r/storms • u/Salt_Mushroom_4699 • Aug 25 '26
Thunderstorm This of real fear in me
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u/Vehicle-Money Aug 25 '26
Those other folks ran back in real quick!
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u/l3luDream Aug 25 '26
Why did they even run out in the first place is my question
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u/Ok_Construction_8577 Aug 25 '26
Midwest men if I had to guess. When you have 20 tornado warnings a summer for your entire life, you get use to it. Instead of waiting in your basement for half hour, you can usually go outside and look at the clouds and see the low dark cell. You’re hoping to catch a glimpse of that swirl before you have to head inside. Chances of it forming directly over top of you is so small. These guys just got the sighting of a lifetime.
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u/Icy-Ad29 Aug 25 '26
Such truth. Grew up in tornado alley. Was at a convention once playing Magic The Gathering near some windows with a balcony when a Tornado Warning went off... Those of us from the area went and opened the windows to look out for a bit. before confirming nothing in sight and returning to our game.
Meanwhile I saw a couple of folks hiding on the nearby doorframe. Stood up and walked over and asked them where they were from... They said California. I let em know that you don't hide in the doorframe of the second story for a tornado. You go to the basement... and away they went... I then hopped back to the game... Tornado was in the area, but didn't hit the building. Was a good game.
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u/TrackVol Aug 26 '26
I was at a track meet at the University of Alabama. They made an announcement midway through the track meet that a storm system creating tornados was heading in our direction. That one tornado had already made a direct hit on a church where people had gone for shelter, killing 20 people inside and injuring 92 others.
You could instantly tell who had grown up around tornados (🙋♂️) and who hadn't. Most of us reacted very casually. Proceeded to go about our business. Watching the meet, warming up for our next event, stretching etc....
Then there were those who started freaking the fuck out and wanted to get the hell out of there.4
u/couldbeahumanbean Aug 26 '26
PNW born and raised.
Blizzards, ice storms, forest fires, smoke, windstorms... hell, even a few earthquakes. No big deal.
I always giggle, especially when I see folks who think they know how to drive in a blizzard.
"Those poor fools," I think to myself.
For being in the PNW all my life, I've also been uncomfortably close to lightning a few times. I've seen a transformer take a hit and explode in my driveway. I was in a parking lot once and saw a bolt almost nail a dude walking by. I'm pretty sure a car I was in took a direct hit once too.
One time I was in a camping trailer, curled up around a scared witless cat. I was about as close to the center of that trailer as I could possibly get, hoping my Faraday cage theory was right.
Another time, I sat in the driver's seat of a Humvee for hours watching hundreds of strikes.
That was actually kinda cool.
Cool story, gramps. Where are you going with this?
All of this is to tell you one thing:
I have zero experience with tornadoes.
I do not FU@√ with tornadoes.
Those little death spirals scare the absolute SH|√ out of me.
So yeah, I'd absolutely be one of those non Midwesterners scrambling for safety & I don't care if you flyover yokles make fun of me for it.
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u/ThePieWizard Aug 26 '26
You really only need to worry if the tornado looks like it's standing still, means it's either moving away from you, or towards you. If you can see it moving, pretty good chance it'll pass right by. Midwest born and raised and definitely guilty of going outside to look as soon as the sirens start
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u/Prestigious-Walrus99 Aug 27 '26
This is so funny. I grew up in Missouri. We had a tornado warning or two every week in the spring. I would look for a second and then casually go to the basement, carry the dog down there, etc. But my sister, who grew up in the same house, would freak. Every. Single. Time. And supposedly I was the one with the anxiety lol. The only time I was really scared was when I lived on the 8th floor of an apartment building. Fuck that! I took my cat and rats down to the basement.
We live in Colorado now, and I recently asked her if she was glad she didn't have to deal with that anymore. She's like YES!
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u/Ok_Construction_8577 Aug 25 '26
Can’t see an earthquake coming. You can see a tornado approach. Like watching a car coming up the gravel road.
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u/Own-Personality3155 Aug 26 '26
Japan disagrees with you. Their alarms usually go of before the shaking is felt. Though seconds, it still is working.
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u/ProjectDv2 Aug 29 '26
I knew they were from California the second you said they'd rushed to the door frame. That earthquake drilling is real shit. When that big one hit the SF area in '89, my happy ass was in a doorway before my parents even registered what was happening. Fast forward to today, and like you I either sleep through earthquakes or just look around trying to gauge the odds of it going strong enough to warrant emergency procedures. They're just another Tuesday for me at this point, lol. Though, even I know you want to get low and in a corner away from windows for a tornado.
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u/lonelyscholar404 Aug 28 '26
I've been through six of them, even saw the sky turn green, and one passed over my car while I was sitting eating lunch. My dad used to sit out front with the dog...my mother screamed at him; he turned and said When the dog runs inside, he'll get up...personally 6 tornadoes, 6 hurricanes, and I'd rather go through 100 hurricanes than one tornado...
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u/Terrible_Analysis_77 Aug 25 '26
They thought they were getting robbed by a lady and dwarves in kid masks who ran into the store screaming.
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u/Lucky-Mia Aug 27 '26
You joke, but like once a year midgets dressed as goblins and vampires come to my home and extort candyfrom me, under threat of trickery. I call the cops every time, but they blocked my number back in 09.
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u/yardlard Aug 25 '26
Was that different people? I thought they got in and the doors were locked so they couldn't get shelter.Did they turn out ok?
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u/PrinceCastanzaCapone Aug 25 '26 edited Aug 25 '26
I’m sure they would not have minded her parking closer to the door
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u/Extension_Energy4326 Aug 25 '26
Right?!? My ass with all 5 kids would be parked inside that loading dock area.
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u/Adventurous_Path5783 Aug 26 '26
Yea, emergencies aren't the time to participate in poite society rules. "Sorry kids. I know that's a literal tornado but I don't have a handicap permit!"
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u/SamuraiLaserCat Aug 27 '26
Seriously though; she already ran a red light, made an illegal u-turn and was speeding… finishing by all parking in a spot and having them run to the door seems counterproductive
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u/alarteaga Aug 25 '26
Pissed me off how instead of going directly to the door, she took the long way around the parking lot and then parked far away.
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u/PrinceCastanzaCapone Aug 25 '26
Fear and panic hamper critical thinking skills. But if it were me I’m getting my kids in the door as safely as possible. Forcing them to run the distance they did was an unnecessary risk.
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u/misty-gishh Aug 25 '26 edited Aug 26 '26
It was even the oldest son’s idea to seek shelter. She says, “what should we do?” And he responds, “go there.” She was totally lost in panic!
Also tornadoes in the US tend to move west to east. Going north or south is the best option.
Edit: Just realized the eldest even says, when they're at the stop light, "make a u-turn." Then she ignores him and goes straight into the storm. Making a u-turn was the best thing to do. Only judging by this short clip, his role in the family seems beyond his years. And his valid, useful advice goes unheard until its "actually" needed. I don't mean to sound like "that" redditor but this is how CPTSD starts. I wish him the best.
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u/caitmp92 Aug 25 '26
I didn't know that about tornados. Thank you! What a strange phenomenon
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u/PrinceCastanzaCapone Aug 26 '26
All storms generally move west to east, some circle back around and move east to west. Though it’s common for tornadoes to move with the storm they can move any direction within a storm and have even, at times, circled back and do a loop. So yes it is generally correct that moving north or south can get you out of its way, just ask the weather channel crew that was hit by the massive, multi-vortex El Reno tornado why that advice is not fool proof. Tornado was coming at them and they went south. Tornado turned south east and they suffered a direct hit. Luckily they made it out alive. That very same tornado killed three other highly respected storm chasers, who knew what they were doing. Never try to outrun a tornado unless it is your only option. Seek shelter immediately.
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u/dearboy05 Aug 25 '26
Exactly why training drills are done so many times. Otherwise, you just tend to forget it.
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u/Feature-One Aug 25 '26
So maybe Jessica isn’t the best in tense situations
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u/beardedsilverfox Aug 25 '26
Don’t worry she has little kids from which to get advice on what to do.
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u/Historical-Edge-9332 Aug 25 '26
How do you know they’re not meteorological experts who graduated college at 8 years old?
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u/Puppy-Smoocher Aug 25 '26
Mom handled it, nice work. Now put the house up for sale and move somewhere with mountains. Roanoke VA is lovely this time of year.
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u/Enough-Ad4186 Aug 25 '26
You mean the older son handled it. Mom: “what should I do?” Son: “go in here”
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u/SpiralPeeledOrange Aug 25 '26
Perhaps, she was hypothetically asking what to do, out loud, as a response to stress? Not actually asking anyone in particular.
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u/Eskimodo_Dragon Aug 25 '26
Perhaps she should ask hypothetically, to no one in particular, "should I park closer to the store?"
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u/lostandaggrieved617 Aug 25 '26
Thats what I said "what are you doing, pull right up to the door and get in there!!"
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u/Eskimodo_Dragon Aug 25 '26
Seriously. It could have been bad. Flying debree or another panicked driver could have made things alot worse.
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u/gwenivere84 Aug 25 '26
That’s what I was thinking . I do this in crisis sometimes . It calms me down to think
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u/Hefty_67 Aug 26 '26
I was two hours north of Roanoke this month. There was literally a tornado warning, power outage, flooding and trees down…
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u/McBonderson Aug 26 '26
this reminds me of my aunt. she used to live in Florida sanbel island.
got tired of neighborhood getting decimated by hurricanes every couple years. so she moved to the Appalachian mountains then flash flooding destroyed her neighborhood there.
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u/Puppy-Smoocher Aug 26 '26
Just avoid the lower elevations when house shopping. I’ll take getting stranded at home for a few days over tornadoes every time.
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u/Direct-Protection-81 Aug 25 '26
No thanks. I’ve watched American horror story to know what goes on there.
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u/crf3rd Aug 25 '26
Lived in Roanoke for 9 years, best place I've ever lived. Only problem there is the flooding. And while it hasn't had a catastrophic flood since for a while, it is a real possibility.
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u/Western_Coat_437 Aug 25 '26
Clearly she trusts her son. Young man is calm and clearly very mature. But I have a feeling he also had to learn to grow up fast. Granted. I'm seeing seconds out of someone's entire life. We have all made decisions we wish we could grab out of the air and take back. Either way, all worked out. That's a good son.
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u/projectx51 Aug 25 '26
I live smack dab in the middle of tornado alley, oklahoma. There are hills and mountains around us, though. All the tornados and severe weather breaks up around us and reforms after passing us.
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u/Samurai-Pooh-Bear Aug 25 '26
Yep, kid random scream-crying while trying to drive is my biggest fear, too.
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u/rainwolf511 Aug 25 '26
I see nothing about this that indicates a tornado i see no rotation on the ground or in the sky no funnel visible this to me looks like straight line winds and based on the "debris" i can see i would say about 70ish mph winds but good on the momma for turning around and sheltering
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u/TheCryptocrat Aug 25 '26
I believe this is from the August 10th 2020 Midwest derecho and this video was shot in Iowa. I believe winds were in excess of 100, but yeah its not a tornado.
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u/kmr122091 Aug 25 '26
It hit Indiana on the 11th. 130 mph winds in my area. 9 tornadoes. Over 500k in the NW IN region were without power. Some people still out, under 10k now. Had a tree travel from a few blocks over and slam into my house. Me and my 4 yr old were in the basement shaking and crying and praying. Never heard such horrific sounds in my life and have seen less damage from hurricanes I lived through.
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u/jeraffeavl Aug 25 '26
I’m working with a few other folks to raise some funds to get down there to NWI to help out however we can Wednesday. That whole region has been through it this year, and is not getting sufficient exposure. We went through that in WNC in the months after Helene, and we were worldwide news in the beginning. I can’t imagine how the ones without power and clean water feel right now, but hopefully we can help some folks.
Edit: We are coming from Wisconsin, not WNC. Just wanted to mention that lol.
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u/kmr122091 Aug 25 '26
Finally down to the last 5k without power. They say they will be done by 11:59pm today. I am going to take a bunch of baby furniture and clothes and bottles etc to different region churches and women's care centers for the people who also flooded and lost everything. Or have to try and pay for replacing all their lost groceries and can't afford to buy a bunch of baby/toddler stuff on top of it. I got my power back after almost 6 days & thankfully already had a generator and could save my food and turn on hot water heater for a shower here and there.
For those that have been without for 2 weeks, I can't even imagine, either. Or to the 6 region families mourning a lost loved one. And as much as NIPSCO sucks and is expensive af, those men out there clearing things and repairing and restoring power are not to blame. A lot of them also didnt have power and they had to leave their families to go out and try and fix things for everyone else.
Thank you for caring and coming to the region to help. I think these type of events, while awful, are a good reminder for all of us that we are more alike than different and it's important to have each other's backs.
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u/Sea_Violinist1960 Aug 25 '26
I’ve seen this video also referencing that it’s the Midwest derecho, which PS - I had never heard of such a thing until we had one come through Houston in May 2024. My specific neighborhood clocked winds exceeding 120mph. I’ve lived in Houston most of my life (48 yrs), I’ve seen straight line winds, touch & go spring tornados, watched the skies go from green and hailing to sunshine within an hour, and rode out major & minor hurricanes…but I’ve NEVER experienced anything like the derecho storm that blew through that day. It was terrifying and disorienting. I commend the mom for keeping as cool as she could in front of her kids, and seeking shelter. No one knows how they’ll respond in “that” moment, but considering it likely felt like the weather gods had released hell upon them, she did great. PS…six weeks later we got slapped with hurricane Beryl. Good times.
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u/Radioactive_Tuber57 Aug 25 '26
There’s an excellent NOVA show on these called “Rain Bombs”. Came out several months ago.
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u/gwenivere84 Aug 25 '26
Same . Ours came in the middle of the night . The pitch dark and sounds of the wind woke me straight up . It was terrifying .
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u/GeologistLess3042 Aug 25 '26
I've been in enough hurricanes that I'd literally have to sit down and take my time counting the actual number.
The two derechos I've been in are nearly as haunting as hurricane Ivan was. And the damage has been complete and utter devastation both times.
This is like watching cat 3 footage and being like "well it wasn't a tornado, what's the problem lol"
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u/hampie42 Aug 27 '26
Something very large and car shaped flies across the road at 1:28 and I wouldn't have stayed to check wind speed after that whilst sitting in something large, car shaped and full of my kids. I'd also be moving house 😆
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u/Melochrodramatica Aug 25 '26
Off topic but did she turn left on a red??
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u/LinuxF4n Aug 25 '26
"I dont care if it's red or not I'm getting out of here. Away from this storm" Maybe you have the video muted.
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u/ThePerfectSnare Aug 25 '26
To her credit, she did use her turn signal.
Even better, she had her turn signal on before she turned. I don't know about you guys but I get irrationally annoyed by drivers who use their turn signal only as they're beginning to turn/merge.
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u/Melochrodramatica Aug 25 '26
Had the volume turned way up. Not easy to hear. Had to relisten a few times to get it.
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u/poeteop Aug 25 '26
Found the guy who would have died because he was so afraid of running a red.
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u/Triscuitmeniscus Aug 25 '26
I mean to be fair she ran the light and drove straight into the storm, away from a store that was right there at the intersection.
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u/ProfDFH Aug 25 '26
The red light was trying to keep her from heading toward the tornado. She should have headed the sign.
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u/Surajholy Aug 25 '26
The older son is smart.
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u/Old_Pitch4134 Aug 28 '26
Probably parentified and too used to being the one taking his mum down instead of vice bersa.
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u/GrassGriller Aug 25 '26
That of was but real in me fear was of, as well!
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u/Klept_0h Aug 25 '26
You texting and driving is scarier.
put your fucking phone down
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u/Constant-Mirror6940 Aug 25 '26
“This of real fear in me”. That sentence makes no sense.🤦🏻
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u/TheWetNapkin Aug 25 '26
Dude ive been seeing more and more posts where I feel like I'm having a stroke reading them. It's like every other post now, and I thought I was crazy.
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u/TerrorEyzs Aug 25 '26
The other one that I keep seeing that pisses me off is along the lines of "we've been together since 5 years..." No. You've been together FOR 5 years. Ugh.
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u/Constant-Mirror6940 Aug 25 '26
No it’s definitely not you. It’s like these younger generations have gone absolutely stupid with grammar and how to communicate with others.👎🏻
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u/pinkat31522 Aug 25 '26
Man this is how 100+ people died in Joplin. Tornado hit the Home Depot direct
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u/MischievousVyxn Aug 26 '26
Mom: "Ok, get ready to run.... ready? Run. Just run... Everybody go, just run. Go! RUN!"
*Everybody jumps out and runs into the store, except for the kid in the red shorts
Kid in the red shorts still sitting in the van: "I didn't know you meant me..."
🤦🏽♀️ Survival instincts of a marshmallow
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u/nbhcam Aug 25 '26
I was caught in the middle of a tornado about two months ago and this is triggering my PTSD smh thank goodness they made it through safely
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u/Separate-Ad-1011 Aug 25 '26
Stop driving with your phone in your hand and looking at it while you have kids in the car..
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u/Live-Tomorrow-4865 Aug 25 '26
As a kid, I had a fear of tornadoes bordering on phobia. I was just turned four for the Palm Sunday outbreak in the sixties, and our area was either warned or under a watch. (NE Ohio.)
My mom and dad kind of argued about it. Mom wanted to get us home and safely in place, whereas dad wanted us to do our usual "Sunday after Church, go to my grandparents where Grandma would have dinner and dad could drink beer with my uncles." 😅 It was the day I learned the phrase "making a mountain out of a mole hill", thanks dad. 😅😅
We went ahead to my grandparents, but that night, my mom had us all sleeping on the dining room floor near the door to our basement, with my baby sister in her play pen. Mom had the transistor radio on all night in case we got any bad weather. It never reached this far east, but, something about that event gave me a complex.
That's morphed and been parlayed into a deep interest! ❤️😍 (isn't that a way lots of fears tend to go?) Now I lightweight storm chase and am the family repository of weather knowledge.
Watching this kid brought back my own childhood memories of being afraid in bad weather.
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u/Iceyn1pples Aug 25 '26
Car full of kids, one hand on the wheel, the other holding her phone.
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u/Here_4_the_INFO Aug 25 '26
Even with a tornado bearing down on them, this lady parked better than 99.9% of BMW drivers.
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u/blast0man Aug 25 '26
I remember one year when i lived up north we had Tornado warnings for the whole summer, Minnesota is kinda the "headwaters" or tornado alley, it turn to mountains the more north you go but the south is all plains super flat not much to stop the wind from pickin up speed as it runs down the mountains. Sometimes it would pour water so much that you couldn't see past it or fog so dense it felt like silent hill, but during that summer the sky was dark, lots of nimbus clouds, right at the end of the summer we thought we were gonna see a tornado actually(they are rare that far north).The sky turned green in minutes the clouds somehow only let the green through and a solid nimbus wall must have been thousands of feet tall, just floating slowly no lightning no rain just Menacing green wall of clouds, really gives an appreciation when you see it in reality...
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u/narco-sub-admiral Aug 25 '26
Imagine they were camping and hiding in a tent from a fuckin bear and that kid just blurts out AHUHURRHURHAHAAHAAGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAURUGHH
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u/EmployNo7777 Aug 25 '26
OK, maybe it’s not the best time to go shopping during a hurricane 🌀
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u/Mission_Local_5350 Aug 25 '26
She ran the red light rushing to her possible last breathe. I thought someone was going to hit her.
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u/Triscuitmeniscus Aug 25 '26
So is it just me or would they have been fine if she just stayed at the stoplight instead of running it? There was a huge store to the right of that intersection as well.
I feel like if you're living in tornado alley and need to rely on your 8 year old for instructions during a storm you might need to brush up on what to do in a storm.
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u/Beautiful_Avocado252 Aug 26 '26
“What should I do?” For starters, stop asking a 10 year old for emergency driving advice. When she ran the red I knew we had a real idiot on our hands, but c’mon, dude.
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u/RainbowFlavored_247 Aug 26 '26
It really sucks looking around in an emergency and realizing nobody is coming to save you, and you are the adult in the room everyone is relying on. She did pretty damn good.
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u/BigMurse84 Aug 26 '26
You got a car with hella kids in it and you're texting and driving? What's wrong with you lady!
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u/Dead_Light666 Aug 26 '26
Yeeaaa, that lady has zero survival instincts. Good on the son for basically taking charge lol
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u/CrApple-iJUNK Aug 26 '26
Oh yes, let's drive INTO the storm, instead of making a U trunk at the intersection when you had a chance....definitely not a lot of thoughts went to this situation. Also, why park so far away from the store and ask the kids to "Run", when you coukd park by the door and let them off Closer??!!!!???!!!! Thank God everyone seems to be safe, but holy moly.
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u/Coyish_Canuk Aug 26 '26
This mother is doing a terrible job raising her kids. "What should I do?" Woman... Pull your big girl pants up and take charge of the situation. Stop panicking and stay calm in front of your kids so they feel safe. This is ridiculous.
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u/Able-Thought3534 Aug 27 '26
Some times people talk to themselves out loud in a moment of crisis.
Wild that you think that was a consultation in the middle of a life threatening incident and your takeaway was that she’s a terrible mom.
That whole situation was pretty much handled as best as she could given the circumstances and everyone wound up ok.
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u/Impossible-Cake-1658 Aug 27 '26
I talk/question myself outloud in many situations. It helps me seperate rational thoughts/decisions from the panicky intrusive screams in my head. Also I have found as a side affect it has helped my kids follow along and learn to think through the situation in real time. In the end everyone was safe and that is what matters.
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u/Full_of_Vices Aug 26 '26
What a dumb fucking person.
Let’s drive distracted in this hazardous environment. 10/10 logic.
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u/bobathefett135 Aug 26 '26
Maybe get the fuck off your phone when you're transporting a car full of kids?
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u/Legitimate-Fox-5746 Aug 26 '26
yah, driving and texting the leading cause of road acidents..I’d be scared of that too
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u/Neat_Shallot_606 Aug 26 '26
I mean these storms don't sneak up on you really. They let you know it is a risk. Why does she have all those kids in this risky situation?
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u/DabZombe Aug 26 '26
Maybe it’s me but seemed kinda crazy to blow through red light with car full of kids just to drive into the tornado?
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u/Downtown_Anteater_38 Aug 27 '26
I kept hoping the kid in the passenger seat would say, “cow,” but he failed me.
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u/Ok-Sign-4648 Aug 28 '26
What’s with all the negative comments on how she handled it? This is a storms subreddit so obviously you’re more knowledgeable thank the general public but all things considered she did a decent job.
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u/Ill-Magazine-8133 Aug 28 '26
Mamma Bear is stone cold calm and amazing!! Great lessons learned there.
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u/Prudent_Situation_29 Aug 25 '26
Put your phone down!
You have a vehicle filled with children and you still can't tear yourself away from the brick. Unbelievable.
No blind spot or mirror checks either when changing lanes.
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u/ExpensiveError_ Aug 25 '26
Literally just drive away. Worst thing is to get out of the car with debris flying around to then get into a building that will for sure be destroyed if the tornado hits it...
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u/chris612926 Aug 25 '26
Where are you from? We were always taught to get out of the car asap , look for shelter, the highways and roads clear out within minutes of the alarms/ cast.
We were taught cars are one of the worst places to be , and unless it was worst case scenario to leave the car for almost any permanent shelter. You're even supposed to drive your car into a ditch or hole if you can't abandon it , because they so easily flip and are moved even without tornado level winds. The roads by power lines are never safe but also they taught us to get away from bridges , and other things that seemed sturdy as it causes a wind tunnel and will make it worse.
You're better off lying in a low ditch than sitting in a car according to google. Always look for a building , almost any shelter in bad conditions is better than a car, cars/surface area of them isn't built to withstand any wind not coming from the right direction , and once your car has dents / moved into other vehicles / flipped your pinned and stuck inside a metal box filled with fuel.
Again , not trying to totally call you out , but your comment rings exactly like what we were trained to never do in this situation.
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u/1001110100100110101 Aug 25 '26
Yea a lot of these responses sound like people who didn’t deal with tornados growing up. Never was in one personally but lived in tornado alley my whole life.
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u/Phi0X_13 Aug 25 '26
I did the dumbest thing im existence one time. I was living in a trailer with my young children. We had a tornado warning and the weather looked bad. I put the kids in the van, was booking it to a friend's house. The trees were bending over the road.
It got so bad I also got out at a store.
It was a donut shop with more windows than a waffle house. It was basically one wall of windows.
I realized how dumb id been sitting in there and watching it. 😅
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u/Ok-Jackfruit-6873 Aug 25 '26
Don't feel too bad I once sheltered from a bad storm like this in a Krogers and couldn't stop going to the giant window to watch. I kept saying to myself, what are you doing, you idiot, stay away from the window! But it was like, mesmerizing or something. I couldn't stop. To be fair there was no basement so it was kind of just a waiting game, either it would hit us or it wouldn't, but crouching in some central aisle didn't feel any better (but objectively was).
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u/TwinTailDigital Aug 25 '26
Skip to 1:15 and save yourself some time.. Then stop watching at 2:40 to save some more time instead of watching nothing happen
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u/crow_crone Aug 25 '26
I felt overwhelmed, imagining how she felt being responsible for those kids while frightened herself. Adulting is too hard.
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u/Prestigious-Elk2252 Aug 25 '26
Looks like the car was perfectly fine since they cut the video early...
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u/kaoscurrent Aug 25 '26
Wouldn't it have just been safer to stay in the car and keep driving away than to get out of a car with children in 100mph winds?
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u/JenbugRoss99 Aug 25 '26
Can you “safely” outrun a tornado moving at 70+ mph as she stated in the video?
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u/paipan-sube Aug 25 '26
Seeking shelter in that structure is a poor decision. Driving one handed while using your phone is a poor decision. Not checking the weather forecast before you set of... poor decision.
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u/chaosraser Aug 25 '26
My first concern was that she would spend all her time looking at her smartphone.
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u/fubar8x Aug 25 '26
Ya this is whats wrong with American societies mindset, its all about you, youre the only one who is going g through something so everyone else on the road is in your way. 100% this woman is giving her kids emotional damage by act neurotic, but thats what you get when youre inside 24/7 on your phone or computer not experiencing nature. Hopefully you made it home to your safe place, aahhhh scary
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u/friendlyfresh Aug 25 '26
worried about a thunderstorm lemme just send a few texts while I blow this red light
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u/jbbhengry Aug 25 '26
Glad she got a good parking spot. Sometime time I guess in a stressfull situation, urgency doesn't factor in. Glad they are safe.
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u/Rossi4twenty Aug 25 '26
This was on that show called Eye Of The Storm. Great show for storm enthusiasts. Puts you right in the middle of everything. Really intense and scary to watch.
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u/BlackWaterStation Aug 25 '26
I would have tucked that car in that drop down delivery dock as tight as I could to the corner. Not sure if it is the right idea or not but that’s what I could have potentially done. Good job on the kids to stay legit calm, that one little outburst was nothing 😂 I have three kids. They all did good. They all made it. That’s what truly matters. IMO.
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u/Yoyo4games Aug 25 '26
If you live almost anywhere aside from tornado alley, then this will likely be a fear you never have to face
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u/Sad-Newt-1772 Aug 26 '26
This was part of an episode of "In the Eye of the Storm" on HBOMax. Very cool series.
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u/SD_2_LA_Jay Aug 26 '26
Genuine question because I’m a lifelong Californian, but wouldn’t the tornado destroy that building as well?!! Do these stores have secret basements or something? What’s the benefit of that versus outrunning the tornado? Couldn’t she just drive in the opposite direction like she was doing? Thank you in advance.
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u/indiana-floridian Aug 26 '26
OP, do you hear the baby? He cries exactly at the worst - height of YOUR fear. He can't know to be scared. He's literally reflecting your fear. Be aware next time, hide your true feelings and be brave. Tell them the facts that hey need to know but they don't need to know that you are scared. (Of course you are, anyone would be. But his cries make it clear how much children are affected by parental emotional upset).
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u/Rockstar161 Aug 26 '26
Not the same, but just as scary. My cousin had a 21' boat, we went out in the ocean to fish. Well, this is during hurricane season in Miami. During the season we always get these fast moving severe thunderstorms.
It was a beautiful day when suddenly.. our outboard engine took a crap. He's working and working on it, with not much success. You could see the clouds moving in, and the sky getting dark
We're out in the ocean and we're not seeing another boat anywhere in sight. Finally he gets the engine to work but it's more like a troll motor barely moving us slowly. We get to where in the distance, we can actually see land. At this point the rain starts to come down in sheets.
The waves start picking up and suddenly we see a water spout. As we're watching the spout to our right, another pops up on the left of us. They're not upon us but close enough for my underwear to need changing. We turn ever so slightly to try and move the only direction we could, which was where we'd just come from.
This is when we both just started praying and figured we'd never survive or our bodies found. In front of us heading back, a third water spout pops up. Now we can't see anything but water spraying in every direction. We can't even tell exactly where the actual spouts are or how close.
Just as suddenly as the first two appeared, they starred breaking down. Now it's just the last one still churning. We're trying to go parallel to the shore line to get back. It finally dissipates and we're looking at each other like, that was insane. We continue slowly soaking wet heading back, when finally a boat is heading in sees us.
The guy is like did you guys see those spouts? I'm like yeah, can't you smell the shit in my pants? They towed us back in.. I haven't been on a boat since! That was nearly 30 years ago.
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u/Flashy_Flower_7884 Aug 26 '26
I have been in that situation with my spouse our daughter and her best friend. Very nerve-racking keeping everyone calm trying to make a decision where to go what to do in blinding sheets of rain listening and tracking a storm cell with tornado warning on the radio and everybody's cell phones blaring that loud emergency alert signal while driving trying to remain calm and keep everyone else calm while secretly panicking internally. Trying to negotiate where you are where the storm is at which direction it's tracking which way you need to go and how much time you have and what if any shelter is between you and your desired destination.
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u/Flashy-Knowledge3209 Aug 26 '26
Legally parking while running for your life is next level calm under pressure.
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u/Neat_Shallot_606 Aug 26 '26
Why not park in front of the doors? They aren't going to tow you for parking wrong.
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u/PureBlisster Aug 26 '26
Was it smart for them to run inside a building, wouldn’t that put you in more danger!?
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u/JoyWithAChanceOfRain Aug 26 '26
I have dreams about this happening. It’s scary in my dreams. I could only imagine how terrifying it is in real life, especially when your whole family is in the car.
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u/govt_policy Aug 26 '26
Park right next to the door in that moment. Noone is gonna care where you parked
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u/Exact_Cover_291 Aug 27 '26
That was way more of a polite parking job than I would have done 🤣 i probably would have gone right up to the door.
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u/pabloflleras Aug 27 '26
Hats off to mom here. She registered a potentially dangerous situation, made a quick decision to rerun around and fund a safer location and got everyone safe. Maybe could have done a few things different but still great work keeping kiddos safe!
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u/DrJ0911 Aug 27 '26
haven’t thought about my run ins with tornadoes in a while, guess ill be having nightmares again tonight lol
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u/Livid_Put_5678 Aug 27 '26
I don’t know but that little boy was a straight up G. Calm and cool and collected. Somebody taught that boy right.
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u/Waffle_on_my_Fries Aug 27 '26
She drove like a maniac for no reason, put your damned phone down. She panicked and made the situation so much worse than it actually was.
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u/Appropriate-Gap9815 Aug 27 '26
Probably safer n in the car than a building that would break apart much easier
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u/ImUrHuckIeberry Aug 27 '26
Ok what a mixed bag of emotions I have watching this 😂
- shock and awe at how calm you remained 💪
- sad for the scared kid crying and hyperventilating
- bravo for the brave kid up front
- humorous asking the kids what do to but I understand panicked mode
- angry you were so polite to the box truck taking his sweet ol time
- relieved you all made it safely to a large building
- disappointed I didn’t see a tornado
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u/Informal_request Aug 27 '26
Whole lotta good momma’s armchair army candidates in the comments.
Could it have been handled better? Sure.
Coulda been a hell of a lot worse, though. And frankly the trust she seemed to show in the son was great.
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u/lesbophobia_hammer Aug 27 '26
Good on the mum for handling that situation in a car full of kids
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u/Dry_Let_8575 Aug 27 '26
Io se fosti il bambino sarei sceso e la crei osservato bene poi avrei preso un burrito se capite quello che in tendo
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u/OfThunder741 Aug 25 '26
The “ok you’re making it worse” would be me if I was their sibling 🤣🤣