Warning systems placed and ready for twister time
Posted on Monday, March 24, 2008
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/nwat/News/63451/
People might need to keep an eye to the sky and an ear to a radio during the next few months: The National Weather Service warns that tornado season is upon Northwest Arkansas.
Craig Sullivan, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said the season usually runs from mid-March to mid-May and that people should be aware on a daily basis whether they’re under a severe weather warning.
“ If it’s a day a tornado is possible, it’s pretty well advertised, ” he said.
People should not believe the myths that tornadoes cannot spawn near water or hills, Sullivan said, because twisters can pop up anywhere at anytime.
Some small towns in Washington County are lending a hand to their citizens by providing outdoor severe weather warning systems.
Larry Oelrich, the city business manager for Prairie Grove, said his city has had sirens for a little fewer than 10 years, and it has used them about six times since the city made the $ 60, 000 purchase.
Oelrich said the sirens can cover most of the city, with each horn having about a mile-wide radius.
“ We’re probably looking at getting a few more in the future, ” he said.
Sirens are meant to be outdoor warning systems. Oelrich warned people to keep on a television or radio when severe weather is happening because there’s a chance, if they’re indoors, they might not hear the sirens.
Farmington has two sirens to warns its residents. Mayor Ernie Penn said the city has had one siren for more than 10 years and added the additional one six years ago.
“ We probably use them once or twice a year, ” he said. “ They went off last year in the middle of the night once. ”
Greenland police Chief Gary Ricker said he hopes to apply to the Federal Emergency Management Agency for a grant to purchase the system he wants to install at the Greenland Community Center. He said local schools and preschools have National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration emergency weather radios that monitor local weather stations and set off an alarm if severe weather is in the area.
West Fork fire Chief Mitch McCorkle said sirens are not the best way to warn his city of a tornado. West Fork has a siren on its fire station, but McCorkle said it only covers half the town. Additionally, to get the siren going to give people enough time to find cover, he said, the city would have to station a firefighter to watch the weather.
“ What it’s doing is asking a fireman to leave his family and risk his life and his vehicle to start the siren, ” he said.
McCorkle recommended that when severe weather is approaching, people keep a close eye on the television or listen to the radio for warnings.
Sullivan said when the National Weather Service issues a watch it means the conditions are right for a tornado. When it issues a warning, he said, it means one has touched down or one is imminent.
The past two years, Washington County has had no twisters touch down, while Benton County has had three — one of them a strong F 3-rated tornado on the Fujita Scale of Tornado Intensity. An F 3 tornado has estimated wind speeds of 158-206 mph and severe damage being typical. The strongest tornado on the scale is an F 5, which has wind speeds up to 261-318 mph.
Washington County doesn’t have its own sirens, but it works closely with the towns that do, as well as the University of Arkansas, which also has horns, said John Luther, director of the Washington County Department of Emergency Management.
“ We highly recommend that individuals in the county purchase a (NOAA ) emergency weather radio, ” he said.
Anyone seeking information on the radios can go to the FEMA Web site at www. fema. gov or the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Web site at www. noaa. gov.
Luther said the county has transmitters for the radios posted in Springdale and Winslow so people can hear alerts specifically for Washington County.
He said ever y family should have an emergency plan that each member knows, including where to go and how to contact each other during severe weather. Families also should have an emergency supply kit with items such as fresh batteries and a flashlight, he said.
The FEMA Web also has information on what families should store in their kit.