Thoughts on the Easter Weekend Tornado Outbreak, Part II
Much of this is intended for a meteorological audience but, of course, everyone is welcome to read it if they care to do so.....
I thought the NWS SPC did a solid job forecasting this event. No other comment is needed.
Most of the warnings were very good but there were at least two situations when the warnings left something to desire. This tornado outbreak reinforced my impression there are gaps in the level of training in NWS offices. This should be addressed as soon as possible.
While I have been recommending my "tornado alarm," I am concerned that -- yet again -- the FCC's WEA (a/k/a EAS) warning didn't trigger in hard-hit Chattanooga, where nine died, which was struck after midnight.
That is why the "tornado alarm" has two components for redundancy. The highly reliable AccuWeather part sounds a lighter tone and gives a precise warning. The WEA portion, when triggers as it should, screams at you. We know the tornado alarm works. Here are two unsolicited testimonials,
As the Tennessee user (immediately above) indicated, during an overnight severe thunderstorm warning, he heard the AW tone. AW's is intended to be subdued because the WEA is supposed to scream at you for tornado, tsunami and life-threatening warnings. [Note, I receive no money or other consideration for promoting the tornado alarm. I want to save lives, especially during overnight tornadoes.]
Yet again: If the government is going to advertise its WEA service as "life-saving," it needs to work 99.9999% of the time. Right now, it seems to work about half the time.
BTW: My Chattanooga friend, Jeff, received the overnight warning via NOAA Weather Radio and via WeatherCall. Two sources that can wake you up.
Everyone needs at least two systems that will wake them up in the middle of the night. The advantage of my tornado alarm is that it works for your specific location, wherever you happen to be, with a minimum of false alarms.
Finally, a request in my self-interest. The forecasts I made Thursday, Friday, and Saturday took approximately twelve hours to create. I spent more than eight hours during my Easter creating tornado warning Tweets. While I appreciate all of the thanks and compliments I have received, I ask you to consider purchasing one of my two books. If you find storms interesting, I highly recommend Warnings: The True Story of How Science Tamed the Weather, and, if you want a shorter read, When the Sirens Were Silent, which is the story of the Joplin Tornado. Given that most of us are shut in at the moment and given we are still early in tornado season, this is a great time for some great reading.
I thought the NWS SPC did a solid job forecasting this event. No other comment is needed.
Most of the warnings were very good but there were at least two situations when the warnings left something to desire. This tornado outbreak reinforced my impression there are gaps in the level of training in NWS offices. This should be addressed as soon as possible.
While I have been recommending my "tornado alarm," I am concerned that -- yet again -- the FCC's WEA (a/k/a EAS) warning didn't trigger in hard-hit Chattanooga, where nine died, which was struck after midnight.
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| Read from the bottom, up. |
Yet again: If the government is going to advertise its WEA service as "life-saving," it needs to work 99.9999% of the time. Right now, it seems to work about half the time.
Everyone needs at least two systems that will wake them up in the middle of the night. The advantage of my tornado alarm is that it works for your specific location, wherever you happen to be, with a minimum of false alarms.
Finally, a request in my self-interest. The forecasts I made Thursday, Friday, and Saturday took approximately twelve hours to create. I spent more than eight hours during my Easter creating tornado warning Tweets. While I appreciate all of the thanks and compliments I have received, I ask you to consider purchasing one of my two books. If you find storms interesting, I highly recommend Warnings: The True Story of How Science Tamed the Weather, and, if you want a shorter read, When the Sirens Were Silent, which is the story of the Joplin Tornado. Given that most of us are shut in at the moment and given we are still early in tornado season, this is a great time for some great reading.
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