Lilapsophobic tornado enthusiast and predicting the weather

If you read the title you may be able to assume what lilapsophobic means ... If not 

Here's the definition taken from Google -

Lilapsophobia is a psychiatric term for an abnormal fear of hurricanes or tornadoes. It can cause significant stress and anxiety. Lilapsophobia is considered a more severe form of astraphobia, which is the fear of lightning and thunder. Exposure therapy is the most common treatment for lilapsophobia and can help reduce its impact on daily life.

This is exactly what I am. 

I've had this phobia since I was around 4 or 5. Due to a EF3 tornado that came dangerously close to my house as a kid. 

It isn't as bad as it was, as you read - exposure therapy works for this phobia, and I've done exactly that. I've over-exposed myself to as much tornado media as possible, weather that be tornado movies, documentaries, or videos on YouTube. I've seen and consumed as much as possible. I border on being an encyclopedia for historical Tornados. 

There are times during storms that I still get a bit of an anxiety attack. It can get pretty bad. In all honesty I can name the number of times I've had a panic attack because we've gotten a tornado warning. I can say though the last tornado warning we got- last night and yesterday. I was alright! I was watching the radar closely and could see where the rotation was. 

Also because of this phobia , I've also developed a deep interest and love for storms , that only seems to be increasing as I age. 

I can read the radar pretty easily, and in the last 4 years of me trying to predict the weather for my area, I've only been wrong 

Once. Living in Dixie alley, which is a place that gets frequent storms. I feel like thats really saying something.

It's like I've got a 6th sense for storms. 

I can feel them. - I know everyone says this. But I mean it ! I can feel the air, and that combined with my ability to read the radar, and going off the knowledge i get from the National weather services data, I'm pretty spot on every time. 

But people still doubt me. 

My own parents doubt me. 

Let's say you have a spinning wheel. And every time you and your friend watch it spin, your friend can predict where it's going to land. Now at first you're like "oh yea sure... Sure you can predict this thing that's "totally random "." 

Little do you know . The spinner is weighted, meaning it follows a specific pattern on each spin. Your friend who studied physics amongst other things, predicts itll land in a specific spot on the wheel. 

You spin it it and it does 

-ok whatever! 

But you spin it again 

And again he predicts right. 

Now after a certain number of spins eventually you'll realize he CAN infact predict where it'll land. 

Now apply this to the weather. I have been wrong ONCE in over 4 years! 

With an average of around 50 storms per year that's roughly 200 storms in 4 years that I've more than likely made a prediction for. 

At some point my parents have GOT to realize that I CAN predict the weather! 

Anyway that's my long ramble over.