Last week, twenty people died in Arkansas as a result of tragic flash flooding on the Little Missouri River. Flash flood watches were out hours in advance. Warnings preceded the flood crest. NWS forecasters relayed their concern for the hardest hit area to law enforcement prior to the onset of the flooding.
But still people died.
The reasons are varied and still have to be sorted. Rugged, isolated terrain. Poor cell service. Poor NOAA WeatherRadio coverage. Likely few campers had them anyway. No on-site management. No warning signs. A once in a lifetime rainfall event. Lack of awareness of the threat despite heavy rain falling in the area.
We ave to bridge the gap that exists between providing the warning, people getting the warning, and then acting appropriately on the warning.
Pete Wolf from the National Weather Service in Jacksonville, FL is working with the University of North Carolina – Ashville on an excellent Warning Utilization Study.
And you are a perfect contestant! With a series of severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for the numerous pulse type thunderstorms across North and Central Alabama today, you have the opportunity to provide valuable, real time input right now.
It will only take 6-7 minutes to complete on line. You don’t have to supply any personal information. And no one will call you while you are having dinner. In fact, no one will call at all.
Let’s overwhelm the team at UNC-Ashville and Pete with response based on your receipt of today’s warnings and your response.
Just go to https://www.warningstudy.org/ and complete the brief online survey. And share it with your social network (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) Come back to the blog here and comment on the survey.
This type of study is what is going to make a difference. Thank you for being the best weather community in the world!
