Weather Channel's website states" A tornado warning is issued when a tornado (or sometimes a funnel cloud) has been spotted or is denoted by radar." A tornado watch is a general area in which severe weather may occur within 48-24 hours.
Honestly, how many tornado warnings have you seen or heard on the tv or radio? Dozens if not hundreds, right? And how many tornadoes have you seen? That is because meteorologists do not know as much about tornadoes as is needed to accurately predict when and where a funnel cloud will touch down. Discover Magazine uncovered that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) funded $7 million to a project to increase the accuracy of predicting tornadoes from 1:10 to 1:3 over two years during the active May-July tornado season.
Savannah is under a tornado watch until 8pm EST. The best way to protect yourself is to be aware of changing weather conditions and have a plan of action should severe weather be announced for your area.
This raises a really interesting issue about how best to report on dangers like this, especially when those dangers have a very remote chance of being true. I struggle with how to write about impending hurricanes and the general threat of a catastrophic hurricane, for example.
ReplyDeleteA former principal of a school where I taught once told a group of students -- who were being led to a safe room by their teacher -- that she always got confused about the difference between a tornado watch and a tornado warning. It was sort of frightening that even an educator wouldn't know that crucial distinction. Is this evidence of a failure of good reporting?
I think there is something to be said about the phone calls we get from Armstrong about the potential severe weather that normally doesn't happen. I guess it is always better to err on the safe side but it still feels like someone is crying wolf.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Dawers on how to report dangers like this. My child used to freak out when the warning came on. Now that she is older, she understands the difference between the two only because I explained it to her. Never once has an educator or The Weather Channel explained the difference to her. Not that I expect The Weather Channel to educate my child, but wait...actually, maybe I should expect The Weather Channel to explain the weather and the lingo. That does seem to be in their job description.
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