What to do when severe weather strikes

[Photo by audgesshots: link]
Before I get into the severe weather topic of the day, I want to take a minute to discuss the consequences of the ferocious ice storm that wreaked havoc across much of the central and northeastern United States a week ago and is now dropping buckets of snow in England and other parts of Europe. That's right, the same system that has left hundreds of thousands of people without power for heat. Some are looking at another week before power can be restored... some are facing as many as 3 more weeks before they have power again... and another clipper system is working cold temperatures into the area. Even sadder are the lives that have been lost as a result of this horrific winter ice storm event... 55 lives have been taken, which surpasses the 30 lives lost in the North American Ice Storm of 1998. The hardest hit state appears to have been Kentucky, with 24 of those 55 deaths being in Kentucky alone. In Kentucky, 10 of those deaths are from carbon monoxide poisonings (carbon monoxide detectors are as much a must as smoke detectors and NOAA Weather Radios!) and another 9 from hypothermia. It has been horribly devastating!

Yes, I realize that it's anticlimactic to go from that story to a discussion about severe weather, especially during a period of severe weatherlessness (aka, SDS, which is a frequently used acronyn in the storm chasing world, which stands for Supercell (or Storm) Deprivation Syndrome.); however, It is vital to learn these safety tips and prepare plans during times of weatherlessness, so you are ready when weather strikes. Today's lesson, during Georgia Severe Weather Awareness Week, is on thunderstorms. As a certified advanced SKYWARN Spotter for the National Weather Service, I have spent a great deal of time learning about severe thunderstorms. There are several significant weather occurrences that warrant attention, but here are a couple that you should take notice of...

Severe Local Storm
A convective storm that usually covers a relatively small geographic area, or moves in a narrow path, and is sufficiently intense to threaten life and/or property. Examples include severe thunderstorms with large hail, damaging wind, or tornadoes. Although cloud-to-ground lightning is not a criteria for severe local storms, it is acknowledged to be highly dangerous and a leading cause of deaths, injuries, and damage from thunderstorms. A thunderstorm need not be severe to generate frequent cloud-to-ground lightning. Additionally, excessive localized convective rains are not classified as severe storms but often are the product of severe local storms. Such rainfall may result in related phenomena (flash floods) that threaten life and property.

Severe Thunderstorm
A thunderstorm that produces a tornado, winds of at least 58 mph (50 knots), and/or hail at least ¾" in diameter. Structural wind damage may imply the occurrence of a severe thunderstorm. A thunderstorm wind equal to or greater than 40 mph (35 knots) and/or hail of at least ½" is defined as approaching severe.
~source: www.weather.gov

The presence of these conditions in my area will initiate a call by me to the National Weather Service, so they can be aware of ground conditions and issue the appropriate warnings in an effort to protect life and property.

In Georgia, the biggest threat from severe thunderstorms is damaging straight line winds and large hail. Straight line winds can reach speeds excess of 100 mph and produce damage similar to a tornado.
~source

Severe weather occurs most often in Georgia in spring and summer months during afternoon hours; however, severe thunderstorms can occur at any time of the day AND during any time of the year! What can and should you do to protect your family??? (great question!!)

1. Have a plan! (Educate yourself before it happens! Know what you'll do when weather strikes!)
2. Know the difference between a watch and a warning (A watch means conditions are favorable for whatever the specified watch is (so watch out!), and a warning is indicative of an imminent threat to life and property, meaning the storm is upon you and it is time to protect yourself and your family from imminent danger.)
3. Know your area, so you can know where the storms are relative to you as you listen to your weather radio, television or local radio.
4. If severe weather is imminent and you are already inside, either get into a basement or an interior room on the first floor.
5. If you are outside, try to get into some sturdy shelter.

Severe weather warnings need to be taken very seriously. Don't forget that Georgia will be initiating a statewide tornado drill at 9:10am tomorrow. Information is available by following this link.

Have a great day!!!
~Dewdrop

Hot and cold...

A winter storm that has left more than 600,000 customers without electricity is barreling into the Northeast... ~source

Some of the reports coming in from this devastating ice storm are shocking. It's so hard to imagine what it must be like for the people enduring this disastrous ice storm event.

Oklahoma Gov. Brad Henry declared a statewide emergency Monday. Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear did the same Tuesday in his state, where ice up to 1.5 inches thick weighed down tree limbs Tuesday and caused them to crash onto roadways... ice in some places was 3 inches thick... ~source

"You hear the popping - it sounded like gunfire - and it's limbs from trees breaking," said Hopkins County, Ky., Judge-Executive Donald Carroll, who was among those with no power. ~source

... and that is so true. My blog-friend, Tricia posted some videos on her blog, where the eerie sound of the tree branches crumbling under the weight of all that ice comes as loud bangs. How scary! Here are some shots Tricia took of the ice from the storm around her house...This second one is a branch that has fallen onto her house. Transformers have blown.Thanks, Tricia! When all is said and done, I am wondering how this ice storm will be compared with the North American Ice Storm of 1998.

Aside from all that, here we have nice spring-like temps again. It really is beautiful. We are expecting rain as things push eastward, and temperatures will creep down, but with quick recovery. We are blessed. My heart goes out to all those suffering through the storm.

I heard this on TWC this morning. It was a car commercial of all things...

If severe weather happens and you're not there, did it really happen?

Well, sounds typical to me. I am never there for severe weather, and I'm sure it happens. The good news is that my area will be having spotter training next month!! Woohoo! So, if there is weather, we'll be prepared.

Have a great day!
Dewdrop

Cold as ice...

With each weather event being dubbed "The Worst Winter Weather Event of the Season", it's hard to buy this cock-and-bull story about global warming... Now, we see that this ferocious, deadly ice storm is dropping inches of ice in some areas... inches of ice?! Yes. Crazy. Winter weather warnings and advisories span from parts of southern Texas to northern Maine.The current radar is showing an ongoing assault of these treacherous conditions, with the event having start in the central US yesterday afternoon. No rest for the weary as power outages due to the weight of the ice on trees and power lines cause breakage, so for those without generators, heat vanishes. It's really a horrific storm of sleet and freezing rain. My thoughts and prayers are with those being impacted. We are blessed to be back in the 70's, so it's hard to relate to the situation, but to know it's terrible. We once again had a sheet of thick fog that offered measurable precipitation. The cool part is that while I was waiting on the doggone dogs groomer to come back from taking her son to school, I spied some moisture coated spider webs in the trees in her yard. She pulled up with me shooting pictures, you know, just me looking like my typical lunatic self.
While I was searching through information about the winter weather, I stumbled upon these tornado statistics... wow. Man, 2008 was a doozy!Be safe if you're in the target zone for the ice storm; stay warm, and try not to go out.

Have a dewrific day!
~Dewdrop