Good evening everyone.

I grew up in tornado country if there is such a thing. My first memory of learning about tornadoes was at 11 years old when Dad asked us after church and the ensuing meal if we would like to go out and watch some tornadoes. In the summer such a common occurence of tornadoes around Winnie, TX we could almost assure ourselves of success. When we arrived in the Winnie area that afternoon, I was amazed to see three narrow funnels hanging from a cluster of thunderstorms between Winnie and the beach. (Gulf of Mexico) They swung back and forth like 3 tree swings in someone's yard. We watched them for quite a while until everyone was bored with the show and we drove home.

Years later, during my early years in aviation as a professional pilot I found my self teaching flying in that exact area near Winnie, TX. It was called our practice area. I began to notice that students were always ready to turn and run and go back to the hangar at the airport. My response to them was to relax a tornado cannot outrun an airplane even a light trainer. The main thing to bear in mind is just stay away from them. For over a year I flew with students out in that same area day after day and just was never phased by the storms.

Still many years later it became apparent that nothing had gotten better about teaching the masses how to safe in tornado weather. The National Weather Service always tells people at home to take cover. Well in the southern part of the united State there are few basements as the water table is very near the surface and they cannot be kept dry. That leaves the occupants of houses in the path of a tornado at risk even when following the duck and cover mentality.

Where I am going with this is that tornadoes can often be spotted earlier than many think. Let's imagine you are out in a car on a stormy afternoon. You know there is a tornado "watch" currently and if you are alert you may see the tornado before it is even near you or God forbid you drive towards it. Many people think tornadoes behave erratically. They tend to wave slightly back and forth carving an "S" pattern on the ground. The direction doesn't change that fast. Think about it. Tornadoes are enormous but not that wide. They swing like a porch swing as they are "DRAGGED" from above by the mother thunderstorm that spawned the funnel.

The point here is they move relatively slow. In fact, if you notice one soon enough even though it is moving right towards you there is time to walk to one side or the other and not be in the funnel area. Many farmers have done that. So, how do we know which way the tornado is moving? I developed this easy to use method to determine which way the funnel and storm are moving. The funnel is going to be dragged by mother storm. The funnel swings to some extent below it. We just covered that. But the method is built upon the that the storm is moving in one basic direction steered by the upper level winds.

First, put out your fist in front of you and raise one thumb on the hand you raised. Cover the funnel with your thumb. Hold it there long enough to see the tornado creep out from one side of your thumb or the other. Just for example, lets pretend that the tornado began to show up on the left side of your thumb. Roll your thumb down on that side so that your thumb is now parallel with the ground. Your thumb is telling you the tornado is moving that direction. Common sense now dicates the next step. Roll your thumb 180 degrees to the right and that is the direction to get going and for the tornado to miss where you are standing. It will give you the greatest distance of separation from damaging wind and detritus picked up and thrown by the tornado.

If in a car, you drive the way your thumb just pointed opposite the direction that the tornado was moving. Someone will now ask, why not get out and lay in the ditch? Well because you can increase your distance from the funnel by moving a way instead of waiting for it to come over you. Is that so hard to understand? This should be common knowledge and part of public service announcements on TV during tornado season. Yet, the common warning is for everyone to take shelter. People die in sheltered areas inside their homes every year. While I don't claim this works in every situation it does work and used at a time when the storm is still a mile or more away, it may be the best course of action.

Bottom line, do what you like in the situation you are faced with. But remember the storm is moving and it may not be moving right at you and heaven help the person that moves into the path of it for lack of knowledge. I can say from years of chasing storms on the plains of Colorado with ham radio storm chasers that dang few of them get clobbered and it is because they follow this system even if what they do is just inherent judgment based on storm chasing experience. Wouldn't you rather not be where a tornado comes rather than in even a strong shelter when it does. Not being there is amazingly less stressful.

Finally, I take no responsibility, for anyone's action or misinterpretation of what has been written here. Use your own discretion. Experience and common sense are hard to come by sometimes, but Griff's Rule of Thumb works pretty good for me. I'm still here after 58 years of chasing and flying storms professionally. I'm 66 years old.

Good evening to all,

CapnGriff