Tornado Warnings/Sirens

[TimeForGuinness]

Yes. I talked to the guy. They set them all off as soon as there is a warning issued. Not a big deal, in the overall scheme of things. I shouldn't get that irritated by it and won't now that I talked to him and he seemed to understand that it is overkill sometime but they decided to let everyone know that bad weather was in the area....even if it wasn't

But, there is room for improvement. I do stand by that argument.

Agreed. Maybe highway traffic played a role? 15 miles doesn't take long to drive on the highway. Maybe they wanted to warn people driving into the area?

[IMADreamer]

Highway traffic should not have played a roll. The sirens are meant for outdoor purposes only. People in cars and in homes are supposed to get their warning info from the radio, tv, etc. I realize that is somewhat flawed thinking but it's the way it is.

If I can talk a bit about a tiered warning system, the NWS is moving to that. This will of course have nothing to do with sirens but their warning products reflect it. STL was one of the test beds for it. For decades the only warning for a Tornado you got was "tornado warning" followed by a location statement. On May 3, 1999 things changed when the first "tornado emergency" was issued. On May 3, 1999 a large and dangerous tornado was headed right for the Oklahoma City metro area during the evening rush hour. Meteorologists at the SPC saw that there was a huge potential for a loss of life and needed something stronger then "tornado warning" to get across the urgency of the situation. Thus they issued a "tornado emergency" for the first time ever. Since then the tornado emergency has been used about 70 times. It gets used when a confirmed tornado is heading towards a populated area.

I can assure you it is one of the scariest things you'll ever feel when one is issued for your area. I have chased two events (as part of research teams) where Tornado Emergencies were issued. Caruthersville, Missouri and Greensburg, Kansas. You go from research mode to save your life mode instantly. I've never seen the mood of four people in a car change so quickly from doing our job to "oh [expletive]." I remember when it came across the radio at Caruthersville "the NWS has issued a Tornado Emergency...." We all just looked at each other eyes wide open and professor leading the chase said "we are getting the [expletive] out of here." The hair stood up on my neck I swear. The car was silent it was just the professor and driver talking about where to go. Other then that silence.

The sad part is the public doesn't understand that urgency like a group of trained meteorologist do. I think two people died in that tornado and half the down was leveled. Greensburg was at night and we were just trying to get to our hotel. I'll bet you guys know about what happened at Greensburg though. I once was at an NWS presentation during college and someone in the crowd asked "what does a Tornado Emergency mean, I heard it was used at Moore." This was right around the turn of the century. The Met giving the presentation said with the most serious look and tone "it means people are going to die."

So now we have the two tiered system nationwide with some places like STL testing an even more detailed system. The STL NWS now issues a three tiered system. Tornado Warning-radar indicated, Tornado Warning-tornado confirmed on the ground, Tornado Emergency.

I think it is an awesome start and hopefully this program goes nation wide in the next year or so. Yes it means more information for people to sift through and they will have to pay attention a little longer, but the NWS is trying it's best to get the best info out to the people.

Of course how this translates to your local emergency manager and sirens. I don't know.

[TimeForGuinness]

Highway traffic should not have played a roll. The sirens are meant for outdoor purposes only. People in cars and in homes are supposed to get their warning info from the radio, tv, etc. I realize that is somewhat flawed thinking but it's the way it is.

If I can talk a bit about a tiered warning system, the NWS is moving to that. This will of course have nothing to do with sirens but their warning products reflect it. STL was one of the test beds for it. For decades the only warning for a Tornado you got was "tornado warning" followed by a location statement. On May 3, 1999 things changed when the first "tornado emergency" was issued. On May 3, 1999 a large and dangerous tornado was headed right for the Oklahoma City metro area during the evening rush hour. Meteorologists at the SPC saw that there was a huge potential for a loss of life and needed something stronger then "tornado warning" to get across the urgency of the situation. Thus they issued a "tornado emergency" for the first time ever. Since then the tornado emergency has been used about 70 times. It gets used when a confirmed tornado is heading towards a populated area.

I can assure you it is one of the scariest things you'll ever feel when one is issued for your area. I have chased two events (as part of research teams) where Tornado Emergencies were issued. Caruthersville, Missouri and Greensburg, Kansas. You go from research mode to save your life mode instantly. I've never seen the mood of four people in a car change so quickly from doing our job to "oh [expletive]." I remember when it came across the radio at Caruthersville "the NWS has issued a Tornado Emergency...." We all just looked at each other eyes wide open and professor leading the chase said "we are getting the [expletive] out of here." The hair stood up on my neck I swear. The car was silent it was just the professor and driver talking about where to go. Other then that silence.

The sad part is the public doesn't understand that urgency like a group of trained meteorologist do. I think two people died in that tornado and half the down was leveled. Greensburg was at night and we were just trying to get to our hotel. I'll bet you guys know about what happened at Greensburg though. I once was at an NWS presentation during college and someone in the crowd asked "what does a Tornado Emergency mean, I heard it was used at Moore." This was right around the turn of the century. The Met giving the presentation said with the most serious look and tone "it means people are going to die."

So now we have the two tiered system nationwide with some places like STL testing an even more detailed system. The STL NWS now issues a three tiered system. Tornado Warning-radar indicated, Tornado Warning-tornado confirmed on the ground, Tornado Emergency.

I think it is an awesome start and hopefully this program goes nation wide in the next year or so. Yes it means more information for people to sift through and they will have to pay attention a little longer, but the NWS is trying it's best to get the best info out to the people.

Of course how this translates to your local emergency manager and sirens. I don't know.

Good stuff, thanks for the insight.