Tornados: Why Do You Want Them?

[toastido]

Amen to that.  I admire and respect the professionals who risk their lives to study these monsters, but I personally derive no joy from the coming weather season.

I'm rather funny with it comes to severe wx season.  I love to track and forecast systems, and experience severe weather, HOWEVER, I'm terrified of tornadoes, unless I know I'm in a place where I'm safe (which is difficult in this neck of the woods).  The video I took of the tornado on 1/21/10 from underneath it was simply because I realized it was not going to affect me directly.  I'm not sure what event in particular drives the fear of them, but it's the same thing that drives the curiosity about them, as I became obsessed with learning how they form, what conditions are needed, etc.  I am less afraid than I used to be of them, simply because I know more about them, what they can do, etc.  In fact, I may even be out on a couple of local chases this season, which seems oxymoronic, but it would definitely help my personal studies of the weather phenomenon, and any data I collect would (hopefully) help the research that is ongoing as well.

Since I am in a similar boat regarding not liking them, I completely understand ENBP's point of view, and in fact, in the past, I have made a few posts regarding the insensitivity of people's excitement when it appears they are wanting them to occur.  I  personally never want them to occur, but since they do, the best thing I can do is empower myself with knowledge, and continue to learn, and possibly help in determining when/why/how so that the warnings can continue to be improved.

Just my 

"Knowledge is the antidote to fear." -Ralph Waldo Emerson
 

[Mathman]

Well said.  Although I don't enjoy severe weather season, I certainly don't ignore it.  I have no skills that enable me to contribute positively to research, but I follow events closely and try to keep myself informed and those blissfully ignorant souls around me alerted.

[JayCee]

I’ve always enjoyed the typical summer thunderstorm.  The towering cumulonimbus is a wonder of creation, and beautiful to behold.  The thunderstorm brings most of our rains during the summer months.  I also enjoy hearing the rumble of thunder, watching lightning streak across the sky, and feeling the cool blast of wind on a hot summer day.  However, typical summer thunderstorms can also kill if we don’t respect the power of the storm.  The truth of the matter is: humans are fragile creatures, and the world is not a safe place.

Having said all that, I would prefer that tornados did not exist at all in our world—or any other element of destruction—including hurricanes, volcanoes, and earthquakes.  Nevertheless, they are a part of our existence, and our natural God-given curiosity drives us to understand the universe around us.  Many who “enjoy” experiencing the extreme side of nature are simply acting on their inquisitiveness and desire to know how things work.  However, anyone who says they enjoy the destruction of nature gone wild might need to experience the horror once in their lifetime, and it would alter their view.  (And they should also probably see a psychiatrist.)

[bonzomemphis]

But let's extrapolate from your example for a moment.  Snow- and ice-covered roads kill motorists every year; should we stop wishing for snow, as well?  Before you start bandying about terms such as "immoral," perhaps consider that we don't just like tornadoes because we enjoy seeing people's lives uprooted and ruined.

I understand the premise of what you're saying...but in fairness, it's much easier to avoid an ice-covered road than it is to avoid a tornado.

If you elect to drive on hazardous roads during the winter, you do so knowing that you'll have to deal with the consequences if the roads are too treacherous.

If an EF5 tornado is bearing down on your home and family, there's not a thing you can to do stop it but pray.

Honestly, I am probably more in awe of tornadoes than any other phenomenon on this earth. They amaze me. I'm fascinated by them. But to the original poster's point, your desire for them to not occur should outweigh the desire of the weather enthusiast in all of us to see them happen. I just pray that major tornadoes occur in remote areas that are not inhabited. That way, those of us who enjoy chasing can observe them and do so at our own risk.

It's no fun when a tornado rips through a heavily populated area like the one that hit Cordova near G'Town Parkway and I-40 last year. No matter how much we like to study them, that one was downright scary and thank God that it wasn't more severe and serious than it was. It caused major damage, but had it been stronger or more long-lived, we'd have been looking at catastrophic loss of life.

[ST1]

I don't WANT for a tornado to occur...but if it does, I want to witness it...from a weather and a historical viewpoint because the last confirmed tornado in this county struck in 1977.