Im terrified of thunderstorms.?

Question

ever since i moved to minnesota when i was 7, i've been absolutely terrified of thunderstorms. it's probably because they can produce tornadoes. im mostly afraid of severe thunderstorms. like if its just a normal thunderstorm im totally fine, but if its even slightly severe i freak out. i constantly check the weather, look out the windows, and even hold my baby blanket to me. i'm 13 now, and i really need to get over this. there's been tornadoes just minutes away from my house, the closest one that has ever happened was about 50 yards away from my house in june 2006. the windows were shaking, our lights were flickering, etc.

im so sick of being afraid. how can i get over this fear?

by the way, ive driven & walked in many storms, and it only helps for that day.

there's supposed to be strong thunderstorms here tomorrow, and i dont want to be scared.

Answer 1

grab your favorite song, kick the volume al the way up!!! then RoCKKKoUtT!!!!!!!!!!!!!o yea

Answer 2

♪♪♪♪™ Rock on `♪♪♪♪©™

Answer 3

This is totally normal to be afraid of those kinds of storms, in fact it is a good thing. This is part of the fear response of fight or flight response.

One of the best things to do is to be with other people, be with your family or friends, listening to music is a good idea too. May be try to breath more slowly. The other thing is if you are worried may be make a bit of an emergency plan,  you should stay informed about the storm, if you have *wireless* internet it is useful to track the weather radar.

Answer 4

Your fear does not sound like a phobia to me since you seem to distinguish the difference between a minor and major thunderstorm.

While it is true that the same weather conditions which create a thunderstorm are generally the same conditions which allow most tornadoes to form, I have seen 2 or 3 funnel clouds form when I was living in the Chicago area about 1975, and there was no rain or lightning at the time.

I also saw 2 waterspouts(tornadoes formed over water) when I was living in the Caribbean 13 years or so later in similar weather conditions.

While this information may not seem to be encouraging so far, I hope that the rest of what I say may help.

While Minnesota does get the occasional tornado, you are outside of the most vulnerable risk area, or 'Tornado Alley'.

Check out, http://static.wikipedia.org/new/wikipedi...

for more information.

While it is prudent to not take any unnecessary risks which could place you in a dangerous situation, it is also counter-productive to be fearful of what 'might' happen and fear the 'worse case scenario'.

Let us look on the positive side of things.

1) Tornadoes are basically extremely strong winds caused by concentrated effect of the vortex.

The amount of water that it is carrying with it will depend on the given potential for both it's longevity and potential to do damage.

The more water it is carrying the more destructive force for any given wind speed.

The wind and rain do not kill, however the debris which it carries with it does.

2) Your state ranked 18th in the 56 US States and territories.

http://movies.warnerbros.com/twister/cmp...

Depending on which county you live, the number of tornadoes  and the deaths and injuries over a 45 year period range from 0 and 13.

The worst incident occurred in Cass County on August 06, 1969, when 12 people died and 70 were injured in an F4 tornado, the only other death recorded in that county occurred on July 05, 1991  during an F1 tornado.

So only 13 people have died and 70 injured over a 45 year period in 2 of the 18 recorded tornadoes in the county with the worst record in your state!

On the other extreme, there are 2 counties which have had 2 recorded tornadoes each during that same 45 year period, Cook and Scott Counties, and neither had any reported deaths or injuries.

http://www.tornadoproject.com/alltorns/m...

So if you look at the statistics given the worst case scenario(meaning you live in Cass County), and a current State population of roughly 370,000, your chance of being killed or injured is extremely minute.

Since I do not know which county you live in, or it's current population, I can not narrow down the statistics any further.

You should be able to figure it out for yourself with the provided links.

Otherwise, may I suggest that you try to treat any thunderstorm as I do.

I have always enjoyed a good thunderstorm, the more spectacular the better in my opinion.

I do not get to see many where I live these days and really miss them.

Do not be frightened of a good thunderstorm, no matter how severe it is, most never produce a tornado anyway.

If you live in an area which is prone to having tornadoes, you should have tornado watch, warnings, and alerts issued, and a 'Tornado Watch' simply means that the conditions of the weather front could (I repeat COULD) produce some tornado activity.

If funnel clouds are actually spotted in the area, it becomes a 'Tornado Warning', and If a tornado actually totally forms and makes ground contact you will receive a 'Tornado Alert'.

At least that is the way I seem to remember the way it was done in Illinois in the late 1970's.

Today they may have changed to a color coded system but the principle will still remain the same.

I believe that the more you understand about something, the less likely you will be to fear it.

No matter where you live, you are far more likely to be killed or seriously injured in a traffic accident than by a tornado.

I hope that brings a little comfort and some perspective to the matter.