see the most wicked Cumulonimbus (Thunderhead) off to the East.   Rumor is, a tornado touched down in Detroit from the same storm.   Noone knows for sure, but the cold updraft was something I learned while studying Meteorology.   

Rip, next time you see a wall cloud, try not to gaze.       Good to see the Nelson family made it out ok though.   Prayers for the victims have been said.   

<<S>>   

[Druss]

Well, if you lived in Fridley, MN, you remember the Fridley tornado of '65 and '87.

Most small towns name the tornado by town name and year, unless you live in tornado alley, then you might name it by the week, month and year. 

Now Hugo, MN will remember the "Hugo Tornado of '08".

Consider it a country thang.

And yes, Hugo is a town.

The May 11 tornado, Lubbock, Texas. I remember it well. An F5 through downtown Lubbock.

"The storm's final death toll was twenty-eight people, ranging in age from nine months to eighty-eight years of age. Many of the victims were found in their homes, where they had been killed by flying debris. Only a few were actually sucked into the tornado. Another five hundred people were injured.

Approximately twenty-five square miles (40 kmē) of the city were either damaged or destroyed. The final damage toll of $250 million made it, up to that point, the costliest tornado in U.S. history.

It is also believed that this is the only F5 tornado ever to directly strike a skyscraper. The former Great Plains Life Building was physically twisted, although it was repaired and still stands today as the NTS Tower.

After the storm, Mayor Jim Granberry, who served from 1970-1972, imposed a curfew.

The Lubbock Tornado also served as a model for the development of the Fujita scale, developed a year later in 1971."

      -  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lubbock_Tornado