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re: OT: 23 people dead in Lee County, AL from EF-4 tornado; numerous tornadoes across the SE
Posted on 3/3/19 at 9:55 pm to Roll Tide Ravens
Posted on 3/3/19 at 9:55 pm to Roll Tide Ravens
quote:
I want to take a moment to commend the National Weather Service in Birmingham (which covers Lee County). They issued the first tornado warning more than 20 minutes in advance of the first tornado in Lee County, and upgraded the warning to a tornado emergency about 10 minutes in advance of it hitting Smith's Station and Beauregard.
They have made tremendous strides over the last 20+ years in giving a lot of warning lead time, even on busy days with lots of tornadic storms.
I second all of this. My wife is a bit of a weather geek, and she made essentially the same comment to me earlier. They did a great job today.
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Posted on 3/3/19 at 9:59 pm to Roll Tide Ravens
quote:
I want to take a moment to commend the National Weather Service in Birmingham (which covers Lee County). They issued the first tornado warning more than 20 minutes in advance of the first tornado in Lee County, and upgraded the warning to a tornado emergency about 10 minutes in advance of it hitting Smith's Station and Beauregard.
They have made tremendous strides over the last 20+ years in giving a lot of warning lead time, even on busy days with lots of tornadic storms.
That's great and they are doing all they can do. Unfortunately, I think I remember another post in this thread saying the power had went out before the tornado hit though.
I don't guess the warnings would do much good then.
This post was edited on 3/3/19 at 10:00 pm
Posted on 3/3/19 at 10:01 pm to A Lite
quote:
I don't guess the warnings would do much good then.
Yes they can. The two best ways to receive warnings are NOAA weather radios and smartphones. The weather radios continue to function when the power goes out, if the user puts batteries in them. Smartphones come with built in government emergency alerts for tornado warnings, severe thunderstorm warnings, and flash flood warnings. There are also numerous third party apps that provide warnings.
This post was edited on 3/3/19 at 10:02 pm
Posted on 3/3/19 at 10:03 pm to Roll Tide Ravens
Technology has come a long way. Back in 2011, I had already lost all cell service by the time our power went off. And of course, my dumb arse didn't have a radio. Had no idea what was going on. It was awful.
Posted on 3/3/19 at 10:10 pm to Tuscaloosa
quote:
Technology has come a long way. Back in 2011, I had already lost all cell service by the time our power went off. And of course, my dumb arse didn't have a radio. Had no idea what was going on. It was awful.
I remember we had plenty of time, about 30 minutes, to get ready for what was coming in Pleasant Grove in 2011.
But we weren't ready for what came afterward. God. I remember walking around and seeing a coroner walking down a slope into a ditch. Fires were burning everywhere. Luckily, I didn't personally see anyone that had lost their life but death was all about. Destruction to the point of not knowing where you were at due to no discernible landmarks, etc...
And then came the weeks of aftermath and chaos.
This post was edited on 3/3/19 at 10:12 pm
Posted on 3/3/19 at 10:11 pm to Tuscaloosa
That's what I went through during the last hurricane. The weather towers were down. The cell towers were down, well Verizon's anyway. Radio stations were off the air. We had power back in three and a half days and it took exactly 30 days to get cable/net back. I did go buy one of the cheap antennas a few days after our power was restored, so could get the local news then.
Posted on 3/3/19 at 10:16 pm to Roll Tide Ravens
quote:
The weather radios continue to function when the power goes out, if the user puts batteries in them.
Right, I bought one of those after the storm I was in. It even has a little wind up stick on it to charge a dynamo if you don't have batteries in it.
This post was edited on 3/3/19 at 10:27 pm
Posted on 3/3/19 at 10:21 pm to Terrific Tales
are most of these 22 in one area? scary how fast that death toll is rising. very sad stuff
Posted on 3/3/19 at 10:23 pm to Roll Tide Ravens
quote:
They issued the first tornado warning more than 20 minutes in advance of the first tornado in Lee County, and upgraded the warning to a tornado emergency about 10 minutes in advance of it hitting Smith's Station and Beauregard.
Certainly better than no warning, but how many people can make it to somewhere safe within this time frame?
If you're in a trailer or a car, or frankly a modestly built home, where can you get to? By the time I rounded up the kids (not to mention pets) and put them in a car and tried to drive somewhere, that would take at least 5-10 minutes, just to get out of the driveway.
Posted on 3/3/19 at 10:25 pm to Roll Tide Ravens
The NWS in Birmingham and Spanns coverage is tGOAT imo
Posted on 3/3/19 at 10:27 pm to East Coast Band
quote:
If you're in a trailer or a car, or frankly a modestly built home, where can you get to? By the time I rounded up the kids (not to mention pets) and put them in a car and tried to drive somewhere, that would take at least 5-10 minutes, just to get out of the driveway.
That’s where having an action plan and knowing where you will go during a tornado warning comes into play. People should also keep up with the weather enough to know when they have a threat for severe weather (which can be done by just following your local NWS office on social media and knowing where you are on maps that they post) that way they are prepared to act as soon as they go under a warning.
Every time a severe weather threat comes up, I hear TV meteorologists and the NWS telling people to get their action plan together ahead of time. People need to heed that advice.
This post was edited on 3/3/19 at 10:30 pm
Posted on 3/3/19 at 10:28 pm to Roll Tide Ravens
quote:
Tornado sirens CANNOT be relied on. Every one should put a weather radio in their home, just like they would a smoke detector.
One thing I love about my small town of 1700 people is they test the siren every other day. The town was leveled in the 1970s by an EF5 so they stay on top of the warning systems
Posted on 3/3/19 at 10:31 pm to GCTiger11
quote:
are most of these 22 in one area? scary how fast that death toll is rising. very sad stuff
For the most part, from what I understand. All of these 22 are in Lee County, all killed as the result of the same two tornadoes that followed nearly the path, one behind the other.
Posted on 3/3/19 at 10:34 pm to deltaland
I am so sorry. Twenty years in newspaper journalism taught how devastating tornadoes can be. This tragedy transcends sports. Thoughts and prayers for the affected people in Lee County, their families and friends.
Posted on 3/3/19 at 11:03 pm to CocknDawg
CBS News reports 23 dead in Lee County.
Posted on 3/3/19 at 11:27 pm to CocknDawg
Lord, be with those hurting tonight. Comfort those who have lost loved ones. Help them look to You for strength and peace through this terrible time. Heal their broken hearts and homes.
Posted on 3/3/19 at 11:27 pm to Roll Tide Ravens
Prayers sent too all involved. We are all fans of different teams on here but when lives are lost in these circumstances we all need to come together to help each other out. These tornadoes were devastating.
Posted on 3/3/19 at 11:29 pm to FLBooGoTigs1
Geez every time I come back here the number gets higher. This world is so fricking cruel man
Posted on 3/4/19 at 1:31 am to Roll Tide Ravens
Had one hit where I live. Ears popped, dog went nuts, birds were flying around like they were confused right before it hit. 4 injured as of 11pm. There were several that hit within a 60 mile radius on the SC side (I live on the SC/Ga border).
Thoughts to all in Bama/Georgia/South Carolina that were affected.
Thoughts to all in Bama/Georgia/South Carolina that were affected.
Posted on 3/4/19 at 4:41 am to Carolina_Girl
Death toll is at 23 as of right now. Sounds like 12 of the 23 deaths came in one trailer park. A six year old boy was ripped out of his front yard and they found his body last night.
We had advance warning all day yesterday and yet it still seems a majority of these folks were caught off guard.
We had advance warning all day yesterday and yet it still seems a majority of these folks were caught off guard.
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