TEXAS TORNADO ALLEY !

Y'all it's Tornado Season in Texas! Yesterday, from 12:30 pm to 5:30 pm tornadoes raged_much worst than the "Thor-ing No Mercy" Blog post on the eve of Spring last month. We had 10-15 tornadoes touched down during a massive storm that brought chaos from high winds, rain and hail to the nation's fourth most populous metropolitan area Dallas/Ft.Worth. For the record books, in 1994_25 tornadoes_one an (F4) left Lancaster(Dallas area) in shambles_they got hit again yesterday! December 29,2006_22 tornadoes with an (F2) in Rio Vista(about 8-10 miles from where I live).Yesterday,one touched down less than 6 miles from where I live! Although,a born and raised Texan_I lived in New Hampshire for awhile. OKAY,I'm ready to move back_snow does NOT act out like Tornadoes!

Here's some items severe-weather experts advise for your Tornado-Emergency Checklist :
1.Know where to go, what to bring, and who to tell
2.Before a storm, make sure you have a place to seek shelter, either in your home or -- especially if you live in a mobile home -- a strong shelter nearby you can move to if a tornado warning is issued.
3.Each person should have a "go kit" ready to grab on the way to shelter. The go kit should include a first-aid kit, flashlight and batteries, identification, matches, copies of important financial documents, an extra set of clothes, and other items.
4.Have a relative outside your community serve as an emergency contact so if family members are caught by the storm in different locations, they can call their status in to that relative. Emergency managers say it's often easier to get a call out to a distant community in a disaster than it is to call someone within the same community.

Texas lies on the southern end of Tornado Alley. Texas' location between the Gulf of Mexico on the southeast and the Rocky Mountains on its western periphery make it a prime area for the formation of tornadoes. An average of 153 tornadoes touch down in Texas each year. Tornadoes may occur in any month, but occur most often during April, May and June between the hours of 4:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. During the period 1959-2000, 6,417 tornadoes were reported in Texas, with 63% occurring from April-June and 33% occurring in May. From 1950-2007, Texas encountered 84 tornadoes with a strength of F4 or higher (winds > 207 mph). Texas ranks 11th among the 50 states in density of tornadoes with an average of 5.7 tornadoes per 10,000 square miles, per year. The U.S. record for the fastest tornado winds occurred at Wichita Falls in northwest Texas on April, 2, 1958 with a wind speed of 258 mph. The current record for number of U.S. tornadoes in one year is 2004 with 1,817 tornadoes. The average number per year for the last 10 years is 1,270. During 2008, 1,690 tornadoes were confirmed in the U.S, with 595 reported during May 2008.

The creme de la cream were images coming out of Dallas at the "Flying J Truck Plaza" of 18 wheelers flying through the air:
http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/tornadoes-dallas-twisters-touch-down-national-weather-issues-200159831.html
...wow!that company might just want to change it's name NOW as these trucks were literally flying!

650 homes damaged,6.3 million area residents scramble for safety,110 planes at DFW Airport damaged by hail,400 flights canceled,40 flights diverted,8,000 without power_Insurers claim they have already lost as much as $2 billion during 2012 that was NOT even Tornado related as compared to the price tag of $26 billion during Tornado Season 2011! BUT_isn't that why we pay INSURANCE in the first place........

Thank God there are no recorded deaths to date! I was in fact well prepared_always have my "KIT" on standby during this time of the year! I'll have to add another element to my "KIT" around the middle of May...."MY IMAGINARY ANKLE BRACELET" that beeps as I open the door to go outside when it's 112 degrees in the shade!You just gotta love Texas.....HELP!

                  ~TEXAS IS A STATE OF MIND~