tornadoes and weather alert radios

[Tuckervill]

I think it's unbelievable that people who live near warning sirens are not notified in time to take action!

I live on the border of Oklahoma. Our sirens go off frequently, and in plenty of time. We get Tulsa tv stations on our cable (Tulsa is about 80 miles from here), and if your tv is on you're going to get the information in plenty of time. Lucky for us, it seems the terrain at the border seems to take the punch out of storms in time, though I don't count on that!

Indiana could take some tips from Tulsa.

Karen

[OakLeaf]

I think it's unbelievable that people who live near warning sirens are not notified in time to take action!
...

Indiana could take some tips from Tulsa.

Karen

Well, considering the National Severe Storms Laboratory is in Oklahoma, no doubt you have the creme de la creme.

But, a few things -

*for one, no system is perfect, and while failures in the NOAA system do happen, they're rare. Individual county failures to maintain or activate sirens are a bit more common, which just underscores the need for weather radio.

*for another, the weather system we have in the USA is the best in the world bar none. Anyone who knows me, knows I don't have a nationalistic bone in my body, and our weather system is about the ONLY thing I will unequivocally say that we have that is "the best in the world." But just try to look up weather forecasts for anywhere else in the developed world - they barely exist. Even knowing that, it was a real eye-opener at this year's Indianapolis MotoGP race, when the remnants of Hurricane Ike blew through on race day. British and European commentators repeatedly expressed their amazement that track officials were able to predict exactly when there'd be a small window in the weather to be able to start the race. To an American, watching the radar loop was about as technologically marvellous as turning on the light in the oven to see if something's done yet.

*as I noted before, you have to make sure that your radio is able to receive alerts from the direction that storms generally travel, and since radio signals are line-of-sight, that may require an external antenna. And if you program it to receive signals only from that direction, you do take a risk of missing the rare storm that may come from an unusual direction.

*Lastly, I think people have to take some responsibility for their own safety, and that's especially true when we have the level of weather observations that we do. It only takes seconds to check the NOAA's site. If there's a severe weather alert but the radar shows it's at the opposite end of your county and traveling away from you, then you go back to what you were doing. If you're in the path, then you take precautions. (And if there's already a major power outage and cellular outage in your area and you can't get to the NOAA site, that alone should be an indication that you're potentially in the path.)


And yes - sometimes the precautions still aren't enough. It is heartbreaking when that happens. But it's important to remember that the vast majority of storm-related deaths and injuries in the USA are to people who ignore the warnings, for whatever reason.

[sundial]

We have a NOAA radio that sounds the alert for our county. Our town does not have an adequate warning system so we use the portable radio alert system. Also, check out www.weather.com for their weather alert system.

Glad you are safe! Tornados like to rear their ugly heads in the late evening.

[Tuckervill]

I'm just appalled that if they HAVE the system that they don't USE it.

We check the radar all the time to see what's happening when the weather is iffy. At times, at night, the sirens will go off before we know anything's coming, although there is rarely a day when we don't know whether there is a chance of thunderstorms. I've been grateful that the city I live in is on the ball that way. If we are awakened at night by thunder or lightening and don't hear sirens, the first thing I do is turn on the TV and see if they're talking about anything (I check local stations first, and then Tulsa who will always be on the air when there are storms). If not, I will occasionally just check the radar on the interactive weather channel or online or on my blackberry. I usually want to know if it's going to be an extended storm or just a squall line. (We have lots of old oaks around our house.)

I agree that there is a measure of personal responsibility involved--but not everyone is as wired as we are. That's why we have sirens. If the powers-that-be aren't willing to use them properly, then I'd probably have to do more to change that. But, that's behavior I just wouldn't expect in my area of tornado alley!

Karen

[Aggie_Ama]

I live in the same county as Jarrell, Texas. In fact I am only about 20 miles away. Google Jarrell to read about the two large tornadoes that have decimated the town in 1989 (a F3) and again in 1997 (a F5 with 27 deaths). Our county DOES NOT have sirens. Our county uses the local media for information and that is it. The only thing I must say is my cable company does have a pretty good thing, if you are watching DVR during a warning a red message comes up on top of your recorded program telling you the current alert. That is something needed since I rarely watch live TV.

I grew up in Texas, I know what to do. I am amazed at people who move here who do not learn what to do in a weather emergency.