Can someone from the Midwest answer this question for me? **Tornado Related**

[stoneyjax]

From CNN

Updated at 5:41 p.m. ET: Lance West, a reporter for CNN affiliate KFOR, says there are people pulling students from a classroom at an elementary school heavily damaged by the tornado that hit Moore, Oklahoma. There are no immediate reports on the condition of the children.

If tornadoes touched down in OK and other parts of the midwest yesterday and it was predicted that more would develop today....why was school still in session? Just wondering

 

[championboyz7]

Cause school officials are ********

 

[the hater boxden]

not enough time or resources to load them up on school buses and move them out of dangers way.

and it would be utter chaos if they let their parents come pick them up, and most parents were at work anyways, unable to pick their children up.



plus i never heard of school being cancelled due to possible tornadoes which can happen any time any day around this time of the year.

 

[stoneyjax]

not enough time or resources to load them up on school buses and move them out of dangers way.

and it would be utter chaos if they let their parents come pick them up, and most parents were at work anyways, unable to pick their children up.



plus i never heard of school being cancelled due to possible tornadoes which can happen any time any day around this time of the year.

i understand that...but if they had a threat of a tornado touching down somewhere in that area today (knowing that yesterday and this morning)...why not cancel school?

 

[the hater boxden]

who knew it would be an EF5?
like i said school doesn't get cancelled based on tornado warnings. ever.

 

[stoneyjax]

Guess its just different out there. I live in VA and they will shut down the entire state with the threat of any storm - snow, rain or wind

 

[Animal Thug]

Ya ever had Barbera Byrd-Bennett as your school's systems-CEO? That lady wouldn't close schools if 48 inches of snow came down in a 1 hour-span.

Much blessings to OKC though.

 

[superblytrife]

The path of a tornado affects a limited amount of people. They're not gonna cancel school city wide because of a tornado threat. I have heard of them letting kids out early or delaying the start of school if the weather at that moment is suspect. But I've never seen an entire city call off school for a day.

All you can do when you live in tornado prone areas is have a safe place to go, have an exit plan and hope you don't get hit. Look at it like this--the majority of OKC didn't get hit by the tornado. But for those that did, life is forever changed.

And honestly, what good would being at home do if they lived around the school area? With a tornado that size, you're probably better off being in a large, sturdy structure like a school, believe it or not.

 

[frankmatthews]

From CNN
If tornadoes touched down in OK and other parts of the midwest yesterday and it was predicted that more would develop today....why was school still in session? Just wondering

It's basically the equivalent of canceling school because you are SUPPOSED to get a foot of snow. They're not gonna cancel anything before the storm actually happens. In the midwest, at least out on the plains, a tornado could litterally happen any moment this time of year.

 

[the hater boxden]

they all knew the tornado was coming |I it was on the ground for about an our i think

but tornadoes happen so often here, usually small ones in not as rural areas. so if they were to cancel school based on tornado watches or warnings they wouldn't eem be able to function.

 

[stoneyjax]

It's basically the equivalent of canceling school because you are SUPPOSED to get a foot of snow. They're not gonna cancel anything before the storm actually happens. In the midwest, at least out on the plains, a tornado could litterally happen any moment this time of year.

see and thats what im saying is the difference in my home state. They are very proactive here. My girl teaches school and this year alone her school has been cancelled twice just off the possibility of snow which much less serious than a tornado. The school system already has makeup days in place for weather related cancellations. I guess I look at like why even take the chance. But i get the fact that its a huge area and you cant actually pinpoint where it will happen

 

[sorkoram]

From CNN
If tornadoes touched down in OK and other parts of the midwest yesterday and it was predicted that more would develop today....why was school still in session? Just wondering

It's common, but anytime they predict severe weather, it doesn't always happen. Growing up in the midwest, if they cancelled school every time severe weather was predicted, we'd have been out the majority of the spring.

The best thing you can do is drill for it and hope the advanced warning systems catch it in time.

edit - the worst I've personally seen was a in '99 when there were over 50 tornados in the state in a 2 day span. :x

 

[superblytrife]

Worst I've lived through was the April 27 outbreak back in 2011. 205 total confirmed tornadoes that day, with 238 deaths in my state alone. Crazy, crazy ****.

An EF-5 glanced the grounds of my old job. **** was wild, to say the least.


]

 

[jjs07]

It's basically the equivalent of canceling school because you are SUPPOSED to get a foot of snow. They're not gonna cancel anything before the storm actually happens. In the midwest, at least out on the plains, a tornado could litterally happen any moment this time of year.

It's common though...many schools err on the side of caution and cancel with the threat of bad weather.

 

[AEA18]

Only thing I hate about Spring in the midwest

 

[frankmatthews]

see and thats what im saying is the difference in my home state. They are very proactive here. My girl teaches school and this year alone her school has been cancelled twice just off the possibility of snow which much less serious than a tornado. The school system already has makeup days in place for weather related cancellations. I guess I look at like why even take the chance. But i get the fact that its a huge area and you cant actually pinpoint where it will happen

I lived in VA for 2 years so i know what you mean. Everything shuts down for the slightest bit of snow, it was unbelievable to me coming from Minnesota. There will be 8 inches on the ground and still falling and it is business as usual, everything is open and everyone is out. I think VA doesn't see snow like that so they really aren't set up to deal with the storms as far as cleaning the streets efficiently and having bus drivers and emergency workers and such who can operate a vehicle properly in those conditions. Plus road maintenance in general in VA is the worst I have ever seen anywhere. And I know, the Richmond area at least, is prone to flooding with heavy rains so i guess it makes sense that they just shut it down. In a sense they don't have the capability to be reactive to storms so they are proactive.

 

[eazye 804]

Edit: Inappropriate

 

[datznasty]

From CNN
If tornadoes touched down in OK and other parts of the midwest yesterday and it was predicted that more would develop today....why was school still in session? Just wondering

It's basically the equivalent of canceling school because you are SUPPOSED to get a foot of snow. They're not gonna cancel anything before the storm actually happens. In the midwest, at least out on the plains, a tornado could litterally happen any moment this time of year.

Actually tornadoes are VERY common down here but when it's a threat of snow (and thus ice), they shut everything down before it even happens in anticipation. Typically, because again of the commonality, there is infrastructure, planning, and personnel in place moreso for tornadoes and overall skitzo weather (I live an hour from OKC and while they have been getting pounded the last 2 days, it has literally been all sunshine and like 90 in my city, in fact even now at 8:40 it's like 80 and not a cloud outside or rain).

I don't know much about the elementary school that got pummeled in Moore, but typically structures like schools and federal buildings have some sort of basement or tornado proof (solid concrete) part.

I also don't think they knew it would be an F5, and even if they did, they are wrong about these all the time. Literally most Oklahomans hear it's a tornado in their area take cover, and run right outside to see if they can see it. You never predict this type of devastation

I got locked out of my office and left my phone so I can't even check on my people I know up there other than facebook ,

If anyone is interested in donating to the City Rescue Mission pm me. I'll even pay the shipping if need be

 

[Bert.]

RIP to those who passed, hope everyone else is alright

 

[datznasty]

Text “REDCROSS” to 90999 for $10 donation to help tornado victims in OKC and Moore

https://www.facebook.com/MooreOKTornadoInfo?hootPostID=28bf89288b4b130903ecd2ec785e8297

And :x at people on Twitter. People's lives > petty sports induced city feuds.

Some of the kids drowned, some were crushed under the rubble. A friend of mine's son crawled out from under and made it to a nearby business and called his mom.

911 Operator ‏@911BUFF 2h

BREAKING NEWS OUT OF OKLAHOMA: FOX NEWS CONFIRMS 24 THIRD GRADERS HAVE DIED AT PLAZA TOWERS SCHOOL AFTER MASSIVE TORNADO.

 

[eazye 804]

^Thanks for the info.

Didnt know it would be this bad

 

[demps]

id rather be in school than at home if a tornado hit..

 

[datznasty]

View media item 420640Bad photo but that's the line just to go drop off donations, it's backed up all the way to the interstate and News9 has raised over $35,000 in monetary donations already not counting supplies. People coming together Heart breaking though all these reshares on my tl from parents posting pictures of their kids asking if anyone has seen them. Debris from the OKC tornadoes is landing all the way in Branson, MI, 250 miles away.

 

[jjs07]

Actually tornadoes are VERY common down here but when it's a threat of snow (and thus ice), they shut everything down before it even happens in anticipation. Typically, because again of the commonality, there is infrastructure, planning, and personnel in place moreso for tornadoes and overall skitzo weather (I live an hour from OKC and while they have been getting pounded the last 2 days, it has literally been all sunshine and like 90 in my city, in fact even now at 8:40 it's like 80 and not a cloud outside or rain).

I don't know much about the elementary school that got pummeled in Moore, but typically structures like schools and federal buildings have some sort of basement or tornado proof (solid concrete) part.

I also don't think they knew it would be an F5, and even if they did, they are wrong about these all the time. Literally most Oklahomans hear it's a tornado in their area take cover, and run right outside to see if they can see it. You never predict this type of devastation

I got locked out of my office and left my phone so I can't even check on my people I know up there other than facebook ,

If anyone is interested in donating to the City Rescue Mission pm me. I'll even pay the shipping if need be

I heard on the radio today that many schools and homes in OK don't have good storm shelters because of the rock below where everything is built. Pretty much, it would be too expensive for everyone to have these shelters because the cost of blowing up the rock w/ dynamite is too much. I was shocked when I heard this. People living in Tornado alley, and aren't nearly as safe as what they think due to cost. THIS is where the federal government needs to step in and do something. I seriously can't believe it.

The kids who drowned in the elementary school were in the hallway...because that was the safest place - so they thought (RIP). It's a shame, really

*Also, OP should change the thread title to let people know that we're discussing the tornado tragedy.

 

[chancedprep]

Wow that's crazy my hearts go out to those kids parents.

This whole OK thing got me shock a Lil because I will be shipping off soon to Ft. Sill for basic