Lots of discussion here on the warning process early yesterday morning. Here is the actual timeline on warnings issues by the National Weather Service:
Feb 26, 2008 3:23AM Severe Tstm Warning Jefferson
Feb 26, 2008 3:28AM Tornado Warning Jefferson
Feb 26, 2008 3:47AM Severe Tstm Warning Bibb, Shelby
Feb 26, 2008 3:57AM Severe Tstm Warning Chilton, Clay
Feb 26, 2008 4:06AM Severe Tstm Warning Talladega
Feb 26, 2008 4:13AM Severe Tstm Warning Calhoun, Cleburne, St. Clair, Talladega
Feb 26, 2008 4:18AM Severe Tstm Warning Clay, Coosa, Talladega, Tallapoosa
Feb 26, 2008 4:26AM Severe Tstm Warning Calhoun, Clay, Cleburne, Randolph, Talladega
Everyone with a NOAA Weather Radio should have received these warnings as they were issued. Of course, those that program the county to their west in their receiver would have been warned even earlier. NOAA Weather Radio receivers provide a very loud alarm that should easily wake up the heaviest sleeper. As we have discussed here countless times, outdoor warnings sirens never have been designed to reach people in buildings. The “siren mentality” is going to get many Alabamians hurt during severe weather; we have to get a NOAA Weather Radio receiver in every home and business.
I have also been a proponent of making a “tornado emergency” and “severe thunderstorm emergency” formal warning messages within the NWS warning system. These could be used only when a tornado is known to be causing major damage, or during a derecho event, like the one yesterday morning. Derecho events produce damage on a much more widespread basis than tornadoes, and the damage itself is just as serious as a tornado. Ask anyone that experienced the February 16, 2001 derecho in Birmingham (100 mph winds at Legion Field at our old Weathernet site), or the July 22, 2003 event in Memphis.
As we look ahead, we plan on using those terms in our on-air coverage on TV and the Internet. You won’t hear them very often, but when you do, you know there is a very serious situation going on. But, within the current NWS warning structure, yesterday morning’s event reminds all of us we need to take severe thunderstorm warnings seriously.
