How can I get over my fears of thunderstorms and tornados?

Question

Tell me signs of tornados

Answer 1

Signs of tornados: dark, dark, greenish-looking sky, usually coming from the southwest. Any wind disappears; it gets totally calm. Then the huge raindrops will start, and if there's hail, there's a very good chance there's a tornado within 25 miles. Go to the lowest spot in your home and get under a table or other sturdy object. A tornado sounds like a freight train, you can't mistake it. A tornado WARNING (tornado sited) usually only lasts for 15 or 20 minutes. If you don't have a basement, go into a room with the least number of windows and cover yourself with a blanket in case of broken glass.

For thunderstorms: have someone you trust very much sit by you during the storm. Scream, cry, yell- whatever. But notice: you're still here, still alive. Decrease the time that the person sits with you over time until finally you can stand it alone. Believe me, nobody loves a thunderstorm, but people seldom get harmed by them, either.

Good luck!

Answer 2

Conquer your fears. Fear of death will only help you die quicker. The same concept applies hear.

Anyway, there is persisting rotation in a cloud base, hail or heavy rain may occur and yeah.

-the sky can be greenish-black

-debris may fall from the sky

-clouds move fast

-intense wind shift

-air can go still and quiet before tornadoes approach

One tip- go to the most bottom floor like the basement of the house/hotel or whatever. Do not try to drive away as only few live to escape and it can be very dangerous.

Answer 3

Fear of extreme weather is pretty normal, but it can definitely get irrational. I was incredibly afraid of storms up until about age 15. I would watch the weather channel constantly, even refuse to go to school if there was a chance of thunderstorms that day. I think I partly grew out of it, but there were a few things that helped me - I learned as much about the weather as possible to understand exactly what was happening during a thunderstorm. It's a bit less frightening when you know what's going on.

The only way to get over a phobia is to gradually expose yourself to the thing that you fear (safely, of course - I'm not suggesting you stand outside in a storm). Try tackling thunder and lightning separately. Sit in a room with no windows (bathroom, hallway, closet) and listen to the thunder. Don't plug your ears, just listen. Read a magazine or do something to distract you. You'll be afraid, of course, but the more you do it, the more comfortable you'll be hearing thunder. Have someone sit with you if you must.

Next, sit in a room with windows (preferably just one) and listen to loud-ish music with headphones, which is relatively safe as long as they're not attached to something that's plugged into the wall. Look out the window. You may feel the vibration from the thunder, but just try your best to bear it. Enjoy your music - really concentrate on it. Sing along. Just watch the lightning. Again, you'll probably be afraid. Do this until you feel ready to tackle both - sit in that same room with no headphones. Wrap a nice thick blanket around yourself - this will help you feel more secure. Try counting the seconds between seeing lightning and hearing thunder. 5 seconds = 1 mile away. Concentrating on this may help a bit, but it makes it worse for some people.

It may seem like a daunting task, but it's worth trying. It helped me so much. Good luck!

PS: As for tornadoes, there aren't many signs except for the ones you always hear about - green sky, freight train sound, clouds rotating. You could learn to read the base radial velocity on Doppler radar, but that's pretty complicated. Tornadoes are not something to worry constantly about - they may be common where you live, but it's not too likely that one will ever hit your house. You'll be okay as long as you know how to stay safe.

Answer 4

Rain, hail, lightning, sounds like a freight train, and the sudden appearance of sky above you despite being indoors.