being a weekend warrior doesnt impress me much - sorry.
I'm not a weekend warrior - this is my fulltime job. I'm flown in by conferences across the country to teach severe weather forecasting and radar interpretation to other meteorologists, so even without knowing your qualifications -- I have no concerns with saying I've got more tornado knowledge than you
Here's my report from last night:
Getting married tomorrow so no chasing today, as I had rehearsal this evening. Visited the extended family at a hotel, with a SVR issued for my county. But given lack of reports to my west, I wasn't too concerned.
My cousin opened the window and told me to come look. I figured some gusty winds so no big deal. Finally walked over - and they were not just gusty winds. Sustained 50mph out of the north. Then the tornado sirens sounded, and you could feel vibrations in the hotel. Not fun.
Got everyone in a safe place, went to the lobby and was shocked at the winds. Sustained 70mph out of the north, with patio furniture / pieces of signs / etc. flying past. Scanner has possible tornado near I-96 and I-496 - about 1 mile southwest of me. Told the front desk that people needed to take shelter, she told me there's no warning as she just watched on TV, then she recognized me
Winds still blowing, called in to the station and did some live hits, and it resembled hurricane footage. I'd never seen sustained winds like that before. Gusts yep, but not long lasting. Drove around and dozens of 2-3ft+ trees down or snapped.
As I was driving around, heard a fire call for van on power lines now catching fire. We were just a minute north, so drove on down. PD already on scene - van was fully involved. Looks like they'd turned off the road and likely drove over the lines in the driveway. Ambulance was requested for the occupant, no word on extent of injuries. Happened to get video.
I'd never heard of a car catching fire from driving over power lines before...