NOVA : Hunt for the Supertwister | PBS

MMM Interesting

Interesting.

Tornadoes are truly frightening, but I don't get how we can stop them. An interesting attempt indeed.

Terrifying!

Too long to watch, sorry.

Never wanting to be that close to a twister I won't be looking for the 'biggest and baddest' any time soon.

I was at Fort Sill when the F5 hit nearby in 1999. Things where flying everywhere including bleachers and that was just the edge of the storm.

Cool. I would love to be there with them. I find tornadoes interesting, and all other weather for that matter, is fascinating.

Awesome presentation! Extremely interesting. Thanks for sharing it.

I'm not sure if this is the same one i saw on PBS or not, but the one that aired last week in my hometown taught me how to glance at a Doppler radar screen and know if my neighborhood is at risk of tornadoes or not... That's handy information to have right there.

Balls in your court cable news media stations...

Fascinating video. I live right in the middle of Tornado Ally. While I have never actually seen one I have seen the aftermath of several and it is something you don't ever want to have happen to you. A small town I lived in at one point had a super tornado go through. We were fortunate to be outside the path so lost nothing. I went down to help and could not recognize that part of town anymore. For the most part, it was gone.

My son worked in a fast food store at the time right in the path of that tornado. They were warned in time and was able to get out of the way. He watched it go through town from a safe place south and east of town. He had trouble getting back into town then but finally made it home. We were so relieved as we had no power and only had the radio in my pickup to keep track of what had happened. Every spring we are on constant alert to what is happening. This last spring that saved many lives in the city I live in now. Outstanding coverage of the storm told many to seek shelter and it saved lives. What these men and women do is working and it is working well.

There is nothing the human animal will ever be able to do to stop this from happening but because of the technology they have now, and will have, far fewer people need die or be injured.

Have you ever considered building a home that you would have to worry a whole lot less about being in a tornado?

http://www.monolithic.com/top...

http://www.monolithic.com/top...

Great idea. Surprisingly I don't see many of these out here. I doubt I will ever have a house built again but if I did I would consider something like this.

There are a lot of them throughout the mid-west. The company is located in Italy, TX South of Dallas of Interstate 35E. Their plant and offices can be seen from the highway. Also there is a "dome" model of the StarShip Enterprise at the DaleEvansDr offramp. Looks funny but is cool. Do a Google maps in Satellite mode and zoom in on the town.

I've been to two of their training programs and am looking to have one built to replace the 80 year old barn. A barn built of one of these will last over 300 years and will be termite proof as well. To rebuild the barn as it is would be about $400K and last about 50 years. The Dome would be about $345K and last more than 6 times as long if not longer. Using coated rebar maybe as long as 450-500 years. So well worth the investment. I already have plans to replace the main house because it is getting just to expensive to cool and heat. I have all wind, solar and hydro power and will need to expand the system next year if I enlarge the house like planned. So going to do the big one tear down the old house and build the dome.

Besides being wind storm resistant, they really do very well in forest and plains fires. Since I am about 50 miles from the current fires here in AZ I am really quite concerned about that as well. PLUS the are very much earthquake resistant.

Wow...sounds like a great plan. I would think that not only will it add longevity to your buildings but will also add great value to them as well. I live in Kansas but have not seen anything like this that I recognized as being what you say they are. Doesn't mean they don't exist....just never noticed one. I suspect there are several companies that are attempting to do this. I seem to remember an article one time that talked about someone along the southeast coast that did something like this following a hurricane that wiped them out. I would think this would be perfect for that. Even more so that a tornado perhaps.

I wish you well in getting this all done. Now if you could just figure out a way to stick around long enough to see it they really do last that long it would be perfect. :-))

That is why I am doing it. I want this to be the family homestead. All the kids and grandkids want this done since it will be their inhertence. Yes alhough unconventional in design, they will last an extrodinary time.

As far as I know the copy rights and patients are all held exclusively by Monolithic Domes, Inc. and as far as i know there are no other thinshell concrete dome companies out there.

Actually the "Dome of a Home" is the result of just that occuring to the couple. They had bought their home in Pensulcola and a huricane wiped them out. They built this in place of their old home. Here read the story. It has already withstood another huricane since this story was published.

ps: I'm working on the last point.



http://www.monolithic.com/sto...

Great article! I am not sure this is the same one I was talking about but very simular. It was awhile back and not nearly as extensive as this article. It could have been the same one however as that one was on an island also even though I thought it was further north in the Carolina's.

So good that you are able to do this and your children and their children will truly have a home that is unique and very safe for many years to come.
Good luck to you in getting it all done. Sounds like a lot of fun and very well worth it.

Thanks. It is going to be a multi phase project. Barn, live stock shelters then the new house.

One day we'll be able to spin Gold out of straw. Now there's a idea.

The problem with that is, the very next day gold prices would plummet to that of straw.

"Go figure!"

Not if we kept it a secret between you and me.

i think tornadoes are interesting. i will like to see one but not be too close to it lol

how about this:

Earlier this year we had a hail storm in Kailua and a tornado in Lanikai. Very unusual. I have seen hail before in Hawaii but they were just small pieces of ice, this hail storm were more like size of ice cubes and covered our back yard. But global climate change is not happening. Just acts of God to punish us for tolerating gays. lol

In the 1950's a portion of the U.S. was named "Tornado Ally" for the regions high reoccurring tornado activity in that region. Mississippi, Alabama, and Arkansas—lie outside most definitions of the Alley but more recent study has found that the death rate has bee very high in these states. This region has been dubbed "Dixie Ally.



Tornado Ally:





Storm chasing zone:

i don't see alot twisters here

Glad we don't get too many twisters in NY.

Looks like a huge dick.

Yep.