2008 becoming 'Year of the Tornado'

Like many people, I am fascinated by weather. Here in Tennessee, we are blessed with just about everything nature has to offer.

In the winter, we get just enough snow so that it doesn't become a big nuisance. Last summer, we certainly learned that Tennessee can be a hot and dry furnace when atmospheric conditions line up in a certain way.

Autumn and spring remain our most beautiful seasons, but as this year is showing, spring can be quite dangerous from a weather perspective.

So far this year, tornadoes have repeatedly battered the Southeast. Actually, the parade of tornadoes began in the winter when storms in early February hit several states causing millions of dollars in damage and killing dozens.

Dubbed the '2008 Super Tuesday tornado outbreak,' the storms hit as voters in many states went to the polls to vote in presidential primaries. There were 57 total deaths, including 32 here in Tennessee.

The barrage of tornadoes continued last week as storms hit Arkansas and killed seven people. This came only days after a tornado outbreak in Virginia that injured approximately 200. Also, 23 died in storms this weekend.

What in the world is going on here? If this pace of damage and mayhem continues, this could wind up being one of the most destructive years ever for tornadoes.

When it comes to these storms, I am really torn. I believe they are among the most interesting of weather events.

Tornadoes, in most cases, are relatively small storms but can produce remarkable power and damage. As we have all seen in news reports about these recent storms, large homes can be turned into kindling in a matter of seconds.

Because of this, tornadoes fascinate me.

If I am flipping the channels and stumble across a tornado documentary on television, I know I will be spending the next hour watching it. They possess an almost hypnotic quality.

Of course, it is easy to say that when I am watching them safely from my couch and not having to worry about one of them bearing down on me. Still, this hypnotic quality fascinates lots of people because professional storm chasers devote a large chunk of their lives trying to get as close as possible to them.

However, it is difficult to maintain this feeling of awe when hearing the stories of people hurt by these storms.

In last week's storms in Arkansas, there was one especially tragic death as a 15-year-old girl died while sleeping in her bed after a tree fell through the roof of her home. She never had a chance to flee.

There are lots of other stories just like that one, and sometimes people lose site of that when the threat of tornadoes exists.

A staple of tornado coverage in the media is amateur video footage and photographs provided by the public. Instead of taking steps to protect themselves, these untrained people grab the nearest camera and try to document the event even as danger descends on them.

While that has resulted in amazing photos and videos, the judgment of the people doing this is questionable at best. Though these folks mean well, they make a big mistake when they do not respect the power of these storms.

I believe it all goes back to the hypnotic power these storms hold over us. Tornadoes attract some people like a moth is attracted to a flame.

Though I can understand why they are attracted, they need to understand that they are not being brave when documenting these storms.

Sometimes, being brave involves knowing when to run and protect your own life.