# Presentation: 675644

## Severe Weather Strategy Workshop for Industry

*National Weather Service Quad Cities*
*January 25, 2005*

**NOAA’s National Weather Service**

**NOAA’s National Weather Service**

## Why are we here?

## Answer: Parson’s Technology – It can happen here.

**Parsons Before**

**Parsons After**

**Parsons After**

**Parsons After**

## Parsons After

## Why are we here?

***Nobody wants to notify next of kin.***

## What makes an effective Severe Weather Plan?

**Notes:**
You must have all of the pieces.  If you are lacking any piece, you don’t have the same outcome.

## Plan

***Know the threats***
***Construct an effective plan for those threats***

## Plan: Threat Assessment

***Tornado***
***Extreme wind***
***Flood***
***Flash Flood***
***Hail***
***Blizzard***
***Extreme Heat/Cold***

## Focus on Tornado/High Wind

***Climatology of Tornadoes/High wind***
***Strength***
***Season***
***Diurnal peaks***

## Tornados: Strength

## Tornados and Extreme Wind: Season 

**Notes:**
Wind peak: June, July
Tornado Peak: May, April

## Tornados and Extreme Wind: Time of Day

**Notes:**
Wind Peak: around 7 pm
Tornado peak: 4 pm to 8 pm

## Tornados and Extreme Wind: Regional Distribution

- Average Number of Tornado Events per Year (Doppler Radar Era)

- Average Number of Extreme Wind Events per Year (Doppler Radar Era)

## An Effective Severe Weather Plan answers these questions:

***Who will monitor the weather?***
***When will plan be enacted?***
***How will action be initiated?***
***Where will people go?***
***How will you communicate an “all-clear”?***
***When will you practice?***

## Who will monitor the weather?

*** “******Designated Weather Watcher” ***
*** ******Available information: before, during, after***
*** ******Your eyes: the spotter network***
*** ******Two-way communication***

## When will plan be enacted?

*** ******Establish criteria***
*Warning or sighted*
*** ******Consider how much time you need for people to reach shelter...***

## Background: Available Weather Information

*** ******Outlook: early each morning***
*** ******Watch: 1 to 6 hours ahead***
*** ******Warning***
**	****Severe thunderstorm: average 20 minutes before**
**	****Tornado Warning: average 12 minutes before **
*** ******Web site: weather.gov***

## Web Page

## Background: What can I expect from warnings?

*** ******Climatology***
*** ******Realistic expectations***
*** ******High wind wording***
*** ******Geography***

## Average Number of Warnings per Year

**Red:**** Tornado Warnings**

**Blue:**** Severe Tstm Warnings**

**Green:**** Flash Flood Warnings**

## How will action be initiated?

*** ******Means of communication***
*** ******Backup plan***

## Where will people go?

*** ******Appropriate shelter***
*** ******Enough space***
*Visitors (esp. large groups)*
*People leading the group must have and know the plan*
*** ******Enough time to get there***

## Background: Tornado Shelters

*** ******Interior of building***
*** ******Without windows***
*** ******Roof tied to walls – walls tied to floor***
*** ******Avoid large-span (>30 ft) rooms ****** ***
*** ******An engineered Saferoom is best***
*** ******FEMA Saferoom guidelines***
*** ******New construction or retrofit***
*** ******Can be a working space (conference room, break room, storeroom, bathrooms,  etc)***

**Interior Room Left Intact**

**Parsons Storm Shelter**

## Concrete Saferoom

## Steel Saferoom

## Residential saferooms under construction

## How will you communicate an “all-clear”?

*** ******Drills***
*** ******Shift to response/rescue mode***

## Practice

*** ******Training meetings: Make sure everyone knows the plan***
*** ******In house drills: Practice the plan***
*Evaluate time needed*
*Evaluate suitability of shelters*
*** ******Severe Weather Awareness Week – tornado drill day for each state ***

## Act

***Acting vs reacting***
***Be proactive***
*Outlook, watch, other warnings*

## Consider Van Wert, Ohio.

***On Veteran’s Day In 2002, an F4 tornado struck Van Wert, Ohio.  50 people were watching “Santa Clause 2”. The movie theater was directly struck.  No fatalities.  No serious injuries.  Why?  The theater owner had heard the warning on Weather Radio and moved all the patrons into their restroom (shelter area). ***

## Act: Van Wert, Ohio

## Act: Van Wert, Ohio

## Act: Van Wert, Ohio

## Act: Van Wert, Ohio

## Summary

***Based on Parsons, VanWert, Oklahoma City, Utica, and numerous other tornado successes and failures – What works:***
*** ******Engineered Tornado shelters.***
*** ******The Designated Weather Watcher.***
*** ******Being proactive.***
*** ******Practicing.***
***Plan. Practice. Monitor. Act.***