Everyone has heard the tornado sirens go off in Dixie and Tornado Alley but nothing happens. This is the case most of the time and people get dull to the sirens not taking shelter when a tornado warning is issued. What about when no tornado sirens are heard and no tornado warning is issued? Today that is what this blog post is about tornadoes that hit without a warning.
We will start with the Plainfield Illinois F-5 tornado of August 28, 1990. The F-5 tracked across Plainfield Illinois between 3:15 and 3:45 P.M. and no tornado sirens or tornado warnings were issued until 13 minutes after the tornado was already in Plainfield Illinois (Shanker, 2015). The people of Plainfield Illinois were caught off guard as the terrible twister rolled through their city. As the storm rolled through the city the tornado was rain-wrapped. This means it could not be seen by anyone within the city nor were there any photographs of the tornado because of the rain shield (NWS, n.d.).
Why did the National Weather Service radar not pick up the Plainfield Illinois F-5 tornado? According to the National Climatic Data Center, the tornado was masked on radar by downburst winds (H&H, 1990). Could this happen again? The answer is yes and already has but not on the scale of this destruction. The Lavaca Arkansas tornado of August 1996 hit with no tornado warning and the tornado watch had expired minutes earlier. After the tornado had exited Lavaca Arkansas the tornado sirens sounded and a tornado warning was issued. Feb. 1997 in Booneville Arkansas a tornado hit killing one person at a trailer home but no tornado warning was in effect at the time of impact.
Now is the time to buy the House-to-House home tornado forecast system that alerts you to the potential of a tornado before it occurs. This product has forecast tornadoes to the street even when the National Weather Service could not predict the accurately. El Reno Oklahoma May 31, 2013, the product predicted that tornado to the street before the NWS even had a notion it might occur. On May 20, 2013, the product predicted a tornado near Cameron Oklahoma a few days before the event. On May 3, 2021, the product predicted a tornado to the street in Fort Smith Arkansas, and Van Buren Arkansas. Many more storms were predicted accurately and even defeated an OU meteorology student's forecast. Buy Operation House-To-House Tornado Forecasts today in 3-D House To House Tornado Forecast - Payhip! Don't be the next victim to be killed by a tornado!
References:
NWS. (n.d.). 30 Years Later: The August 28, 1990 F-5 Plainfield Tornado.
30 Years Later: The August 28, 1990 F-5 Plainfield Tornado (weather.gov)
H&H. (AUGUST 28, 1990). Plainfield, IL F5 Tornado of August 28, 1990.
Plainfield, IL F5 Tornado of August 28, 1990 — Highways & Hailstones (highwaysandhailstones.com)
Shanker, V. (August 27, 2015). Plainfield 1990 tornado was unique in its formation, destruction, rebuilding.
Plainfield 1990 tornado was unique in its formation, destruction, rebuilding – Shaw Local