the tornadoes last night were some of the deadliest and most powerful in history. and as record breaking tornadoes ripped across the US, the weather channel was playing reruns.
tornado warnings, on average, give 13 minutes of notice. that is 13 minutes from sirens going off to until a funnel hits. and as I blogged about the storms, many people told me they had no idea there was even a thunderstorm approaching. 13 minutes is a shower. 13 minutes is a nap. 13 minutes is such a small window of time that many people may not hear the sirens at all.
when I was younger, the weather channel was just weather. it was common to have it playing in the background all day. weather channel reporters would stay up all night to talk about new storms. it was like going to meteorology classes all day every day, in between beautiful pictures of clouds, water, lightning. the glory days of the weather channel inspired so many people to be interested in the meteorology. and the shift from calm and practical information to anxiety-inducing reality shows and hyper-realistic disaster recreation is leading to deaths, both in terms of lost interest in the weather channel and the weather channel's priorities during storms.
at least 70 people died last night. with record breaking tornadoes in December. tornadoes rarely form in December, and they rarely reach EF4 or EF5, at all. last night there was a quad state tornado, a single tornado that rampaged through four different states. over the course of several hours, it traveled hundreds of miles. most tornadoes last 10 minutes or less. and it was far from the only tornado last night.
how many people have stopped watching the news from the constant death? how many people have stopped watching the weather channel from the constant screams in terror? how many people's lives could have been saved by any sort of prior notice. without that time to prepare, of course so many people died, nobody anticipates deadly tornadoes in December.
and as the rescue efforts continue, and people mourn and recover, take a moment to figure out how you get your weather. take stock of your emergency preparations. figure out how to make the weather forecast part of your daily routine, and think about who you would be able to contact ahead of a storm. beyond just immediate warnings and watches, make a habit of looking at radars. in just minutes a week, you can help save lives.
I do not know how many people I realistically helped last night. I got several messages from people who took shelter from seeing my posts on tumblr. it should not have to be up to bloggers to tell people that their lives are in danger. meteorology is failing america. what we have right now is not enough. weather alerts and radars are hidden behind subscriptions, live forecasting is hidden behind videos of death and suffering, and by the time the sirens go off, there is an average of 13 minutes until destruction.
do your part. figure out who you can contact. talk about the weather. look at the weather. follow local meteorologists online. look at more than just emergency notifications. understand how storms form, when they are coming, and what you can do to reduce their harm. stay safe.
jbbartram-illu
germansingergirl
jacobvanloon
stormborns
tangentwithtanner
