Cyclones

[martymas]

hi all

does any one live in the path

of these tornadoes

i thinl alabama is one area

i hope all is ok

and not affected by these storms

some 14 people have been killed

my goodness

keep safe

and good luck

marty

[Bubba Bob]

Hi Marty,

I just got off the phone with some relatives that live in the SE corner of Alabama. Ive got a couple relatives that live in Enterprise (the poster-boy town thats been flashed on the news), one of which goes to the high school that got hit. Thankfully no one I know got hurt. However, a total of 8 (diff. numbers being reported elsewhere) students and maybe a couple more teachers killed. Not good...

To live in a diff. country, you sure are up on us, Marty!

Edited March 2, 2007 by Bubba Bob

[Steamhead]

Yea the tornado that hit Enterprise High School killed around 8 people (some news stations say more.. like 13-ish)

According to the news the roof had collapsed on the students taking shelter in the gym or hallway... kinda vague right now..

All we got here in my neck of the woods was a LOT of rain and some pretty bad wind.. there were around 3 main super cell thunderstorms and we were lucky to get hit by the weakest one.. There was lots of tornadoes in the other ones though.....

Most of the schools were let out at noon.. including mine... all in all it was a pretty crazy day.

[blim]

Steamhead, I am so happy you checked in when I saw you were from Alabama! Now hoping other members from that are check in as well!

And Bubbabob, so glad your family down there are fine

Tornados are nasty. Only experienced one and I hope I never experience another!

Liz

[Honda_Boy]

a total of 13 were killed with 8 of them being at that high school.

[martymas]

hi becuase i know many of you through

this and other boards

i watch our new service

i have teletex

and i saw it first through this service

so i

went to the local tv new service

my worry it was some of you

that was affected

tho i ime sorry to hear any one is injured or have been killed

in my country those sort of storms are rare

in the area i live in

funny thing

if i hadent of known many of you

i probable woudnt have been concerned

as much

tho any one dead is tragic weather you know them or not

i greive for the familys concerned

and hope no more of them is fatal

thanks for the up date

marty

[JDoors]

I was at work and a co-worker with family down South had to excuse himself to make some calls. Seems everyone was all right.

I've never understood why large, open buildings are used as shelters. They're always the second to go, after the trailer homes.

Even at work we're supposed to go into the "pavilion," a large structure with huge open spaces. I look around, see the metal walls (like wobbly wind sails), the huge skylights (yeah, stand under those why don't cha) and the automatic doors (which would "automatically" open and let in the wind) and I have my own plans, which don't include standing in the pavilion.

[martymas]

my good ness

i saw on tele

where a 4 wheeled drive was over turned by the wind

that is some wind

will your gov

respond to this tragedy

and not like the katrina thing sacked just one man

they all should have been sacked when it involves deaths

those winds must have been in eccess of 200

miles an hour

on tele i saw whole roofs being blown away

like paper

it must have been frightening

for those children

does any one think it is global warming

or has the area always experienced thos g force storms

marty

[Bubba Bob]

will your gov

respond to this tragedy

and not like the katrina thing sacked just one man

they all should have been sacked when it involves deaths

FEMA is responding... yippie

That part of the country always has weather like this. Cool air hits the warm gulf air and boom. Not global warming.

Edited March 3, 2007 by Bubba Bob

[Steamhead]

Yup.. we get bad storms around this time every year. As a matter of fact for the past three years on my b-day (Apr. 3rd) there has been a really bad storm. So I guess it just comes with the .. uhm .. fun ...

[sultan_emerr]

Hi Marty,

To live in a diff. country, you sure are up on us, Marty!

That's because =

[thesidekickcat]

Glad you Southern folks and your families are safe!!!

One of the weather forecasters here in Portland, says he saw the typical national patterns setting up, called his folks in Missouri for them to be on the lookout overnight for one batch of those super cells, then later told us the super cells that hit Alabama that the tornado winds were likely up around 240 mph. Yikes!!! Jet stream at 75mph was way down south on the U.S. map carrying the warn moist gulf air which collided with the cold air from the North which produced the terrible tornado winds. Recipe for disaster.

My question is why mobile homes are even allowed in areas that experience such disastrous winds? And why aren't all building codes updated to better handle at least some of these winds? California has updated their codes for earthquakes...why not other sections of the country for their particular normal dangers? And while we are updating building codes, why not upgrade the energy usage part too? The technology is available...and if the codes mandated it the cost would come down!!!

Marty various parts of our country have all sorts of wierd bad seasonal weather...nope not global warming...just normal seasonal weather patterns. I doubt any place on earth has perfect weather all year long without some danger from something...monsoons, flooding, mudslides, earthquakes and volcanos, lightening, winds straight or sheer including tornados to hurricanes, snows, cold and heat, rains...you name it...no place is perfect (except Heaven!!!)

Pat

God bless everyone

[blim]

I'm with you about mobile homes, Pat! In fact I'm convinced that in the future, some Scientist is going to discover electric currents in tornadoes that makes tornadoes attracted to metal buildings like mobile homes, like lightning to lightning rods. I'm not clever enough to prove it, but it just seems like mobile homes are tornado targets--they seem to seek them out!

I've spent the last 10 minutes racking my brain and asking Son....when we went to Denmark, we were all over the country (of course, Denmark isn't very large, easy to do!) but neither of us remember seeing any mobile homes there. Can't recall seeing any mobile homes in Italy, either.

Wondering if they are "outlawed" in Europe?

(oh-oh, I'm off topic again.... )

Liz

[Bubba Bob]

I feel no sympathy for mobile homes. All that's needed is anchoring them to the ground. It's not that hard or expensive...

[thesidekickcat]

I feel no sympathy for mobile homes. All that's needed is anchoring them to the ground. It's not that hard or expensive...

I don't live in tornado or hurricane territory, but we do get strong wind storms in the NW. And unfortunately I have seen (long time ago) mobile home anchors fail even in an ordinary wind with a (now that I think about it it may have been an 8 wide instead of ten it was pretty old) ten wide MH...one facing into the wind...it had no skirts and still had tires...so wind was able to get under it and start bucking it...didn't take long to pull up the front side anchors and the ones further back came out a short time later resulting in roof damage from not only the wind but the bucking up against cables on roof. I saw it happening from my 12 wide newer mobile home which didn't have anchors and was also bucking front to back!!! And I have seen mobile homes at the coast that roofs tore off in spite of anchor system... just started tearing around them. The same high winds at the coast can and do tear off roofs over gas stations and pump islands, and other such metal roof structures that are built alot stronger and anchored alot better than mobile homes. False security to think a mobile home with anchors, especially if not put in right in sandy soil, will in every storm be able to withstand tornados or other high winds, just not true!!!

I agree with you Liz, can't prove how either, but do think some storms seek out mobile homes and rv parks!!! Could just be the locations those parks are built in, or????

As for mobile homes in Europe of Scandinavia...don't know for sure...though have never heard of any. Though the Danes or was it the Swedes? did invent the process to make homes indoors and transported to the site by sections. Also they were the ones who invented removable kitchen modular cabinets too I think...just take your kitchen with you to next home when you move. Are kitchens there more uniform in size and shape to make this idea work? Sounds like an interesting concept but would sure make moving day more arduous. Hmmm, better make sure they are on the to do list or poor hubby could be in trouble for forgetting the kitchen!!!

So when looking at a house to buy...ask not only if the range and refrig come with house but the cabinets too?

Pat

God bless everyone

Edited March 5, 2007 by thesidekickcat

[JDoors]

... has the area always experienced thos g force storms ...

You might be interested in a web search for: TORNADO ALLEY

------

Wow, I just did it to be sure stuff would show up ... 55,000 hits. If you don't wanna browse I bet the Wikipedia entry would be sufficient.

Edited March 4, 2007 by JDoors

[papa]

I'm with you about mobile homes, Pat! In fact I'm convinced that in the future, some Scientist is going to discover electric currents in tornadoes that makes tornadoes attracted to metal buildings like mobile homes, like lightning to lightning rods. I'm not clever enough to prove it, but it just seems like mobile homes are tornado targets--they seem to seek them out!

I've spent the last 10 minutes racking my brain and asking Son....when we went to Denmark, we were all over the country (of course, Denmark isn't very large, easy to do!) but neither of us remember seeing any mobile homes there. Can't recall seeing any mobile homes in Italy, either.

Wondering if they are "outlawed" in Europe?

(oh-oh, I'm off topic again.... )

Liz

Liz

Your right about mobile homes in Europe, most homes are made of brick with clay roofs. When they build them over there they are for ever! Moble homes seem to be quite popular in the Americas tho!

From all of us at DW we hope everone is safe and our hearts go out to all those stricken by the devistation!

Papa & Gem

[martymas]

funny thing about those roofs being blown off

i went to an area in nz were a hydro dam was being built

and al the bunglows had

guy wires [ithink thats what they called them] sunk into to the ground and across the roofs

at the time i wondered about those things

but it wasent until 12 years later i found they

were to keep the roofs on in a hi wind

as i didnt experience the winds

i can imagine what steamahead had to go through

my we live and learn

marty

Edited March 5, 2007 by martymas

[garmanma]

Funny things about about tornados(cyclones) is they're unpredictable. I was in one once where it leveled our neighbors house and not 50 foot away didn't even blow a leaf off our tree or touch the house

Mark

[martymas]

i remember when the florida storms were ath their highest

bill mallenson who is a mwmber of this board

lives there

and i was concerned for their safety

but it seems they were a few miles

away and it didnt touch their area

we dont have them here

and im glad

those poor children

i think about them and their relitives

to be honest im glad ime here and not there

marty

[robroy]

There aren't any in Britain, they appear to be an American phenomena. The british climate is probably not really conducive to mobile homes, too much rain and northern europe in winter is probably also not ideal, too cold. The newer mobile homes are much better built than those from the 70's and 80's and better insulated. They may eventually catch on in Europe but it would probably not be cost effective to ship them from the US and there are no manufacturing plants in Europe at present that I know of.

[garmanma]

There aren't any in Britain, they appear to be an American phenomena. The british climate is probably not really conducive to mobile homes, too much rain and northern europe in winter is probably also not ideal, too cold. The newer mobile homes are much better built than those from the 70's and 80's and better insulated. They may eventually catch on in Europe but it would probably not be cost effective to ship them from the US and there are no manufacturing plants in Europe at present that I know of.

Most all of Europe is not a disposable society. They recycle and reuse almost everything including old houses. Their building codes are also a lot more strict

Mark

[JDoors]

The mobile home phenomena in the U.S. is likely due to more than a dozen reasons, some of which are; less restrictive laws (particularly in rural areas, mobile homes are eventually legislated out of existence once as an area becomes more urban, lower standards can be looked at as less safety, or as more freedom to do as you please, less nanny-ism as it were), vast open lands (more places to put mobile homes, adequate transportation infrastructure to serve those rural areas, and a high percentage of automobile ownership, even for lower income families, to use that transportation infrastructure -- they don't HAVE to live in urban areas), more choices (related to less restrictions, but also due to the prevalance of entrepreneurism in the U.S., i.e., there's a demand for very low-priced homes and someone steps up to fill it), the "American Dream" of home ownership (even lower income people can "own" their own home, even if they often don't own the land under it -- hence the monetary savings), a large enough market (that is, people with low enough incomes that they might not be able to afford the typical home, but enough income they can afford better than, say, renting an apartment), the American penchant for not staying still (very high mobility, just take your home with you), etc.

Higher construction standards often conflict with the reason mobile homes exist in the first place (invariably causing costs to skyrocket), and there are still laws on the books in many places that make it illegal to tie down a mobile home (it's not mobile any more -- though those laws are being changed to accomodate the reality of the more-or-less permanent placement of many mobile homes).

And that's not even getting into the existance of high-end mobile homes, more luxurious and spacious than many stick-built homes.

[bozodog]

My "Sweet Brit" hubby's dad lives in a doublewide in Scunthorpe. It is in a park that has many streets and avenues. He says there are many like that around and they are just like the ones here in the US.

There are a few arguments I have against them and the statements made here. There are two classes, "manufactured" homes and "modular" homes. The first have a metal undercarrage and the "mods" are built on timber like a "stick" built home. IMHO both are overpriced and under built. With the exception of coming fully equipted and habitable quickly, cheap stuff. A while back I looked into a "mod" just over 1100 sq. ft.. With crawl space foundation, well and septic system the price was $110 a sq. ft. A stick built house would have been about the same. Although I could have gotten a full basement with the stick.

While shopping, I was invited to go to the factory to see how they were built. Whoo Hoo! While the rest of the group was in awe of the process, I saw the faults. Ceiling drywall was installed with "Great Stuff" expanding foam. (no mechanical fasteners) This was then flipped over and dropped onto the walls. Yep, the dry wall was between the top plates and ceiling structure. Same with the flooring, installed before the walls go on. They used a brown, kinda tarred, paper for roofing underlayment. (like the stuff shingles are wrapped in) Wire staplers (like pallet staples) were used for most everything, including the vinyl siding. House wrap was optional. The wiring was installed in 2x6" exterior walls by routing out a grove all the way around the outside of the studs before the sheathing was installed. (with wire staples) The boxes were attached with foam to the drywall and studs, no screws or nails. I was looking at a Chalet type with an upstairs, so they made the roof fold down by attaching sheet metal to the cut rafters. They then flip the sections up on site. Upgrades? I wanted lever door handles instead of round ones. $5 a piece. (same price as Home Depot, with no credit for the originals)

I could go on and on, but suffice to say...... BUY STICK BUILT! They use nails! No damn wonder they blow apart in a storm.

[Steamhead]

Yea uhm... mobile homes are everywhere here. We live in a brick house and during that storm we had some family who lived in a mobile home come and stay with us until it was over. We own a mobile home that was put on the top of our property.. we only use it if a family member or close friend is in need of a house.. it's anchored and everything and its held up through the ages...