Speaking of construction and technology seems everyone as of late in the media is talking about Joplin, Missouri's new "tornado proof" hospital being built. Here is one of the latest videos I ran across from the Weather Channel. I guess it is possible to build a structure now days to withstand a tornado, even the glass. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=PMQ_sU2pVfk
One issue I have with OKC metro's warning policy is they sound the sirens for all metro areas if any part of the city is within a tornado warning polygon.
We heard sirens all night in far north OKC (178th/May..we are talking like 20 miles north of the threat).
My fear is that one day a south metro tornado will be warned, and then a few minutes later a new north metro tornado will pop up. The people will assume that the sires are just recycling the warnings from the south metro tornado. Too many sirens in my humble opinion.
Yes I finished your book last week which got me thinking about this during the Friday weather. Really interesting read! I'm working on "Warnings" this week. :-)
Unfortunately I can't think of a good solution. OKC is broken into 8 wards that change every year based on census data. I'm assuming the tornado sirens can't be updated every year to adapt to the updated GIS data.
(Keep in mind I'm just an amateur storm spotter) One idea I had is to develop software that links the GIS coordinates from the metro wards with the tornado sirens positioned in those areas.
So when a tornado polygon is drawn over a specific area on the map, the software would figure out which OKC metro wards are impacted and activate those sirens.
Someone would still pull the switch on the sirens, but the software would help decide which sirens in the metro sound.
Easier said than done I'm sure. And probably expensive! But that is the fun at being an armchair critic. :-)
The forecast path of the center of Hilary has shifted a bit to the west. This increases the threat to the Southland, especially in terms of flooding. Rainfall Note the heavy rains are forecast for Los Angeles County. Serious flash flooding may result. Because the forecast path has shifted to the west, that increases the threat of serious flooding in Los Angeles County north into Yosemite and the southern Sierra. It lessens the threat in Utah and western Arizona. While the threat of widespread flooding in Utah and Arizona lessens, note that some thunderstorms with localized heavy rain show up on the map. In Nevada, the more western path increases the risk of serious flooding around Mt Charleston and into the central part of the state. Here is the updated (9am PDT) flash flood risk map. Wind There are already about 40,000 people without power in California, mostly in the center of the state. The maps above are the peak gusts forecasted with the storm. The highest winds, in general,
-- Note, more current info available. Scroll up. --- Updated Information as of 8am PDT You are risking your life if you attempt to travel through the purple area. While the rain has not begun in coastal California, I would urge you to use this time to make any preparations. Power outages have occurred already in southeast California. Here is the latest radar as of 7:55am PDT. As of 6:40am PDT , the radar indicates moderate to heavy rain falling over desert areas of Southern California and far western Arizona (click to enlarge). Rainfall amounts for the 24 hours ending at 7am PDT show more than two inches have already fallen. There are reports from reliable sources that roads are already washed out and that people are stranded in isolated parts of the desert. Below is a high-resolution computer model's rainfall forecast from 5am PDT to 11pm PDT Sunday. More than a foot of additional rain is forecast to fall. This will lead to catastrophic flooding. Here is a map of current watc
[There is an updated version of this forecast. Scroll up.] This tornado outbreak has the potential for violent, long-tracked tornadoes at night. It is a recipe for a terrible disaster in terms of human life if precautions are not taken. Here are the color codes: Red hatched: High risk of strong tornadoes. Yellow hatched: Enhanced risk of strong tornadoes. Brown: Significant risk of tornadoes. The northern area of Iowa-Illinois-Missouri will see tornado-producing thunderstorms beginning tomorrow (Tuesday) afternoon and continuing into Tuesday night. The southern area, from St. Louis across the Ozarks and into northeast Texas, may not develop until evening and then continue well into the night. Nighttime tornadoes are 2.5 times more deadly than tornadoes during the day. Addition, 7:30pm. The Texas Tech model shows thunderstorms developing over the Flint Hills and in Oklahoma 7-8pm. Those are already supercells in Kansas and the red lines in both areas are local rotation in the storm
I'll pass it along to my team. Thanks for writing it.
ReplyDeleteWhat is your opinion on ICF construction and tornado safety?
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of construction and technology seems everyone as of late in the media is talking about Joplin, Missouri's new "tornado proof" hospital being built. Here is one of the latest videos I ran across from the Weather Channel. I guess it is possible to build a structure now days to withstand a tornado, even the glass.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=PMQ_sU2pVfk
@Dr. I don't have an opinion on that as I am not a structural engineer. Sorry.
ReplyDelete@Todd: Yes, it is possible to make it tornado resistant although not completely tornado proof.
Great article.
ReplyDeleteOne issue I have with OKC metro's warning policy is they sound the sirens for all metro areas if any part of the city is within a tornado warning polygon.
We heard sirens all night in far north OKC (178th/May..we are talking like 20 miles north of the threat).
My fear is that one day a south metro tornado will be warned, and then a few minutes later a new north metro tornado will pop up. The people will assume that the sires are just recycling the warnings from the south metro tornado. Too many sirens in my humble opinion.
@David: A version of your fear materialized in Joplin in May, 2011. It is described in my book, "When the Sirens Were Silent."
ReplyDeleteYes I finished your book last week which got me thinking about this during the Friday weather. Really interesting read! I'm working on "Warnings" this week. :-)
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately I can't think of a good solution. OKC is broken into 8 wards that change every year based on census data. I'm assuming the tornado sirens can't be updated every year to adapt to the updated GIS data.
(Keep in mind I'm just an amateur storm spotter) One idea I had is to develop software that links the GIS coordinates from the metro wards with the tornado sirens positioned in those areas.
So when a tornado polygon is drawn over a specific area on the map, the software would figure out which OKC metro wards are impacted and activate those sirens.
Someone would still pull the switch on the sirens, but the software would help decide which sirens in the metro sound.
Easier said than done I'm sure. And probably expensive! But that is the fun at being an armchair critic. :-)