Last night we peeled our kids out of their beds to the accompaniment of tornado sirens going off around 11:30. Living as close to downtown Columbus as we do, I really don’t ever worry about tornados. It just seems like they’d never hit in such an urban environment.
Of course then I remembered the roof getting peeled off the Georgia Dome during the NCAA tournament this year in Downtown Atlanta and that about a year ago a tornado was reported to have touched down around Lane Avenue in Upper Arlington. It turns out, More than 100 tornadoes have struck downtown areas of large cities in recorded history. Many cities have been struck twice or more, and a few, including London, have been struck by violent tornadoes (F4 or stronger).
When I heard the sirens I checked the TV and sure enough, a funnel cloud was spotted just on the other side of town and was heading our way along with an unusual amount of lightening and rain. It was the real deal so we headed down to the basement and told the kids not to worry, that our house had been there 120 years and no lousy tornado was going to hurt it.
The tornado never materialized but I felt good we did the right thing and I felt good about the solid construction and structural integrity of my big brick home.
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2 Responses to “The (almost) Columbus Tornado & do Tornados ever hit Urban Areas”
Totally relate to this, Joe. We pulled the kids into the basement too, and stayed until almost 2 am. They wouldn’t shut off the Minerva Park sirens – even though I called several times.
The next day, my 2 hour flight to the East coast turned into a 12-hour travel day/night. Once again, thanks to the weather!
Fun times….
Last night we peeled our kids out of their beds to the accompaniment of tornado sirens going off around 11:30. Living as close to downtown Columbus as we do, I really don’t ever worry about tornados. It just seems like they’d never hit in such an urban environment. 
Jeremiah Arn
July 2nd, 2008
Totally relate to this, Joe. We pulled the kids into the basement too, and stayed until almost 2 am. They wouldn’t shut off the Minerva Park sirens – even though I called several times.
The next day, my 2 hour flight to the East coast turned into a 12-hour travel day/night. Once again, thanks to the weather!
Fun times….
Scientific Extraordinaire
February 4th, 2009
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