At least six tornadoes touched down in Alabama during the pre-dawn hours this past Saturday morning. Three of them were rated F1 on the Fujita intensity scale; the others were F0. One of the F1 tornadoes touched down in Shelby county, affecting the heavily populated communities of Pelham, Helena, Alabaster, and Chelsea.
The tornado touched down at 5:04 a.m. near the Cahaba River in Helena, and stayed on the ground for 11 miles. There were no injuries, but many trees and power lines were blown down, and a number of homes had major damage. How did the warning process work for that tornado?
Unfortunately, the National Weather Service did not issue a tornado warning for Shelby county, but I still say that people in a tornado-ready home should have known about the storm for these reasons:
*A severe thunderstorm warning was issued for Shelby county at 4:50 a.m. Those with a NOAA Weather Radio receiver in their home (like we have been suggesting here for years and years) would have been awakened by the alarm almost 15 minutes before the tornado first touched down.
*Those that did get the NOAA Weather Radio alarm who turned on our live severe weather coverage on ABC 33/40 (we were on the air with non-stop weather coverage beginning at 2:45 a.m.) would have clearly seen our radar showing both a high level and low level shear lock over western Shelby county, and we gave clear instructions on the air for people in Alabaster, Pelham, and Helena to go through their tornado plan even though there was no formal warning in place at the time. No, we don’t issue warnings, but we sure do reserve the right to tell people to go into action when there is no formal warning.
I am sure the NWS regrets not issuing a tornado warning for Shelby county, but in their defense we were dealing with a long squall line, and trying to identify small tornadoes within a line like that is very difficult. The severe thunderstorm warning for Shelby county was very timely and should have served the purpose of waking people up in the path of the storm.
I also need to congratulate our friends up at Baron Services in Huntsville, our vendor for radar hardware and software. Their algorithm for detecting low level rotation worked like a charm, and enabled us to give a clear warning for the small tornado to the people in the path. The shear markers were excellent.
Yep, we have heard the classic line "I never heard the siren". My response to that is simply "so what!" Outdoor warning sirens are generally not sounded for severe thunderstorm warnings, and even when they are activated they are designed to reach people OUTSIDE, not INSIDE! Do not rely on siren to let you know there is a tornado approaching your home!!!!!
If you live in the damaged areas and didn't get the warning, your homework is to go and buy a NOAA Weather Radio receiver for your home. Next time a small tornado rolls through your community you will get the alarm (even if there is only a severe thunderstorm warning). And, if you turn on ABC 33/40 you will see everything you need to know about the storm.
Once again I want to thank my associates for their work during the severe weather event this past Saturday: John Oldshue, Jason Simpson, J.B. Elliott, Brian Peters and Bill Murray all worked the long overnight shift.... their work was excellent.
The tornado touched down at 5:04 a.m. near the Cahaba River in Helena, and stayed on the ground for 11 miles. There were no injuries, but many trees and power lines were blown down, and a number of homes had major damage. How did the warning process work for that tornado?
Unfortunately, the National Weather Service did not issue a tornado warning for Shelby county, but I still say that people in a tornado-ready home should have known about the storm for these reasons:
*A severe thunderstorm warning was issued for Shelby county at 4:50 a.m. Those with a NOAA Weather Radio receiver in their home (like we have been suggesting here for years and years) would have been awakened by the alarm almost 15 minutes before the tornado first touched down.
*Those that did get the NOAA Weather Radio alarm who turned on our live severe weather coverage on ABC 33/40 (we were on the air with non-stop weather coverage beginning at 2:45 a.m.) would have clearly seen our radar showing both a high level and low level shear lock over western Shelby county, and we gave clear instructions on the air for people in Alabaster, Pelham, and Helena to go through their tornado plan even though there was no formal warning in place at the time. No, we don’t issue warnings, but we sure do reserve the right to tell people to go into action when there is no formal warning.
I am sure the NWS regrets not issuing a tornado warning for Shelby county, but in their defense we were dealing with a long squall line, and trying to identify small tornadoes within a line like that is very difficult. The severe thunderstorm warning for Shelby county was very timely and should have served the purpose of waking people up in the path of the storm.
I also need to congratulate our friends up at Baron Services in Huntsville, our vendor for radar hardware and software. Their algorithm for detecting low level rotation worked like a charm, and enabled us to give a clear warning for the small tornado to the people in the path. The shear markers were excellent.
Yep, we have heard the classic line "I never heard the siren". My response to that is simply "so what!" Outdoor warning sirens are generally not sounded for severe thunderstorm warnings, and even when they are activated they are designed to reach people OUTSIDE, not INSIDE! Do not rely on siren to let you know there is a tornado approaching your home!!!!!
If you live in the damaged areas and didn't get the warning, your homework is to go and buy a NOAA Weather Radio receiver for your home. Next time a small tornado rolls through your community you will get the alarm (even if there is only a severe thunderstorm warning). And, if you turn on ABC 33/40 you will see everything you need to know about the storm.
Once again I want to thank my associates for their work during the severe weather event this past Saturday: John Oldshue, Jason Simpson, J.B. Elliott, Brian Peters and Bill Murray all worked the long overnight shift.... their work was excellent.
ago on this very same BLOG - that is the comment about the complacency of us during watches and warnings, and the apparent ineffectiveness of the current system in making the public aware of impending danger without causing an all-out panic. Climates and weather trends change (as we've clearly seen the past several years), and so should the NWS's system. I don't know the age of the current system of watches/warnings, but maybe it shouldn't be as generic and "mutli-use" as it currently is. In general, many folks (me included) rarely pay attention to watches, and only slightly more to t'storm warnings. Even in many large companies (mine included) we don't even take action during a tornado warning unless the specified area of concern is near my office building... I'm sure that's not right, but it's a fact of life in the lifestyle WE have created for ourselves today. But maybe the NWS & SPC should revisit their watch/warning guidelines (as James brought up). Only this year have I become aware of the "PDS" statements issued by the NWS to accompany watches (is this new, or just recently elevated to a level of understanding
on May 2, 2005, 6:39 pm
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