Severe Weather Phobia

It was quite the active day across SW Virginia. A large low pressure system and trailing front created strong storms with heavy downpours and gusty winds.


While their were no reports of tornadoes touching the ground, several doppler indicated tornado warnings were issued.

This meant the radar was looking at wind velocity, coming toward and away from the radar, and detected twisting winds within the cloud. This twisting is the first sign a tornado is forming. Once the winds begin twisting in the cloud, there's a chance it could make it to the ground. This is why we need to warn you.

Thankfully, we're not in the middle of tornado alley. From 1950 through 2001, 376 tornadoes were documented in Virginia. That is an average of 7 tornadoes per year.

If you're overly cautious, or you have "astraphobia" (fear of thunderstorms), you might want to invest in an underground storm shelter.

These concrete boxes are placed in the ground. The walls are 3" thick, the ceiling and floor are 4" thick, and the shelter weighs approximately 12,600 lbs.

This model is also the shelter of choice for President Bush on his Crawford, Texas ranch.

While most hold a maximum of 8 people, during a severe weather outbreak in Kansas, 20 people packed into one to avoid flying debris.

Cool stuff, huh?

Click here to see more photos of the storm shelters.


--Meteorologist Brent Watts