The Rural Voice, 1996-07, Page 24help, like so many people did for us.
There were a lot of people here,
especially teenagers, before and
during the cleanup. It makes you
think that there's a lot of good in
people after all. And we really
appreciate everyone who stopped in
to console us."
The Saunders family is grateful to
everyone who helped out in the
many ways people have since
April 20, the day that changed
the lives of the Saunders family.
Weather specialists Arjen (Ed) and
Jerrine Verkaik live near Elmwood,
Ontario. The Verkaiks are expert
"skywatchers" and have written
pamphlets and books
for Environment
Canada.
"Weather -watching
is a passion that
became an avocation
with us," says Jerrine.
"It chose us. We've
spent an amazing
amount of time and
energy looking out the
window."
"You learn to
develop a 'weather
eye'," adds Ed. "Most
farmers are adept at
that already. There's a lot of pleasure
watching the sky."
The Verkaiks define a tornado as
"a rotating column of air which may
or may not be visible because of
condensation." Tornadoes, then, are
not always visible. If a tornado passes
over a wet, grassy field or over a
concrete surface such as a roadway,
where there may be no debris, there
is no visible tornado near the ground.
But it still makes ground contact and
can still cause damage.
Two features make a tornado
visible, say the Verkaiks: one, debris
lifted from the ground, and two,
condensation going down, forming
the funnel.
"A cloud can descend to the
ground without being seen," cautions
Ed. "Summer thunderstorms are
bascd low to the ground and many
tornadoes can be hidden in the cloud
base."
There are two types of tornadoes.
Spring tornadoes are stronger, more
dangerous, and more unusual than
summer tornadoes. Spring tornadoes
are less typical weather types, and
can occur from mid-April to early -
June. Spring tornadoes usually come
in the late afternoon through the mid -
evening and they travel west-south-
west to east -north-east.
A typical setting for a spring
tornado was the day of April 20 — a
summer-like day, with gusty south to
southeast winds and a good strong
low pressure system.
The summer tornado, the second
type, occurs 10 times more often and
is usually associated with a squall
line of lightning and rain. There may
or may not be rain; there may be
lightning. The summer tornado may
be very brief in duration and not as
winds. The summer tornado is the
most common type and does the most
damage in our part of Ontario. But
there is still more damage done by
strong bursts of wind that accompany
thunderstorms."
"A tornado can be much closer
than we think," states Jerrine. "It is
hard to judge cloud size and
proximity. There is usually a lot of
light under a high base storm."
• "To have a good weather eye, you
need to be able to judge ground
distance as well as vertical or height
distance," adds Ed. "A tornado is a
three-dimensional object and it
changes position quickly."
"A tornado at a
distance is quite
dark," says Jer-
rine. "The closer a
tornado is, the
more cloudy or
nebulous it is.
When the conden-
sation funnel
descends, debris is
sucked up, giving
the tornado its
colour. Lightning
safety is actually
more crucial to
farmers."
20 THE ('.URAL VOICE
A pile of lumber (top) is all that
remains of a barn south of
Williamsford. Below, pieces of steel
wrapped around a tree show the
force of the winds in the storm.
strong as a spring tornado.
"This type is isolated," says Ed.
"We actually receive more damage in
those situations from straight-line
Ed and Jerrine authored a booklet
for Environment Canada called the
"Severe Weather Watcher Hand-
book." They stress several safety
precautions to take NOW. First, plan
ahead. Decide where family members
should go if a storm threatens. Ideally
it should be an interior room or
stairwell on the lowest floor of the
building away from all windows.
Second, stock up and keep on hand
emergency supplies, such as batteries,
flashlights, first aid supplies, blankets
and extra clothing. Third, learn the
difference between a "weather
watch" and a "weather warning."
A thunderstorm watch, for
example, means that conditions are
right for the development of severe
thunderstorm activity. A thunder-
storm warning means that severe
thunderstorm activity has already
developed and has been verified.
The Handbook says, "If a severe
weather watch is issued, bring all
livestock to shelter; secure or put
away loose objects like lawn
furniture; listen for weather updates;
and watch the skies. When a warning