I was there. In fact I’m in the pictures wearing a yellow rain coat. Our TT blew off the jacks but thankfully it stayed upright. I was so impressed with how quickly other campers were to jump in and turn off gas and electric and check on the occupants until the Fire Department arrived. It was a scary day. But I’m so glad everyone walked away.
Hi Matt. Thank goodness indeed that everyone was okay. Two questions come to mind: 1) Was this event an actual tornado or just strong winds? 2) Did you receive any storm warnings beforehand?
@@markbranson4656 We arrived during a downpour. There were heavy winds but I was outside when this one hit. I believe it was a straight line gust. I heard it coming and braced myself wen it hit. It still pushed me nearly over. To be honest, I didn’t have the radio on because I was too busy trying to park the rig and get everyone inside when it it hit, so I may have missed a warning. I would estimate it at 70 mph plus.
Back in 2019 we were caught in a tornado warning at a campground in Missouri. We have weather apps on our phone where we get all weather warnings no matter where we are. At 1 a.m. our "siren" alerts went off on our phones saying there was a tornado headed towards us. WE quickly threw on some clothes and ran up to the bathhouse/laundry building. Quite a few other campers went up there as well. We all looked on radar and local tv apps and could tell there was indeed a tornado heading towards the campground but luckily a few miles before it got to us the tornado lifted back up into the sky. All of us stayed there for quite a while but eventually went back to our campers. The tornado did hit the capitol city of Missouri, (Jefferson City) which did sustain a lot of damage. We felt pretty lucky.
David and Kathy are lovely people. David helped me make my mad dash north one time. I really appreciated his help. I’d like to add that I look up in the sky as well. If I see those big thunderhead clouds mid afternoon, I know I’m in for a rocky evening.
I’ll never forget surviving a tornado in a campground in New Hampshire. A giant tree fell and missed my Diesel motorhome by about 7 feet. It was about 10 minutes of pure horror when the tornado hit. It was August 2017 at Twin Mountain KOA, in Twin Mountain, NH
Life is about 10% what happens to you, and 90% how you react to it....something to remember...its helped me many times. Those folks are living that right now...
Hi Marc and Trish! My husband and I really enjoyed your severe weather video! We were totally surprised when you introduced your guests in the interview, Richard and Melinda, because we are Richard and Melynda, too! My husband will be retired on July 1st and we are in the process of downsizing and preparing to sell our house at this very moment to be able to full-time RV. We have been camping and RVing for forty-five years, since 1977! We are very excited to be so close to realizing our longtime dream of traveling, finding new friends and adventure through full-time RV living!
One thing we learned from “riding out” a severe storm event is that it’s sometimes okay to ditch out to a hotel for a night. In 2021 there was a storm system that went through the entire south so we being from the Midwest were stuck so we chose to ride it out. I stayed up all night watching local weather. The next day we “debriefed” what we could have done differently and the hotel idea came up. I recommend it.
Living in MN we pretty much see it all from blizzards to tornados....sometimes in the same month! My Dad was a Meteorologist with the National Weather Service and we always carried a NOAA weather radio when we traveled...which was helpful if we were cabin camping etc. Nowadays, I use a couple of weather apps which are helpful. I don't RV but I do go on extended bike rides and got caught in a few pop up showers...I checked my weather app and found a storm cell developing over me so I decided to head back...and eventually got stuck in a severe thunderstorm...Wasn't fun but I learned the signs that I should have turned back earlier.
In the aviation world it's called "Gotta get there syndrome" it can happen anywhere from taking off in the wrong conditions to landing in the wrong conditions...often ends up tragic! Great video....The power of weather is often under-estimated and rarely respected.
I just want to say THANK YOU. We have learned so much from you two. You have given us courage and confidence to do more than we ever imagined. You two are a positive light in the craziness of RV social media. Thank you again from the bottom of my heart for all you do. ❤️
This is probably this most anxious of things I’d worry about if I were to be RVing. Except for having a wreck or experiencing violence. so this is a great topic. My spouse just GOES in weather. He has NO fear. “Hey look 👀 a tornado 🌪!!!!! So even in a car 🚗 I’m anxious 😬 when we are out. But he is mindful of my fears and will usually accommodate me til storms pass. Great subject and video.
Very timely! I was out camping in my first ever RV last weekend when a 60 foot tree was dropped by wind about 100 feet behind my RV. The storm took out Internet and cell service. I was able to get a local TV station to watch for tornado warnings. I spent the storm on the floor of my RV with the dogs. I left my NOA radio at home as only thunderstorms were predicted. I will be much more careful in the future.
I had an Airstream. One night there was a strong wind and rain storm. The next morning we went out and found out a tornado came through and put trailers on their sides. We never felt the extreme winds to move us. I don't have an Airstream now. I will ASAP. Love you Be safe on your journeys 😊
This was great meeting Richard & Melinda. Wishing the circumstances would have been different for them.Thankful they are okay! Enjoyed meeting & hearing Dr. David Titley. The weather radio would be great to have on hand. The weather apps are a great safety feature even if you don't RV. Thank you Mark & Trish. Loved the ending. Ending up with P & J..
Great information, we grew up in Tornado Alley and lived our adult life on the gulf coast, we know about huricanes. Our biggest threat to our fulltime lifestyle right now is the price of fuel, over $5.30 a gallon for diesel today in the mid-west.
I grew up in Nebraska so I am well aware of thunderstorms and what to do. Except, thunderstorms are different in different areas!! Traveling in a truck and living in a small box is different than having a nice well-stocked basement safe room to wait out a storm. Thank you for all the tips and information for those of us in the road.
I bookmarked Dave's website to add to the arsenal of sources I use to gauge weather. On April 10, we left Texas headed home to NW Ohio and I was worried about heading through the heart of the Midwest. This website sure would have been handy the night of the 10th. I did review Ryan Hall Y'all and Reed Timmer on UA-cam and both predicted issues in Arkansas on the 11th. We started out early and made it near our final destination of W. Memphis. There was no way we were staying in W. Memphis as the weather was getting ugly. Ditched the reservation at Tom Sawyer and continued to drive 3 more hours north. As Ryan says, "be weather aware". Thanks for the great video.
Maureen and I were taking our Airstream home from Florida to California in February 2021 when the Big Texas Freeze weather event occurred. Admiral Titley and RV Weather were instrumental in assisting us in our travel plans as we waited out the brunt of the storm outside of New Orleans. Preparedness and apps, as mentioned, helped, and we watched and switched between them and checked the local emergency channels. However, Dr. Titley's updated RV Weather website is fantastic and takes the guesswork out of the equation.
Taking this scary opportunity to teach is great! Very much appreciated at this specific time in our life specifically. So glad everyone is ok! It could have been so so much worse.
Late March of this year we were camping outside Pigeon Forge, TN when a forrest fire started nearby. We were set to leave in 2 days, but stuck around for about 3 hours (gotta get the laundry done!) and decided to leave. It was moving too quick and the wind warning was 2 hours out still. At this point we'd already faced another forrest fire nearby, near flooding, snow and other wind warnings, so we were done. From putting laundry away to pulling out (with us, a dog, and a 7 yr old) was 2 hours. Thank God we did, the next day it had been evacuated and was being used and a first responders meeting point! Thankfully we were able to "keep calm and move on!"
Thank you guys for sharing this information. I work in a bucket truck for the electric company in Texas and the weather has been a huge part of my life. It is very important the things that you shared. The biggest thing to draw from this is to make a habit of checking the weather when you first get up and the last thing you do before bedtime because things can change so quickly. Great job again guys!
Keeping an eye on the sky is a great philosophy! Many years ago, we took the kids camping to a park here in the east that had a dock and launch access to the local river. We had a rainy day, so we decided to head into a larger town about 30 minutes away and do shopping and a movie. When we came out of the movie, we had been told how the wind had picked up and even had flash flood warnings in the area. On our way back, the rain had started to subside. When we pulled into the park gate, there were at least 50 people standing around talking. We got out to ask what was going on. The river had crested, and flooded the entire park. The park ranger approached us and asked if we had the rig with the Dodge Durango parked in front of the camper. We said yes, and he told us they wanted to pull the camper out... but were unable with the vehicle in front of it and a pin lock on it. Our hearts sank, and they let us into the park since the water was going down. It just so happened that we had a site that was the highest in the park. The water got as high as the top step, but did not enter the camper. All we lost was a few pairs of water shoes, and two mountain bikes missing. The boys searched the area, and found the bikes wedged in a tree 6' about the ground. A little power washing and bearing cleaning on the bikes and camper axles. At the end of the day, we had a lot to be thankful for... and a lesson on weather watching! Thank you both for the great videos. Heading out for the first trip of the year on Wednesday. Safe travels all!
Also, when traveling in the west, especially in a forest, check for possible fires. Traveling through smoke, or having to detour, is a strong possibility. I don't know if a weather app will inform of an eminent fire, but local news will.
Whoa Nellie- this is a great suggestion for an entire KYD video for west coast rving. We now carry goggles and masks and stay alert. There's the actual fire and separately the smoke which can travel for miles.
@@dakat1726 Hi DaKat! It's great you carry goggles and masks while traveling in the west. Better to be prepared. I would enjoy watching a KYD video on this subject. Thank You for your comment. ~Lucy
I've been hiking with a handheld NOAA radio for years and it's a great tool to have. I'm planning on using it when we start our RV Adventure! Good info to & 15 years in the fire service has made me hyper aware all the time now!
After 15 years of working in Emergency Services, the biggest mistake I see folks make is to say “eh, it’s not that bad”. Take weather serious, watch the radar (there are a ton of apps). keep in your vehicle a bug out backpack full of emergency supplies (first aid, water, etc). If you can’t get out of the area…get out of your camper & get to a safe place. This applies for your sticks & bricks house as well, go to a safe place. You don’t need a tornado to have serious damage from lightening, hail or wind. Great video Marc & Trish!
Oh my gosh. What a sight to see a pretty good sized travel trailer laying on it's side. You don't think about those things when your in your camper and you feel the wind blowing and your rocking back and forth a little bit. Wow. So glad everyone is ok. That really was wonderful information; the kind that could definitely save someone's life. That said, the end of your video had me cracking up. That was sooo funny. A little light hearted humor was good.
We must be following you on the road. We were at the Wright Brothers Memorial on Tuesday the 17th & then Shenandoah NP on Thursday the 20th. Had the worst drive in many years going from Ocracoke to Corolla on NC 12 during a major storm on Monday night the 16th. Water all over the road kept me thinking “turn around; don’t drown”. But with having taken the last ferry just before midnight, we had almost no options. Thankfully after 3 hours & 90 miles later we made it to where we were staying on the island.
You never mentioned snow. I live and work in South Lake Tahoe, CA as a municipal bus driver. I see people towing/driving when it's snowing or when the roads are still covered in ice. I feel that they are very foolish and risking their rigs and lives, and the lives and property of others. A little planning ahead goes a long way toward keeping you safe!
We were on Hatteras about ten days before you were there and a storm came up with a tornado warning after we were already in bed for the night. Only way off the island was a 2 hour drive or a ferry. We stayed up all night googling to figure out how high the winds needed to be to knock over the trailer and they weren’t getting over 50mph so we stayed put. Campers a few sites over had alerts for tornado but we weren’t in the red square on Clime. In the end the tornado hit on the mainland. Wonder what measures you could take besides evacuation?
Thank you for this video, my husband and are still newbies. I watch your video last night and showed my husband this morning. This evening in Sidney NE we had a severe storm roll through. It wasn’t real bed but this was something we didn’t think about. My weather app was not updating to my location, it only was giving updates for home. After watching your video I changed the settings to use my current location. I thank God for this community and the people who share their stories.
May 4th we were traveling through eastern Oklahoma on Highway 75 heading to southeast Kansas with our Arctic Fox pickup camper. While we're were fueling at Interstate 40 and Highway 75 we started seeing the thunderstorms building to the west if us. We turned on our amateur radio and turned in to the Sky Warn storm spotter frequency to hear storm chasers reporting a tornado near Seminole, OK which was about 30 minutes from us. We drove north bound into inflow winds as fast and safely as we could. About 40 minutes later, tornado was on the ground going through the community we left. Being Amateur Radio licensed operators, we knew to tune in to Sky Warn and ARES frequencies and get weather reports. Also, we have the Severe Weather Radio mentioned, just be sure you have a weather Radio with S.A.M.E. capability and have the correct codes programmed in. But, as an Emergency Manager, I cannot tell you how important amateur radio is to your emergency/disaster plan and being an RVer.
During the week l saw the weather comming to N.C. and thought oh no Marc and Trish. You moved your rig and the wind blew his over !!! Glad your ok "Keep The Faith"
Y’all were my first thought when I seen the nor’easter hitting the OBX! Glad you’re ok. And thanks for the info on weather and thank god your friends are ok.
Just catching up on your latest videos. This one is perfect timing! Tomorrow I’m heading west to the Aliner North American Rally in SD and the onward to the Grand Tetons. I’m taking the SS Badger, because I saw your video, and I’ll be returning on a more southerly route throughMissouri. I was just finding state maps of counties. It was KYD or LoLoHo who mentioned that you should know the counties in case of adverse Weather announcements. Thank you for sharing all of your amazing adventures! Muskoka ON 🇨🇦
Just saw a high winds wrecked bumper pull toyhauler on the highway last night. The frame and floor were upright in one spot and a forklift was picking up what was left of the body. The 4 seater RZR that had been in the back of it was sitting on a flat bed tow truck, scraped up but intact. No injuries requiring a trip to the hospital.
From where to go, to hey, we've been there, from upgrade tips to equipment reviews, to important stuff like this, no wonder your channel is THE BEST. Thanks for the post!
Traveled solo from Kansas to Baton Rouge, LA several years ago. Arrived at KOA and discovered there was a hurricane coming. Asked the desk where the shelter was and she kinda snickered and said they didn't have one. Oh, could use the restroom if I felt the need. Got lucky and just had some wind and rain. Guess it helped being from Tornado Alley, as I thought to ask about a shelter. Love your channel and all the good advice!
This was a top show! Such great information. We just went through Texas and watched the weather a couple times a day. Wow, you guys got out just in time!!
Guess what one week after watching this we ended up in a severe storm. My wife and I looked at 2 weather apps which both said severe T storms around five, we hitched up and left at noon. 12:05 high winds and rain tore through, power lines dropped, trees too. I just parked on the 2 lane road and waited until it passed. Never know when Mother Nature wants to play.
A couple of really good friends of mine are meteorologists in north Alabama. We had a rash of tornados in April of 2011 and they turned me on to RadarScope. It's hands-down the best doppler radar app out there, if you want a pure radar feed. I personally use a subscription, but I'm also a pilot and probably pay more attention to radar than most people would. However, what really makes it shine for me is that you can save favorite places and customize the views. I have all of my family's locations on it, and we all take turns watching out for each other when tornado warnings are out. The location icon is also great for when we're out camping. I also agree that the best thing you can do is ask where the safe house is when you arrive to a campsite. We've been pleasantly surprised to find that there are a couple of places that have had actual storm shelters.
Great video and so appropriate for us. We left Ocala, FL on 4/26 and are traveling to many national parks out west. We are currently in Utah. We hit Oklahoma City when they were calling for severe weather and tornado watches. We stayed at a KOA and they told us where the shelters were located which scared the heck out of us. They said that if we needed to take shelter and had a pet (we do) we could wait out the storm in the log cabin office (oh my). We have a weather radio and the CLIME app. We will now have the RVWeather site loaded up. Thank you for this timely video.
Beginning of September of 2021 2am in the morning a 4-foot diameter ( no wind, just rain . Tree was bad already but state park and could not do any repercussions to them ) tree fell on our camper and truck and destroyed everything. The only thing that stopped the tree from splitting the trailer in half was the fridge, otherwise, My wife and I may not have made it ourselves. The one thing about our accident was when the tree hit it buckled the roof in such a way the door flung open otherwise all exits were blocked. It totaled both trailer and truck but nationwide covered and over covered everything 65k in damage. Now we are in a Open range bumper pull and newer truck. As Richard and Linda said we were not going this too destroy our RV experience.
Speaking of weather related Camping. Me and My wife were just in Hatteras Village at Hatteras Sands Campground at the end of Hatteras Island at the ferry terminal for 8 days and the first 4.5 were in the Nor'easter that just came through. I was a little worried about staying, but being the adventurous types, we decided to ride it out. High winds, roads shut down and ferry shutdown were a first for us, but it was an adventure for the week. And to top it off, Friday afternoon a fiber optic line was cut that provided cell service, landline service and internet to all of Hatteras Island. That was the icing on the cake. People actually had to talk to each other and use cash money. I was good, but we seen many people struggle with the interactions and only cash. Just a little fun adventure while camping for us.
It can be the day after too! In 2020, my camper was months old and I traveled the day AFTER a hurricane. I was going 35 mph, then a huge part of a tree crashed into the road as I was driving buy it, it impaled the side of my RV, sprung open my awning, this slammed into the tree, ripping it nearly off, this also jolted my bikes off the bike carrier and threw them into the back of my RV. The entire passenger side of my RV was wrecked, plus parts of my front and back! I will never travel in a storm or the day after ever again. Luckily the RV was brand new, so it wasn't totaled.
As we returned from our Utah trip we experienced a derecho in central Ne. straight line winds up to 120 mph. We live in the Midwest and have witnessed this type of weather in the past. We pulled into a rest stop as the winds picked up and sat it out. When the stormed passed we proceeded east bound and passed 3 TTs on their sides as well a several trucks. Being weather aware is essential. Thanks for this important reminder.
Thanks for sharing your story. Last year I left a State Park because a tornado was coming that direction. I hooked up quickly and moved 1 hour away to my oldest daughters house. Than the giant hail hit, for 30 minutes totaling my trailer, and major damage to my Jeep. Also, I was in an extreme softball sized hail storm in Oklahoma 12 years ago, destroying the home roof, 20 windows, every car totaled. It’s always a big shock at first, but grace gets you through it. I have 5 weather apps keeps me updated, and check it many times a day even if the sun is shining.
I use RadarScope for Doppler. It has GPS and can tell where you are. I use Red Cross Tornado for tornado watches and warnings. It's very accurate. And I use a NOAA weather radio for all local watches/warnings. I'm also a weather nerd though and I am always checking the weather.
This was a great and very informative episode. We had a minor incident last September. We were camping not too far from home and returned home without our TT to safely ride out Hurricane Ida. When we returned to the campground the storm had quieted down and was moving away. Other than a lot of tree debris and some ponding in the area all was well with our TT until about 30 minutes later when a good sized branch fell and partially came through the roof and into the dining area slide. My granddaughter and I were sitting at the table eating. Scary to say the least but no-one was hurt so everything else after that automatically becomes very small details to deal with. Our camping season was done but really, we were just so grateful it was not more serious and no one was hurt. I always say weather is no joke, our experience proved that to us and Richard and Melinda's reinforced that. We are devoted weekly viewers and love all of your videos but this one was particularly important and we thank you for sharing all of the great information from Dr. Titley....we've already visited his site and ordered the weather radio! :)
We just returned to our RV summer home base after over 8 months on the road. We watch the weather and are not shy about changing directions or plans. We got pushed from AZ to KS by fires and/or high winds, and then got into tornado alley. Let's just say, it was interesting. Prayers and planning! We holed up in a Corp of Engineers campground with several sturdy bathhouse and kept watching the weather! We have a weather radio and use the weatherbug app, which is free and has great radar with layers, lightning reports, etc. I will check those apps out. Always good to have more options! Thanks.
Glad to hear they are ok! We got caught in severe storms our first 3 weeks on the road and abandoned the rv because of a tornado. Out of all the stuff that happens on the road, the nasty weather is the one that gets my heart beatin faster
Lost a 34 ft Airstream to straight line winds as part of a storm one year at a campground. Laid a tree lengthwise on the trailer and flattened it! Had we been in it that night we would have been dead. It took the overhead cabinets and drove them down into the mattress where are heads would have been. We had encountered a good many tornado aftermath because we live in Wisconsin. You roll with the punches and stay alert! Always have a plan!
Wonderful video, glad your friends were not hurt. Be very aware of hurricanes and their track inland. In 2011 Hurricane Irene went inland with her rain. I’m in the White Mountains of NH. I sit about a mile away from where the river rose and caused destruction. There are still scars from that storm up here. The ocean is 1 ½ hours away from here. Unfortunately, in 2017 or 2018 the same rive rose again during a major fall storm and damaged some of the same homes again. These are not riverfront homes. They are at least a quarter mile away from where the river spilled over.
Weather can be wild. While in South Dakota we encountered a massive hail storm. Destroyed our vehicles. Had hail coming through our RV skylights. We full time so that was our house being destroyed. We had def learned from that experience. We are still out here doing it :)
Harvest Host saved us in Kansas a few weeks ago. We were able to leave a day early, but the state park we were headed to did not have availability. We found a HH outside the storm zone, but on the way to our next destination,
We are from Idaho and have plans to leave (next year ‘24) mid February and head south and then east down the Florida Keys and back up try to be home ‘near’ the first week of May. From this video (which we really appreciate!!), it seems on average we are in semi-safe months but we will keep watch and be flexible…especially seeing how ‘early’ some of the storms are / were this year. THANKS for the great information….
We are currently working in an RV Park in Southern Minnesota. The Park policy is to the storm shelter when the sirens go off or you will need to leave after the storm is over. This happened to us last Wednesday nite, our first night working solo. We got all 60 people, 2 babies, 8 dogs, 2 cats and a large bird in the shelter.
Great video and very useful information. So glad your friends weren't injured! The scenes in the RV park brought back memories of two incidents when we were full timing. One involved a microburst with straight-line winds reported between 90 and 110 mph. We put our tow vehicle between the wind and our RV to block the wind. It worked and we stayed upright. The 5th-wheel behind us plus two mobile homes nearby didn't fair quite so well. The other occurred in an RV Park in New Mexico when a weak tornado passed through the west side of the park destroying a park model and a new Class A motor home. This after it took the roof off of a near by metal fabrication plant. It was shocking. No one was hurt fortunately (the owner of the Class A had just left 30 minutes earlier and the person in the park model had gone to the park office to visit with the owners). Though a weak tornado it was strong enough to pick the park model up 6 feet into the air and drop it, breaking the frame and dump the Class A on its side, crushing the slide outs. It missed us but it was quite frightening.
Floridian here. Just a friendly reminder, the main thoroughfares in and out of FL, namely I-95, I-10 and I-75 become parking lots during hurricanes, so take that in consideration.
Great video. Made us think about having an effective plan and now we realize our egress window is on the same side as our door. Uh oh…learned we need to have the bunk room slide out when we park. It’s the only egress window on the driver side if the rv was to go over onto the passenger side. Prepared for the worst, living out the the best!
I found the hardest thing when traveling is to understand the weather alert. "A tornado is traveling 10 miles south of a line from Jonesville to Smithtown in Allen county." Where the HeII is that? This year I carried Midland hand held weather radios. (Old HH54vp2 from e-bay) Listen to the NOAA broadcast you can receive. Still a sudden hailstorm is unavoidable unless you get under cover.
Good Morning. Great topic. I am an ultralight pilot. (Off topic but relevant, my first flying was done at CMA at their Aviation summer camp in the 80’s when I was 15-16) Weather is priority 1,2 and 3 before a flight. I am not looking for broader weather patterns, but rather micro-patterns that are happening now and for the next two hours right where I am located, not the coverage of the local forecast. There is a great book called Understanding the Sky (Dennis Pagen) that is a sport pilot weather bible. There are many aspects of the learnings offered there that would benefit RVers. For example, understanding mechanical turbulence/rotor, gust fronts and Venturi effects can afford a boondocker some knowledge of where and how to park a rig around high structure. If you want some, not so light, reading I would highly recommend. Seems like something Mark would enjoy.
Great video! Thanks for talking about this! Another thing to watch for is forest fires. We’ve seen over the past decade especially where large scale fires have hit every state from Cali to Tennessee. Fires can erupt or change direction without warning.
Great information, but there are a couple of things that could be discussed. If you are relying on a weather Radio or app alert which will usually go off during the night, you need to know what county you are in. Watches and warnings will come in for counties and only the larger cities will be mentioned. You can Google for a county map or what county is "this town in". Also another threat during tornado season is straight line winds, they can be seen on a doplar radar and look like a Bow from a bow and arrow. The middle most pronounced part can produce up to 100mph winds.
WOW! Great video. I'm so glad that couple is ok. What an experience. Right now we have some bad weather but we are home. The RV is sitting in the driveway. I can't imagine how that couple felt. I grew up in MA. Gloria and Bob were the big ones. But now I live in IL. I fear tornados. I lived close to 2 that hit and destroyed much of the towns in the path. I was shocked to see how a tornado didn't hit my house but 2 streets over was wiped out. Very good video. Thank you for this. P.S. I am a member of my local state park/campground. I am making a list of things we need to tell/handout to campers. Thank you!
This video was so great! thank you for sharing this and thanks for bringing on David. He gave practical advise and your comments and experience just added to the video.
Last year we were at EAA Oshkosh camping in my in laws motorhome when a tornado was possible in the area. Lots of people (in tents, etc) went to the museum and other areas to hunker down…We took everything we could into the motorhome and flipped tables, etc upside down and slid everything we could under all the campers, etc. I didn’t sleep all night (kept my clothes/bra on and shoes handy, haha) and just kept my eye on the camper next to us…if something started moving/blowing, I was ready. Luckily the tornado missed AIRVENTURE by 4 miles. Next morning we made the walk to check on our airplane/ friends planes/ other campers and thankfully all was good!
I've been a tent camper for years and have been in multiple scary storms along the road. The first one was while traveling through NJ and a severe T-storm was coming in. I was at a state park along a creek and I had gotten up early and decided that I would break down my site before heading to the showers. I got packed up, moved my car up near the shower house, and was in the shower when I could hear the park ranger driving through the site speaking loudly and with urgency that people needed to move to higher ground immediately. I got out of the shower and the rain was coming down in buckets and watched as the creek/river I had just been camped next to spilling over its banks. People were moving quickly to grab their belongings and to move their cars up near mine by the shower house. Within 10 minutes the area for the tents was under feet of water. A park ranger was at the shower house and told us that we would be able to get out of the park as the road out was all high and to one side of the creek.
Great video, last week in Minnesota a BAD storm approached the campground I was in. I spent 45 minutes in the shelter/ bathroom during 90 mph winds. One thing to add, I had a back pack with some personal items, radio and flashlight. Also if you have medication bring those as well. I call it my go bag.
reading others comments I didn't see any comments or suggestions on campsite layout and or awareness. We frequently back the truck in along the camp side of the camper the put things in and out of it. When there is a potential for bad weather maybe it needs to be away from the trailer so it doesn't end up under the trailer. another thought would be to look at trees and their condition. state parks are notorious for leaving bad trees in place.
Too funny that I just saw this today. We just got back from our first trip in our new trailer. In an area with limited cell phone reception, or I would have seen this. There was a severe weather warning for the last two days, including our drive home. On the way home there were areas where wind gusts were approximately 110km/h (60mph). Talk about white knuckles!
Great video! I've been in two situations. First was in Central Oregon, camping in a cabin in a state park. The afternoon and evening were wonderful, but there were some ominous looking clouds coming in as night fell. We got four inches of rain that night, still raining in the morning when the staff came around and told us to evacuate. Drove through two shallow creek beds on the way to town, as well as one road where we hogged the center line because the side of the road was washing out. Headed home, the next day the nearby town flooded for several days. The second was on a summer vacation on the Central Oregon Coast. Had the absolute primo spot at the campground, camping in an A-frame trailer. A squall came in right after going to bed... the top of the A-frame has bungees that hold it tight when it's raised - if it's not blowing really hard. Difficult to look up and suddenly see the sky there! Luckily, everything held together. Moved to a state campground about 30 miles north up the coast, got a line of thunderstorms that came through the next night. Went home and staycationed the rest of the week. I have a small AM/FM/weather band radio with a very dim flashlight that I take along whenever we travel.
It's all fun and games until and emergency happens....then the reality of how vulnerable we are in this life.....thanks for the information....good to know.
Hi guys - we are full time RVers and just wanted to take a moment to give you a shout out for this week’s video. It always is great to share information on issues to help us all stay safe on the road. Thank again for sharing!! Stay safe and hope to meet you someday on the road. 😊❤️🇺🇸
Thankful that Melinda and Richard are okay! Hope the other family down a couple sites is doing well also. Mark/Trish what a blessing to have moved out of the area before the bad weather. If you had not, how do you think the Airstream would have fared? Not being boxy like most RV’s. One weather observation traveling is the radio announcements give warnings like they are talking to those who live and know where they are in relation to a warning. Travelers for the most part don’t know what County they are passing through and seconds count. If campgrounds don’t already do so, it would be nice to post location identifiers that would help campers.
For long range forecast Ryan Hall Y’all is my go to guy for planning RV trips. He seems to be spot on with future storms. I lived in Oklahoma City area for 32 years and the meteorologist are like the super stars of the news channels. 365 days a year they teach about the weather not only in Oklahoma but for the entire USA. They believe in being Fore Warned is the key to staying safe.
Thank you for this video and thanks to everyone sharing! Our first night in our new TT was under Tornado warning and thunderstorms. We made sure to know where the closest shelter was (firehouse) and kept our emergency radio going.
We were stopped at a state park just outside Sioux Falls, South Dakota, a couple of weeks ago when a tornado went through the city. Being from AZ., we didnt know what we didnt know about tornados! A sheriff's deputy came through the park to warn us and pointed out the small cement block bathroom for us to go to if needed. A couple of minutes later it was as dark as midnight as a dust storm came through. Thankfully the tornado stayed a couple of miles from us and the small canyon we were i. seemed to protect us from. most of the wind. I think we need to find out what to do if we had still been on the interstate, because going through Nebraska to South Dakota, there are few rest stops or towns. The next day when we were on the interstate, we saw a trailer on its side, an 18 wheeler on its side and debris from a silo scattered across the road. Thank you for the video. We need all the safety info we can get in order to be prepared if we find ourselves in this situation again. And thank you to the Sheriffs deputy who pounded on our door! we would never have had any idea of the potential danger without his effort.
Thanks for these great recommendations.... we too live the "go with the flow" attitude! Regarding your NP theme. Have you seen the scratch off posters of the NPs? We got on Amazon! So much fun!
Happy no one was injured in the storm.
I think Richard and Malinda need to name there rig Flipper.
Great information on weather.
I was there. In fact I’m in the pictures wearing a yellow rain coat. Our TT blew off the jacks but thankfully it stayed upright. I was so impressed with how quickly other campers were to jump in and turn off gas and electric and check on the occupants until the Fire Department arrived. It was a scary day. But I’m so glad everyone walked away.
Hi Matt. Thank goodness indeed that everyone was okay. Two questions come to mind: 1) Was this event an actual tornado or just strong winds? 2) Did you receive any storm warnings beforehand?
@@markbranson4656
We arrived during a downpour. There were heavy winds but I was outside when this one hit. I believe it was a straight line gust. I heard it coming and braced myself wen it hit. It still pushed me nearly over. To be honest, I didn’t have the radio on because I was too busy trying to park the rig and get everyone inside when it it hit, so I may have missed a warning. I would estimate it at 70 mph plus.
Back in 2019 we were caught in a tornado warning at a campground in Missouri. We have weather apps on our phone where we get all weather warnings no matter where we are. At 1 a.m. our "siren" alerts went off on our phones saying there was a tornado headed towards us. WE quickly threw on some clothes and ran up to the bathhouse/laundry building. Quite a few other campers went up there as well. We all looked on radar and local tv apps and could tell there was indeed a tornado heading towards the campground but luckily a few miles before it got to us the tornado lifted back up into the sky. All of us stayed there for quite a while but eventually went back to our campers. The tornado did hit the capitol city of Missouri, (Jefferson City) which did sustain a lot of damage. We felt pretty lucky.
David and Kathy are lovely people. David helped me make my mad dash north one time. I really appreciated his help. I’d like to add that I look up in the sky as well. If I see those big thunderhead clouds mid afternoon, I know I’m in for a rocky evening.
Thank you Karen!
I’ll never forget surviving a tornado in a campground in New Hampshire.
A giant tree fell and missed my Diesel motorhome by about 7 feet.
It was about 10 minutes of pure horror when the tornado hit.
It was August 2017 at Twin Mountain KOA, in Twin Mountain, NH
Life is about 10% what happens to you, and 90% how you react to it....something to remember...its helped me many times. Those folks are living that right now...
Hi Marc and Trish! My husband and I really enjoyed your severe weather video! We were totally surprised when you introduced your guests in the interview, Richard and Melinda, because we are Richard and Melynda, too! My husband will be retired on July 1st and we are in the process of downsizing and preparing to sell our house at this very moment to be able to full-time RV. We have been camping and RVing for forty-five years, since 1977! We are very excited to be so close to realizing our longtime dream of traveling, finding new friends and adventure through full-time RV living!
One thing we learned from “riding out” a severe storm event is that it’s sometimes okay to ditch out to a hotel for a night. In 2021 there was a storm system that went through the entire south so we being from the Midwest were stuck so we chose to ride it out. I stayed up all night watching local weather. The next day we “debriefed” what we could have done differently and the hotel idea came up. I recommend it.
Living in MN we pretty much see it all from blizzards to tornados....sometimes in the same month! My Dad was a Meteorologist with the National Weather Service and we always carried a NOAA weather radio when we traveled...which was helpful if we were cabin camping etc. Nowadays, I use a couple of weather apps which are helpful. I don't RV but I do go on extended bike rides and got caught in a few pop up showers...I checked my weather app and found a storm cell developing over me so I decided to head back...and eventually got stuck in a severe thunderstorm...Wasn't fun but I learned the signs that I should have turned back earlier.
In the aviation world it's called "Gotta get there syndrome" it can happen anywhere from taking off in the wrong conditions to landing in the wrong conditions...often ends up tragic!
Great video....The power of weather is often under-estimated and rarely respected.
I just want to say THANK YOU. We have learned so much from you two. You have given us courage and confidence to do more than we ever imagined. You two are a positive light in the craziness of RV social media. Thank you again from the bottom of my heart for all you do. ❤️
Thanks Sharon. We're glad you're here!
This is probably this most anxious of things I’d worry about if I were to be RVing. Except for having a wreck or experiencing violence. so this is a great topic. My spouse just GOES in weather. He has NO fear. “Hey look 👀 a tornado 🌪!!!!! So even in a car 🚗 I’m anxious 😬 when we are out. But he is mindful of my fears and will usually accommodate me til storms pass. Great subject and video.
Very timely! I was out camping in my first ever RV last weekend when a 60 foot tree was dropped by wind about 100 feet behind my RV. The storm took out Internet and cell service. I was able to get a local TV station to watch for tornado warnings. I spent the storm on the floor of my RV with the dogs. I left my NOA radio at home as only thunderstorms were predicted. I will be much more careful in the future.
I had an Airstream.
One night there was a strong wind and rain storm.
The next morning we went out and found out a tornado came through and put trailers on their sides.
We never felt the extreme winds to move us.
I don't have an Airstream now.
I will ASAP.
Love you
Be safe on your journeys 😊
My husband and I love watching the radar instead of just a forecast, I just wish there was a good app for Canadian weather.
This was great meeting Richard & Melinda. Wishing the circumstances would have been different for them.Thankful they are okay! Enjoyed meeting & hearing Dr. David Titley. The weather radio would be great to have on hand. The weather apps are a great safety feature even if you don't RV. Thank you Mark & Trish. Loved the ending. Ending up with P & J..
Great information, we grew up in Tornado Alley and lived our adult life on the gulf coast, we know about huricanes. Our biggest threat to our fulltime lifestyle right now is the price of fuel, over $5.30 a gallon for diesel today in the mid-west.
I grew up in Nebraska so I am well aware of thunderstorms and what to do. Except, thunderstorms are different in different areas!! Traveling in a truck and living in a small box is different than having a nice well-stocked basement safe room to wait out a storm. Thank you for all the tips and information for those of us in the road.
I bookmarked Dave's website to add to the arsenal of sources I use to gauge weather. On April 10, we left Texas headed home to NW Ohio and I was worried about heading through the heart of the Midwest. This website sure would have been handy the night of the 10th. I did review Ryan Hall Y'all and Reed Timmer on UA-cam and both predicted issues in Arkansas on the 11th. We started out early and made it near our final destination of W. Memphis. There was no way we were staying in W. Memphis as the weather was getting ugly. Ditched the reservation at Tom Sawyer and continued to drive 3 more hours north. As Ryan says, "be weather aware". Thanks for the great video.
Maureen and I were taking our Airstream home from Florida to California in February 2021 when the Big Texas Freeze weather event occurred. Admiral Titley and RV Weather were instrumental in assisting us in our travel plans as we waited out the brunt of the storm outside of New Orleans. Preparedness and apps, as mentioned, helped, and we watched and switched between them and checked the local emergency channels. However, Dr. Titley's updated RV Weather website is fantastic and takes the guesswork out of the equation.
Thanks very much for the kind words John. Hope you and Maureen are doing well!
Taking this scary opportunity to teach is great! Very much appreciated at this specific time in our life specifically. So glad everyone is ok! It could have been so so much worse.
Late March of this year we were camping outside Pigeon Forge, TN when a forrest fire started nearby. We were set to leave in 2 days, but stuck around for about 3 hours (gotta get the laundry done!) and decided to leave. It was moving too quick and the wind warning was 2 hours out still. At this point we'd already faced another forrest fire nearby, near flooding, snow and other wind warnings, so we were done. From putting laundry away to pulling out (with us, a dog, and a 7 yr old) was 2 hours. Thank God we did, the next day it had been evacuated and was being used and a first responders meeting point! Thankfully we were able to "keep calm and move on!"
One of the most important episodes of KYD.. You r a God sent. Thanks guys for sharing your experience with us.
Awesome video, and guest speaker, & glad the couple is okay!
Thank you guys for sharing this information. I work in a bucket truck for the electric company in Texas and the weather has been a huge part of my life. It is very important the things that you shared. The biggest thing to draw from this is to make a habit of checking the weather when you first get up and the last thing you do before bedtime because things can change so quickly. Great job again guys!
Keeping an eye on the sky is a great philosophy! Many years ago, we took the kids camping to a park here in the east that had a dock and launch access to the local river. We had a rainy day, so we decided to head into a larger town about 30 minutes away and do shopping and a movie. When we came out of the movie, we had been told how the wind had picked up and even had flash flood warnings in the area. On our way back, the rain had started to subside. When we pulled into the park gate, there were at least 50 people standing around talking. We got out to ask what was going on. The river had crested, and flooded the entire park. The park ranger approached us and asked if we had the rig with the Dodge Durango parked in front of the camper. We said yes, and he told us they wanted to pull the camper out... but were unable with the vehicle in front of it and a pin lock on it. Our hearts sank, and they let us into the park since the water was going down. It just so happened that we had a site that was the highest in the park. The water got as high as the top step, but did not enter the camper. All we lost was a few pairs of water shoes, and two mountain bikes missing. The boys searched the area, and found the bikes wedged in a tree 6' about the ground. A little power washing and bearing cleaning on the bikes and camper axles. At the end of the day, we had a lot to be thankful for... and a lesson on weather watching! Thank you both for the great videos. Heading out for the first trip of the year on Wednesday. Safe travels all!
Also, when traveling in the west, especially in a forest, check for possible fires. Traveling through smoke, or having to detour, is a strong possibility. I don't know if a weather app will inform of an eminent fire, but local news will.
Whoa Nellie- this is a great suggestion for an entire KYD video for west coast rving. We now carry goggles and masks and stay alert. There's the actual fire and separately the smoke which can travel for miles.
@@dakat1726 Hi DaKat! It's great you carry goggles and masks while traveling in the west. Better to be prepared.
I would enjoy watching a KYD video on this subject. Thank You for your comment. ~Lucy
I've been hiking with a handheld NOAA radio for years and it's a great tool to have. I'm planning on using it when we start our RV Adventure! Good info to & 15 years in the fire service has made me hyper aware all the time now!
Great info this week! Glad everyone came out okay and happy to see they’re not giving up on RV life.
After 15 years of working in Emergency Services, the biggest mistake I see folks make is to say “eh, it’s not that bad”. Take weather serious, watch the radar (there are a ton of apps). keep in your vehicle a bug out backpack full of emergency supplies (first aid, water, etc). If you can’t get out of the area…get out of your camper & get to a safe place. This applies for your sticks & bricks house as well, go to a safe place. You don’t need a tornado to have serious damage from lightening, hail or wind. Great video Marc & Trish!
Oh my gosh. What a sight to see a pretty good sized travel trailer laying on it's side. You don't think about those things when your in your camper and you feel the wind blowing and your rocking back and forth a little bit. Wow. So glad everyone is ok. That really was wonderful information; the kind that could definitely save someone's life. That said, the end of your video had me cracking up. That was sooo funny. A little light hearted humor was good.
We must be following you on the road. We were at the Wright Brothers Memorial on Tuesday the 17th & then Shenandoah NP on Thursday the 20th. Had the worst drive in many years going from Ocracoke to Corolla on NC 12 during a major storm on Monday night the 16th. Water all over the road kept me thinking “turn around; don’t drown”. But with having taken the last ferry just before midnight, we had almost no options. Thankfully after 3 hours & 90 miles later we made it to where we were staying on the island.
You never mentioned snow. I live and work in South Lake Tahoe, CA as a municipal bus driver. I see people towing/driving when it's snowing or when the roads are still covered in ice. I feel that they are very foolish and risking their rigs and lives, and the lives and property of others.
A little planning ahead goes a long way toward keeping you safe!
Happy Sunday everyone! Love yall 3000!
Our camper was the seasonal one that had the tree on top of it from that night. Glad everyone was ok.
We were on Hatteras about ten days before you were there and a storm came up with a tornado warning after we were already in bed for the night. Only way off the island was a 2 hour drive or a ferry. We stayed up all night googling to figure out how high the winds needed to be to knock over the trailer and they weren’t getting over 50mph so we stayed put. Campers a few sites over had alerts for tornado but we weren’t in the red square on Clime. In the end the tornado hit on the mainland.
Wonder what measures you could take besides evacuation?
Thank you for this video, my husband and are still newbies. I watch your video last night and showed my husband this morning. This evening in Sidney NE we had a severe storm roll through. It wasn’t real bed but this was something we didn’t think about. My weather app was not updating to my location, it only was giving updates for home. After watching your video I changed the settings to use my current location. I thank God for this community and the people who share their stories.
May 4th we were traveling through eastern Oklahoma on Highway 75 heading to southeast Kansas with our Arctic Fox pickup camper. While we're were fueling at Interstate 40 and Highway 75 we started seeing the thunderstorms building to the west if us. We turned on our amateur radio and turned in to the Sky Warn storm spotter frequency to hear storm chasers reporting a tornado near Seminole, OK which was about 30 minutes from us. We drove north bound into inflow winds as fast and safely as we could. About 40 minutes later, tornado was on the ground going through the community we left. Being Amateur Radio licensed operators, we knew to tune in to Sky Warn and ARES frequencies and get weather reports. Also, we have the Severe Weather Radio mentioned, just be sure you have a weather Radio with S.A.M.E. capability and have the correct codes programmed in. But, as an Emergency Manager, I cannot tell you how important amateur radio is to your emergency/disaster plan and being an RVer.
We survived Tropical Storm ETA at the Myrtle Beach Travel Park back in 2020. 50MPH winds in a travel trailer, had it rocking pretty good.
During the week l saw the weather comming to N.C. and thought oh no Marc and Trish. You moved your rig and the wind blew his over !!! Glad your ok "Keep The Faith"
Y’all were my first thought when I seen the nor’easter hitting the OBX! Glad you’re ok. And thanks for the info on weather and thank god your friends are ok.
Just catching up on your latest videos. This one is perfect timing! Tomorrow I’m heading west to the Aliner North American Rally in SD and the onward to the Grand Tetons. I’m taking the SS Badger, because I saw your video, and I’ll be returning on a more southerly route throughMissouri. I was just finding state maps of counties. It was KYD or LoLoHo who mentioned that you should know the counties in case of adverse Weather announcements.
Thank you for sharing all of your amazing adventures!
Muskoka ON 🇨🇦
Just saw a high winds wrecked bumper pull toyhauler on the highway last night. The frame and floor were upright in one spot and a forklift was picking up what was left of the body. The 4 seater RZR that had been in the back of it was sitting on a flat bed tow truck, scraped up but intact. No injuries requiring a trip to the hospital.
From where to go, to hey, we've been there, from upgrade tips to equipment reviews, to important stuff like this, no wonder your channel is THE BEST. Thanks for the post!
Traveled solo from Kansas to Baton Rouge, LA several years ago. Arrived at KOA and discovered there was a hurricane coming. Asked the desk where the shelter was and she kinda snickered and said they didn't have one. Oh, could use the restroom if I felt the need. Got lucky and just had some wind and rain. Guess it helped being from Tornado Alley, as I thought to ask about a shelter. Love your channel and all the good advice!
This was a top show! Such great information. We just went through Texas and watched the weather a couple times a day. Wow, you guys got out just in time!!
Guess what one week after watching this we ended up in a severe storm. My wife and I looked at 2 weather apps which both said severe T storms around five, we hitched up and left at noon. 12:05 high winds and rain tore through, power lines dropped, trees too. I just parked on the 2 lane road and waited until it passed. Never know when Mother Nature wants to play.
A couple of really good friends of mine are meteorologists in north Alabama. We had a rash of tornados in April of 2011 and they turned me on to RadarScope. It's hands-down the best doppler radar app out there, if you want a pure radar feed. I personally use a subscription, but I'm also a pilot and probably pay more attention to radar than most people would. However, what really makes it shine for me is that you can save favorite places and customize the views. I have all of my family's locations on it, and we all take turns watching out for each other when tornado warnings are out. The location icon is also great for when we're out camping. I also agree that the best thing you can do is ask where the safe house is when you arrive to a campsite. We've been pleasantly surprised to find that there are a couple of places that have had actual storm shelters.
Great video and so appropriate for us. We left Ocala, FL on 4/26 and are traveling to many national parks out west. We are currently in Utah. We hit Oklahoma City when they were calling for severe weather and tornado watches. We stayed at a KOA and they told us where the shelters were located which scared the heck out of us. They said that if we needed to take shelter and had a pet (we do) we could wait out the storm in the log cabin office (oh my). We have a weather radio and the CLIME app. We will now have the RVWeather site loaded up. Thank you for this timely video.
Beginning of September of 2021 2am in the morning a 4-foot diameter ( no wind, just rain . Tree was bad already but state park and could not do any repercussions to them ) tree fell on our camper and truck and destroyed everything. The only thing that stopped the tree from splitting the trailer in half was the fridge, otherwise, My wife and I may not have made it ourselves. The one thing about our accident was when the tree hit it buckled the roof in such a way the door flung open otherwise all exits were blocked. It totaled both trailer and truck but nationwide covered and over covered everything 65k in damage. Now we are in a Open range bumper pull and newer truck. As Richard and Linda said we were not going this too destroy our RV experience.
Speaking of weather related Camping. Me and My wife were just in Hatteras Village at Hatteras Sands Campground at the end of Hatteras Island at the ferry terminal for 8 days and the first 4.5 were in the Nor'easter that just came through. I was a little worried about staying, but being the adventurous types, we decided to ride it out. High winds, roads shut down and ferry shutdown were a first for us, but it was an adventure for the week. And to top it off, Friday afternoon a fiber optic line was cut that provided cell service, landline service and internet to all of Hatteras Island. That was the icing on the cake. People actually had to talk to each other and use cash money. I was good, but we seen many people struggle with the interactions and only cash. Just a little fun adventure while camping for us.
We went to Idaho last weekend and left one night early to avoid towing home in sleet/snow. Awareness is so useful
It can be the day after too! In 2020, my camper was months old and I traveled the day AFTER a hurricane. I was going 35 mph, then a huge part of a tree crashed into the road as I was driving buy it, it impaled the side of my RV, sprung open my awning, this slammed into the tree, ripping it nearly off, this also jolted my bikes off the bike carrier and threw them into the back of my RV. The entire passenger side of my RV was wrecked, plus parts of my front and back! I will never travel in a storm or the day after ever again. Luckily the RV was brand new, so it wasn't totaled.
As we returned from our Utah trip we experienced a derecho in central Ne. straight line winds up to 120 mph. We live in the Midwest and have witnessed this type of weather in the past. We pulled into a rest stop as the winds picked up and sat it out. When the stormed passed we proceeded east bound and passed 3 TTs on their sides as well a several trucks. Being weather aware is essential. Thanks for this important reminder.
Wow. I remember seeing that camper on the local news that day. Glad they were ok.
Thanks for sharing your story. Last year I left a State Park because a tornado was coming that direction. I hooked up quickly and moved 1 hour away to my oldest daughters house. Than the giant hail hit, for 30 minutes totaling my trailer, and major damage to my Jeep. Also, I was in an extreme softball sized hail storm in Oklahoma 12 years ago, destroying the home roof, 20 windows, every car totaled. It’s always a big shock at first, but grace gets you through it. I have 5 weather apps keeps me updated, and check it many times a day even if the sun is shining.
Timing is everything in life. Glad they were ok.
I use RadarScope for Doppler. It has GPS and can tell where you are. I use Red Cross Tornado for tornado watches and warnings. It's very accurate. And I use a NOAA weather radio for all local watches/warnings. I'm also a weather nerd though and I am always checking the weather.
This was a great and very informative episode. We had a minor incident last September. We were camping not too far from home and returned home without our TT to safely ride out Hurricane Ida. When we returned to the campground the storm had quieted down and was moving away. Other than a lot of tree debris and some ponding in the area all was well with our TT until about 30 minutes later when a good sized branch fell and partially came through the roof and into the dining area slide. My granddaughter and I were sitting at the table eating. Scary to say the least but no-one was hurt so everything else after that automatically becomes very small details to deal with. Our camping season was done but really, we were just so grateful it was not more serious and no one was hurt. I always say weather is no joke, our experience proved that to us and Richard and Melinda's reinforced that. We are devoted weekly viewers and love all of your videos but this one was particularly important and we thank you for sharing all of the great information from Dr. Titley....we've already visited his site and ordered the weather radio! :)
We just returned to our RV summer home base after over 8 months on the road. We watch the weather and are not shy about changing directions or plans. We got pushed from AZ to KS by fires and/or high winds, and then got into tornado alley. Let's just say, it was interesting. Prayers and planning! We holed up in a Corp of Engineers campground with several sturdy bathhouse and kept watching the weather!
We have a weather radio and use the weatherbug app, which is free and has great radar with layers, lightning reports, etc. I will check those apps out. Always good to have more options! Thanks.
Glad to hear they are ok! We got caught in severe storms our first 3 weeks on the road and abandoned the rv because of a tornado. Out of all the stuff that happens on the road, the nasty weather is the one that gets my heart beatin faster
Wonderful information. Thanks for taking the time to pass it on. So sorry to hear about your friends, so glad they are ok.
Lost a 34 ft Airstream to straight line winds as part of a storm one year at a campground. Laid a tree lengthwise on the trailer and flattened it! Had we been in it that night we would have been dead. It took the overhead cabinets and drove them down into the mattress where are heads would have been. We had encountered a good many tornado aftermath because we live in Wisconsin. You roll with the punches and stay alert! Always have a plan!
I like weather bug. It’s free and has a current location feature that can alert you based on just that, your current location. It’s great and free.
Wonderful! We appreciate you & David, Richard & Melinda. Thanks A LOT!
Wonderful video, glad your friends were not hurt. Be very aware of hurricanes and their track inland. In 2011 Hurricane Irene went inland with her rain. I’m in the White Mountains of NH. I sit about a mile away from where the river rose and caused destruction. There are still scars from that storm up here. The ocean is 1 ½ hours away from here. Unfortunately, in 2017 or 2018 the same rive rose again during a major fall storm and damaged some of the same homes again. These are not riverfront homes. They are at least a quarter mile away from where the river spilled over.
Weather can be wild. While in South Dakota we encountered a massive hail storm. Destroyed our vehicles. Had hail coming through our RV skylights. We full time so that was our house being destroyed. We had def learned from that experience. We are still out here doing it :)
This episode is so helpful for all tent campers and RVers. Thanks so much for all your hard work in pulling all the information together.
Harvest Host saved us in Kansas a few weeks ago. We were able to leave a day early, but the state park we were headed to did not have availability. We found a HH outside the storm zone, but on the way to our next destination,
We are from Idaho and have plans to leave (next year ‘24) mid February and head south and then east down the Florida Keys and back up try to be home ‘near’ the first week of May. From this video (which we really appreciate!!), it seems on average we are in semi-safe months but we will keep watch and be flexible…especially seeing how ‘early’ some of the storms are / were this year. THANKS for the great information….
We are currently working in an RV Park in Southern Minnesota. The Park policy is to the storm shelter when the sirens go off or you will need to leave after the storm is over. This happened to us last Wednesday nite, our first night working solo. We got all 60 people, 2 babies, 8 dogs, 2 cats and a large bird in the shelter.
Great video and very useful information. So glad your friends weren't injured! The scenes in the RV park brought back memories of two incidents when we were full timing. One involved a microburst with straight-line winds reported between 90 and 110 mph. We put our tow vehicle between the wind and our RV to block the wind. It worked and we stayed upright. The 5th-wheel behind us plus two mobile homes nearby didn't fair quite so well. The other occurred in an RV Park in New Mexico when a weak tornado passed through the west side of the park destroying a park model and a new Class A motor home. This after it took the roof off of a near by metal fabrication plant. It was shocking. No one was hurt fortunately (the owner of the Class A had just left 30 minutes earlier and the person in the park model had gone to the park office to visit with the owners). Though a weak tornado it was strong enough to pick the park model up 6 feet into the air and drop it, breaking the frame and dump the Class A on its side, crushing the slide outs. It missed us but it was quite frightening.
Floridian here. Just a friendly reminder, the main thoroughfares in and out of FL, namely I-95, I-10 and I-75 become parking lots during hurricanes, so take that in consideration.
Great video. Made us think about having an effective plan and now we realize our egress window is on the same side as our door. Uh oh…learned we need to have the bunk room slide out when we park. It’s the only egress window on the driver side if the rv was to go over onto the passenger side.
Prepared for the worst, living out the the best!
I found the hardest thing when traveling is to understand the weather alert. "A tornado is traveling 10 miles south of a line from Jonesville to Smithtown in Allen county." Where the HeII is that? This year I carried Midland hand held weather radios. (Old HH54vp2 from e-bay) Listen to the NOAA broadcast you can receive. Still a sudden hailstorm is unavoidable unless you get under cover.
Wow!! Glad everyone is OK
Good Morning. Great topic. I am an ultralight pilot. (Off topic but relevant, my first flying was done at CMA at their Aviation summer camp in the 80’s when I was 15-16) Weather is priority 1,2 and 3 before a flight. I am not looking for broader weather patterns, but rather micro-patterns that are happening now and for the next two hours right where I am located, not the coverage of the local forecast. There is a great book called Understanding the Sky (Dennis Pagen) that is a sport pilot weather bible. There are many aspects of the learnings offered there that would benefit RVers. For example, understanding mechanical turbulence/rotor, gust fronts and Venturi effects can afford a boondocker some knowledge of where and how to park a rig around high structure. If you want some, not so light, reading I would highly recommend. Seems like something Mark would enjoy.
Do not forget about "Fire Weather" High Wind & beyond dry conditions.
Perfect week to be in SNP! I can see it from my office window and wish I'd taken some days off to run the trailer up Skyline Drive.
Great video! Thanks for talking about this! Another thing to watch for is forest fires. We’ve seen over the past decade especially where large scale fires have hit every state from Cali to Tennessee. Fires can erupt or change direction without warning.
Great information, but there are a couple of things that could be discussed. If you are relying on a weather Radio or app alert which will usually go off during the night, you need to know what county you are in. Watches and warnings will come in for counties and only the larger cities will be mentioned. You can Google for a county map or what county is "this town in". Also another threat during tornado season is straight line winds, they can be seen on a doplar radar and look like a Bow from a bow and arrow. The middle most pronounced part can produce up to 100mph winds.
WOW! Great video. I'm so glad that couple is ok. What an experience. Right now we have some bad weather but we are home. The RV is sitting in the driveway. I can't imagine how that couple felt. I grew up in MA. Gloria and Bob were the big ones. But now I live in IL. I fear tornados. I lived close to 2 that hit and destroyed much of the towns in the path. I was shocked to see how a tornado didn't hit my house but 2 streets over was wiped out. Very good video. Thank you for this. P.S. I am a member of my local state park/campground. I am making a list of things we need to tell/handout to campers. Thank you!
This video was so great! thank you for sharing this and thanks for bringing on David. He gave practical advise and your comments and experience just added to the video.
thank you!
Last year we were at EAA Oshkosh camping in my in laws motorhome when a tornado was possible in the area. Lots of people (in tents, etc) went to the museum and other areas to hunker down…We took everything we could into the motorhome and flipped tables, etc upside down and slid everything we could under all the campers, etc. I didn’t sleep all night (kept my clothes/bra on and shoes handy, haha) and just kept my eye on the camper next to us…if something started moving/blowing, I was ready. Luckily the tornado missed AIRVENTURE by 4 miles. Next morning we made the walk to check on our airplane/ friends planes/ other campers and thankfully all was good!
I'm a ham radio operator and I am them trained in skyworn operations in the Twin Cities Open Minnesota
I've been a tent camper for years and have been in multiple scary storms along the road. The first one was while traveling through NJ and a severe T-storm was coming in. I was at a state park along a creek and I had gotten up early and decided that I would break down my site before heading to the showers. I got packed up, moved my car up near the shower house, and was in the shower when I could hear the park ranger driving through the site speaking loudly and with urgency that people needed to move to higher ground immediately. I got out of the shower and the rain was coming down in buckets and watched as the creek/river I had just been camped next to spilling over its banks. People were moving quickly to grab their belongings and to move their cars up near mine by the shower house. Within 10 minutes the area for the tents was under feet of water. A park ranger was at the shower house and told us that we would be able to get out of the park as the road out was all high and to one side of the creek.
Great video, last week in Minnesota a BAD storm approached the campground I was in. I spent 45 minutes in the shelter/ bathroom during 90 mph winds.
One thing to add, I had a back pack with some personal items, radio and flashlight. Also if you have medication bring those as well. I call it my go bag.
reading others comments I didn't see any comments or suggestions on campsite layout and or awareness. We frequently back the truck in along the camp side of the camper the put things in and out of it. When there is a potential for bad weather maybe it needs to be away from the trailer so it doesn't end up under the trailer. another thought would be to look at trees and their condition. state parks are notorious for leaving bad trees in place.
Too funny that I just saw this today. We just got back from our first trip in our new trailer. In an area with limited cell phone reception, or I would have seen this. There was a severe weather warning for the last two days, including our drive home. On the way home there were areas where wind gusts were approximately 110km/h (60mph). Talk about white knuckles!
Great video! I've been in two situations. First was in Central Oregon, camping in a cabin in a state park. The afternoon and evening were wonderful, but there were some ominous looking clouds coming in as night fell. We got four inches of rain that night, still raining in the morning when the staff came around and told us to evacuate. Drove through two shallow creek beds on the way to town, as well as one road where we hogged the center line because the side of the road was washing out. Headed home, the next day the nearby town flooded for several days.
The second was on a summer vacation on the Central Oregon Coast. Had the absolute primo spot at the campground, camping in an A-frame trailer. A squall came in right after going to bed... the top of the A-frame has bungees that hold it tight when it's raised - if it's not blowing really hard. Difficult to look up and suddenly see the sky there! Luckily, everything held together. Moved to a state campground about 30 miles north up the coast, got a line of thunderstorms that came through the next night. Went home and staycationed the rest of the week.
I have a small AM/FM/weather band radio with a very dim flashlight that I take along whenever we travel.
It's all fun and games until and emergency happens....then the reality of how vulnerable we are in this life.....thanks for the information....good to know.
Hi guys - we are full time RVers and just wanted to take a moment to give you a shout out for this week’s video. It always is great to share information on issues to help us all stay safe on the road. Thank again for sharing!! Stay safe and hope to meet you someday on the road. 😊❤️🇺🇸
Thankful that Melinda and Richard are okay! Hope the other family down a couple sites is doing well also. Mark/Trish what a blessing to have moved out of the area before the bad weather. If you had not, how do you think the Airstream would have fared? Not being boxy like most RV’s. One weather observation traveling is the radio announcements give warnings like they are talking to those who live and know where they are in relation to a warning. Travelers for the most part don’t know what County they are passing through and seconds count. If campgrounds don’t already do so, it would be nice to post location identifiers that would help campers.
Weather knowledge is NOT just for RVing. This information is valid for anyone driving, biking, hiking .
For long range forecast Ryan Hall Y’all is my go to guy for planning RV trips. He seems to be spot on with future storms. I lived in Oklahoma City area for 32 years and the meteorologist are like the super stars of the news channels. 365 days a year they teach about the weather not only in Oklahoma but for the entire USA. They believe in being Fore Warned is the key to staying safe.
Thank you for this video and thanks to everyone sharing! Our first night in our new TT was under Tornado warning and thunderstorms. We made sure to know where the closest shelter was (firehouse) and kept our emergency radio going.
We were stopped at a state park just outside Sioux Falls, South Dakota, a couple of weeks ago when a tornado went through the city. Being from AZ., we didnt know what we didnt know about tornados! A sheriff's deputy came through the park to warn us and pointed out the small cement block bathroom for us to go to if needed. A couple of minutes later it was as dark as midnight as a dust storm came through. Thankfully the tornado stayed a couple of miles from us and the small canyon we were i. seemed to protect us from. most of the wind.
I think we need to find out what to do if we had still been on the interstate, because going through Nebraska to South Dakota, there are few rest stops or towns. The next day when we were on the interstate, we saw a trailer on its side, an 18 wheeler on its side and debris from a silo scattered across the road. Thank you for the video.
We need all the safety info we can get in order to be prepared if we find ourselves in this situation again.
And thank you to the Sheriffs deputy who pounded on our door! we would never have had any idea of the potential danger without his effort.
I watch NOAA. Very good. No ads. I’m up in Ontario. I like to see it roll in and then what to do to prepare.
Oh my that had to be scary glad no one was hurt
Thanks for these great recommendations.... we too live the "go with the flow" attitude!
Regarding your NP theme. Have you seen the scratch off posters of the NPs? We got on Amazon! So much fun!
I just cross the country and back in April. I totally lucked out, only a touch of rain and rainy night twice in 3 weeks.