Released March 27, 2009
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Preparations for severe weather should be made long before a potentially deadly storm hits, but equally important is knowing how to interpret weather reports - namely tornado watches and warnings.
Many people "don’t have the information they need to get out of there," said Deborah Tootle, an extension community development specialist for the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture. Tootle is involved in a nationwide extension effort to help communities become disaster resilient, as well as helping communities recover in the wake of disasters.
"A watch means conditions are favorable for severe weather," said John Robinson of the National Weather Service in North Little Rock. "Typically, a watch lasts for four to six hours. It means that you need to get your tornado safety precautions in mind, so if a warning is issued later on, you’ll be ready.
"Warnings are issued when we strongly suspect, based on Doppler radar, that a tornado is present or we already have a report of a tornado. This is when you have very few minutes to spare. You need to be moving a safe place."
Even with a weather emergency plan, families must know when and how to stay apprised of the potentially deadly weather and how to understand weather reports.
Arkansas television stations cover severe weather well, Robinson said, and when they report a tornado watch, families need to begin keeping a close eye on weather reports.
However, few tornado warnings describe danger of a storm or the urgency of finding shelter, according to a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration report. This perhaps contributes to what Robinson called "optimism bias."
"A lot of people feel like, 'It’s not gonna happen to me,’" Robinson said. But when a tornado warning is issued, families "have very few minutes to spare."
Studies suggest that tornado watches and warnings are issued quickly enough to give people plenty of time to get to shelter. However, many people aren’t aware of the danger, or simply ignore it.
During a 12-hour tornado outbreak on February 5-6, 2008, a day now known as Super Tuesday, 87 tornadoes formed in nine states. 57 fatalities were reported - 14 in Arkansas.
Surprisingly, outbreak assessments from Super Tuesday showed a number of people were using the telephone when a tornado struck.
"Somebody was calling them to tell them the tornado was heading their way, but the tornado struck before they could take precautions," Robinson said. "That tells you that the warning was issued quite a bit in advance, because people had time to hear the warning, and think, 'Oh, what about my neighbor? What about my relative? I better call them.’"
For more information about disaster planning visit http://www.aragriculture.org/disaster/ or http://www.uaex.edu.
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http://www.uaex.edu/news/march2009/0327severe_weather_warnings.htm
Contacts: Lamar James, (501) 671-2187, ljames@uaex.edu
