TORNADO AWARENESS WEEK IS HERE

By John Cutler
For the Star City Blog

Saturday’s storm outbreak in Lincoln came as a thunderous reality check for the upcoming severe weather season. From the Lincoln-Lancaster County Emergency Operations Center, Emergency Management personnel sounded alert sirens in the eastern part of the city. High winds had raked the area all day, and late in the afternoon the weather energy built to the point where severe thunderstorms with deadly lightning, hail, and tornadoes were present.

All this became a good prelude to Severe Weather Awareness Week, April 5-11.  National Weather Service Meteorologist-Forecaster Rick Chermok had some notes for Star City Blog readers on the history of extreme weather and the week’s activities.

“Tornadoes get the most press,” Chermok says. “The larger tornadoes are most destructive, like the one that hit Parkersburg, Iowa last May 25.”

The southern third of Parkersburg was virtually leveled. While it appears that Parkersburg residents were given ample warning of dangerous weather, the tornado was so powerful that precautionary measures didn't seem to matter. Butler County (Iowa) Sheriff Jason Johnson told the Des Moines Register last spring that “Everyone who died in Parkersburg lived in a solid house.” Six people perished in the storm, the deadliest in 40 years of Iowa weather history.

“The average weather year has 800 tornadoes nationwide with 80 deaths and 1,500 injuries,” Chermok reports. Destructive winds can reach up to 250 miles an hour. By comparison, Chermok says, the Hallam, NE tornado was large in the area it covered, with a damage path ranging up to 2 miles as the storm touched down, and running for a distance of nearly 26 miles on the ground.

If tornadoes pose an immediate threat, perhaps an even larger danger looms in flash flooding that can follow torrential rains. Chermok says the danger may come to a city or town unaware of the possibilities. The threat of flash flooding is nothing to be messed-with,” Chermok warns. It’s the number one weather-related killer in the United States.

“The knowledge of your location is important. Be aware if heavy rains are developing over you, or nearby. And be prepared to move to higher ground. Never drive through a flooded roadway, regardless of the water’s depth,” Chermok warns. “If you don’t know the roadbed, it may be washed out underneath, or obstacles could be covered by that water. Those obstacles can damage or destroy your vehicle."

Wednesday the National Weather Service will be testing the area’s emergency response capabilities. Chermok says the drill starts with an emergency mangers’ conference call at 9:30am. “The drill begins just before 10am, when a ‘test’ tornado watch is issued,” Chermok says. “Then a test tornado warning will be sent out at 10:10, with a follow-up statement at 10:20am. The mock weather situation expires at 10:30,” Chermok says.

The Weather Service urges you to get a weather radio for your own personal safety. “You’ll be able to hear the drill on NOAA’s Valley weather station.” Chermok says the weather radio is “a weather 'smoke detector' 24/7. “Weather warnings go out instantaneously on the radio, so it’s a good source for information. The broadcasts are prepared so we can sound an audio alarm for your specific county when bad weather is happening, or may happen.”

Chermok urges Lincoln area residents to take note during Severe Weather Awareness week and make sure your family is prepared for the worst. Here are some links to help in checking out the weather:

Notes and follow-up information

The National Weather Service home page has the latest weather information available for our area, and you can click to find instructions for severe weather of any kind. Go to http://www.nws.noaa.gov

To see the current National Weather Service Radar:

http://radar.weather.gov/radar.php?rid=oax&product=N0R&overlay=11101111&loop=no

The Weather Channel lists current weather, advisories, watches and warnings for Lincoln and the surrounding area. Weather Channel information is up-to-date and 100% compatible with National Weather Service storm information. To find out about area weather, go to

http://www.weather.com

and type in your ZIP code within the prompt box at the top of the web page.

Are you prepared for any disaster or emergency? http://www.ready.gov has oodles of helpful hints, procedures, and ways you and your family can prepare for those times. In Lincoln, September will bring not only a new school year but National Preparedness Month activities, when students will be urged to help their families prepare for emergencies, make a plan, get an emergency kit together, and stay informed.