Since I've got some active weather in my region I thought I'd show off a couple underrated National Weather Service (NWS) resources you can check out.
Wondering if you're going to be in an at-risk zone a few days ahead of a severe storm event? Look no further than the Storm Prediction Center (SPC) Convective outlook.
Protip - you can click on a map and turn on county outlines to better see if you're in the risk zone. You can zoom if you need to. You can also explore other kinds of risks: tornado, wind, and hail.
At this point, it's good to grab any supplies or food you might need if there's a power outage, clean out your shelter are if it needs it, and make a plan with friends and family about how you'll communicate during the event.
But lets say you know weather is on the way and you're wondering a few hours ahead whether you're likely to get a watch issued and when. Then you'd want to check out the SPC's Mesoscale Discussions.
These are areas that the SPC is watching for possible watches. You can find out more by clicking on the area highlighted on the map or scrolling down for a list of active discussions.
They use these graphics to convey the main info quickly. With this you can see that a watch is very likely in the near future and the main concern is wind and low intensity tornadoes.
This is what the statements they issue with them look like. Here you can see this was issued around 00:07 UTC (the Z in these scenarios stands for UTC time) or 8pm local time. They were worried about how some line segments were bowing and expected to issue a new Tornado Watch for this area before 1am UTC which was 9pm local time. And sure enough, we got a watch pushed through at around 8:30pm.
In this pre-watch time, I'm usually trying to keep an eye out for timing so I can finish up any chores that need doing (dishes and laundry, always), charging my phone and backup batteries, take my dog out for his walk beforehand, and moving our car into the garage if we need to - basically do anything last minute you don't want to be doing during an active storm.
You're in a Watch - What Now?
Not sure if you're under a watch? Check here to all current convective watches.
This is where I usually turn on a weather live stream like Ryan Hall Y'all or Max Velocity if there's one going for the event. If there's not one going, sometimes I'll throw on Ryan Hall's 24/7 Y'all Bot stream - it's an AI he's designed to give warnings as they're issued and zoom in on areas of interest.
I like to make my local forecast office page my home base. Not sure what your local NWS station is? Just type your location into the search box on the main NWS page and it will pop up at the top of the local forecast page. They're all laid out different but for example of what one can look like here's LMK (Louisville). I'll refresh occasionally to keep an eye on any warnings as their issued to see if they're heading my way or impacting family or friends who I then check in on. Most also have radar you can check as well.
Ideally, you'd also had weather alerts turned on for your cell phone with the needed cell service to activate it if one gets issued. I really recommend having a weather radio as well - one that will wake up if an alert you've approved gets pushed. They usually also have accessories that will light up or shake your bed if you're deaf. We actually have two radios from Midland and I'd recommend them. They're right up there with fire alarms. I really think every house should have one.
Other options: you can turn on a radio station and listen for Weather Emergency Alerts (WEAs) that might take over the broadcast. If you have TV, you can turn on local channel and listen for updates. You can add NWSbot to a server on Discord. You can find often find bots pushing the alerts of your local weather office on your social media of choice if you search for them (knowing the office's 3 letter abbreviation helps).
Have the stuff you'll take with you to your shelter spot ready to go. The minimum: flashlight, shoes, medications, ID/way to prove you live where you live, and phone. If you have a pet, they need to be crated if possible or on a leash.
Go to your shelter spot immediately. While there, you can check out the statement to get a better idea of what hazards they're worried about and about how long they think you'll need to stay there until it passes.
They all usually take the above format. If there's a tornado, they'll tell you whether it's radar indicated or spotter confirmed. Take shelter regardless, but it's helpful to know.
If it's a very strong event, they'll usually use enhanced language or even issue Particularly Dangerous Situation (PDS) Warnings. Strong tornadoes in populated areas will get the Tornado Emergency warning. If you see a PDS tornado warning or Tornado Emergency warning, it's recommended to wear a helmet if you have it and cover yourself with a mattress if you can. If you want to find out more about impact based tags check out this page.
I hope this was interesting or helpful to some body out there! Stay safe!
