From a basement...

We are sitting in our basement right now as we are under a tornado warning. Don't forget- a WATCH is when conditions are favorable while a WARNING is when something is seen or indicated by radar. When I was in high school I took a tornado watchers class. That is pretty much all that I remember and well, pretty much everyone knows a funnel cloud when they see one right?
I grew up in the midwest and we often went into the basement for warnings. I remember my mom (who also grew up in the midwest) telling stories about how there was one when she was little and she found a piece of straw that went straight into the trunk of a tree (I must note now that I am prettt gullable and that sounds pretty extreme). Here in PA, I do not even know if there ARE sirens. When I was in TX, a friend from a tornado-free land always wanted to see one or be in one. I don't get that because they are scary and can ruin homes and lives. I saw first hand hangars and planes flipped over and destroyed from tornado-like storms (microbursts to be exact). Anyways, 45 minutes in the basement doesn't seem so bad to avoid any possibility of being in one- especially with wireless computes with dvd players!