Has Anyone Actually Been IN / NEAR A Tornado?

[dunkiex]

Yup. As a kid, was staying with my aunt in Miami. It went right down the steet. It hit houses on one side, but not the other. Also, hit an animal hospital and destroyed it. Was also in Wisconsin. It hit a town right near by, Barneveld, Wisconsin. I flew in a helicopter with a deputy to survey the damage. It wiped the place out.

[ScarlettPixl]

This thread reminded me of a cool video I watched a bit ago. It's impressive what these guys do! Not exactly a tornado, but still relevant.

[Gillian]

This thread is an excellent chance for me to get an answer to a question that's bugged me for ages ...

How do the Americans on here pronounce tornado? Tor_nay_doh or tor_nah_doh ?

I'm sure I've heard it pronounced the first way (tor_nay_doh) just as we say it in the UK. However, I always remember Norman Schwarzkopf thanking the British Tor_nah_doh pilots after the first Gulf War and heard another army-type on a recent Discovery Channel documentary pronounce it that way too.

My question is why, if the weather event is indeed a Tor_nay_doh, would you pronounce the British fighter jet Tor_nay_doh ?

[Gillian]

Bump ... Can anyone help me with my pronunciation conundrum?

[ts4me]

Tor_nay_doh --- not pronounced like the British jet fighter/bomber

[Gillian]

Tor_nay_doh --- not pronounced like the British jet fighter/bomber

Just as I thought. So why would Americans pronounce the fighter jet, which was of course name after the storm, any differently.

Or don't you realise where it got its name ...

[Ben in LA]

I've been in a spinning Toronado...

[MrFanti]

This thread is an excellent chance for me to get an answer to a question that's bugged me for ages ...

How do the Americans on here pronounce tornado? Tor_nay_doh or tor_nah_doh ?

I'm sure I've heard it pronounced the first way (tor_nay_doh) just as we say it in the UK. However, I always remember Norman Schwarzkopf thanking the British Tor_nah_doh pilots after the first Gulf War and heard another army-type on a recent Discovery Channel documentary pronounce it that way too.

My question is why, if the weather event is indeed a Tor_nay_doh, would you pronounce the British fighter jet Tor_nay_doh ?

Tor-NAH-do = UK/AUS/NZ
Tor-NAY-do = USA

[Gillian]

Tor-NAH-do = UK/AUS/NZ
Tor-NAY-do = USA

Can't speak for AUS or NZ, but I can assure you we say Tor_NAY_doh in the UK. The only people I've ever heard say it the other way are Yanks ...

[MrFanti]

Can't speak for AUS or NZ, but I can assure you we say Tor_NAY_doh in the UK. The only people I've ever heard say it the other way are Yanks ...

Hmmm....I used to work with a guy who was backseat guy in the jet - he always said Tor-NAH-do.

Go figure....Just goes to show that I can't rely on one person's pronunciation...LoL
Anywho, I've never heard "NAH-do" here in the US.

Perhaps it's unanimously "NAY-do" then....