Small investment, big return

It's always saddening to read or hear about storm-related fatalities. But when a natural disaster strikes close to home during the holiday season, the results are heartbreaking. Such was the case in the small Columbus County community of Riegelwood. A devastating F3 tornado (158-206 MPH winds) destroyed homes just one week before Thanksgiving, claiming 8 lives in the process. Tornadoes are one of the most complex topics in meteorology, especially from a forecasting standpoint. Despite their obvious strength, tornadoes require a delicate atmospheric balance in their formation. Thermal profiles, wind shear distribution, and available instability are just a few of the parameters that determine when/where a tornado will form. To make matters worse, tornado formation can occur very quickly in developing thunderstorms, cutting down on public notification times. Remember, tornadoes are usually short-lived events (unlike hurricanes, which can be tracked and studied days in advance). Many tornadoes last less than 20 minutes. As a result, official tornado warnings can sometimes only be issued about 10-15 minutes before a tornado strikes a given area. In an ideal world, folks would be tuned to their local TV's for weather reports 24 hours a day. In reality, people are constantly on the move. It's easy for a resident to miss an official tornado warning, especially at night (when most folks are sound asleep). This brings us to the topic of NOAA weather radios. These radios broadcast the official "NOAA All-Hazards" network, giving you updated weather information specific to your community on demand 24 hours a day. More importantly, these radios will trigger an alarm automatically as soon as a severe weather warning is issued- even in the middle of the night. There are many different sizes/brands of weather radio. They are widely available in most electronic stores and large retail chains, and are quite affordable. The unit we use in our home was under $20, and has worked perfectly for over 10 years now. Of course, you can get more costly units (upwards of $100 or more). The more expensive units contain many bells and whistles, such as the ability to program the specific counties for which you desire severe notification. But all weather radio alerts serve the same purpose- to get your attention IMMEDIATELY when a warning is issued. For such a small investment, the benefit is priceless.