Why I'd Rather Face a Tornado Than a Twisted Warning
Weather Radio - Emergency Preparation or Emergency Room Trip?
Since Tornado Alley natives receive a weather radio for their fifth birthday, my experience may seem a bit extreme to some; yet, may it serve to help the uninitiated.
For perspective, my interest in weather ended somewhere in Junior High--when I (mostly) shed the belief that thunder occurred when God was bowling and that the thunder bolts were strikes. Beyond that, weather worry seemed futile.
How my carefree attitude has changed.
Tornado? Where? Round One With the Weather Radio
Shortly following Myanmar cyclone and local tornado damage news reports, I heard a loud, haunting, screechy-siren sound.
My brain and heart malfunctioned temporarily--pure confusion, but within 15 seconds, I suspect, I made it questioningly to the weather radio located ten-feet away.
Across an alien-blue LCD read one word,TORNADO. I looked frantically at the ceiling and then at the blind covered windows. Gripping the device, I expected to see a funnel cloud overhead. It was as if a tornado was superimposed upon reality and I was immobile.
For several seconds, I couldn't think "death" exactly, but I felt danger. My gut knew what the word meant while my brain's survival mechanism hiccuped. Then I happened to looked downwards.
Across the weather radio LCD screen, the word WARNING slowly scrolled by. Is this why the weather radio found itself in a garage sale perhaps?
The blasted thing wasn't notifying me that a tornado was on top of my head ready to swallow me. It was simply a tornado warning, one of the hundreds of weather alerts and false alarms I had largely ignored over the years.
Yes, a tornado warning is serious, but I guess I was expecting something else. Maybe a calm reassuring voice telling me to be prepared and take cover if necessary, not a bomb shelter blast. At least not unless eminent danger was present.
If you are laughing hysterically at my expense, don't feel too guilty. It's one-tenth of the reaction my weather-conscious friend donned as I relayed the tale.To his credit, I was still a non-human shade of pale and resembled an animated chicken waiting for the sky to fall.
Three hours passed before the adrenaline rush tamed, in short, I'm relieved that my heart handles 130 beats per minute pretty well. Psychologically speaking, I am just plain scared.
Bone Fide Tornadoes, Round Two, Weather Alarm Delight
The weather radio sang for an hour on May 10, 2008 with multiple NOAA reports from Oklahoma and Arkansas while TV channel 4029 painted a grim picture for Benton County and surrounding areas.
At first, I appreciated the alarmist device, as the situation looked somewhat grim with multiple rotations headed our way.The Dish signal sputtered at a critical juncture.
My bathroom was quickly converted into a tornado shelter of sorts. As I didn't desire death by impalement from a flying mascara wand, I secured all the loose items from the counters and walls in record time. This was pure instinct and the weather alarm kept me focused...to a point.
Problem is that I couldn't stay confined in the small room between the nerving alarms every five minutes and my incessant need to know the actual danger. NOAA warnings were just too generalized. I want to hear about early sightings and what streets should be given Last Rights so I have time for a CYA prayer--okay, lofty expectation.
Ultimately, I grabbed my camera and headed outside for the comfort in knowing the size of the beast. In reality, I was more fearful of the weather radio than the weather.
Witnessing a funnel cloud through a "2.5- inch" LCD makes them less intimidating somehow, even if it is a bit close. It certainly beats weather radio reports that instill a vague warning that the world is about to end.
Hence, the accompanying photo. A cloud which latter developed into a twister shape and peppered my location with small debris.
Conclusion
Weather radios save lives yet need a black box warning of sorts --especially for the elderly, those with heart conditions and PTSD aggravated by loud noise. Additionally, it is of little value to scare oneself silly with one unless it helps to prepare sanely for bad weather.
If you do opt for a weather radio and don't like it, please be kind enough to include a manual or verbal warning when you have your next garage sale.
--
For more entertaining Arkansas tornado tales see: La Quinta: The Place to Stay When Natural Disaster Strikes
Author's Note: Prayers go out to the tornado victims and survivors of the May 10, 2008 tornadoes that claimed lives in Missouri, Oklahoma and Arkansas as well as other victims within and out of our borders year-round.
Published by Donna Porter
Writer / Journalist -- A Yahoo News! Contributor Donna began her writing and internet career in 1995 in the health industry and became an early dot-com entrepreneur soon after. Masters certified in Internet... View profile
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69 Comments
Post a CommentWe have one of these silly things!! So, as I read this, I laughed at you, and I understood your fear, I sat on the edge of the chair, and clenched my teeth, whew I am glad you are safe!! Here we have Hurricanes, so we usually get a fair amount of warning. I do not even want to imagine tornados. Thanks for sharing!! ( I almost broke my big toe on one of these alerts when we first got it, everyone laughed at me when we found out we were safe. )
Great account! I have one of those blasted weather radios, uh, somewhere, as the plug got jerked out and it was removed from the shelf! All that shrieking scared me worse. I am terrified of tornadoes, but no need to scare me more! Best weather advice my hubby gives me...look out the window!
I sleep with my weather radio on my nightstand. I lived in Evansville, Indiana in 2005 - I was on hand with the rest of my Guard unit to clean up after a high school friend of mine and 23 other people died in that tornado. I have since moved deeper into tornado alley and we just had a tornado go THROUGH my town last night. I will never be without my radio again.
You are so very funny! I would go nuts with one of those. You should read my article on How I Survived the Palm Sunday Tornado, it was one of my first ones here at AC. They are terrifying, and yet I guess I am crazy because I am not nearly as traumatized by tornado warnings as I am by a lot less scary things. You are an excellent writer!
loved this
That photo says it all! We had a tornado that touched down in our area several days ago that did minimal damage. This is only the second one that's ever been sited in the city's history. Scary stuff!
Reva-- what a tornado story, thanks for sharing...sounds like a worthy article! Larry thanks for the account on your close encounter. I wish I'd been there with the camera, but glad you're OK. My radio has S.A.M.E. technology and doesn't give many false alarms on tornado warnings, but my friend is subscribed to one of those services that alert you on everything...so the calls stress me out in the middle of the night and the anxiety is contagious. It's like what are going to do different, knowing that a tornado may happen at some undetermined time and place. I tried sighing up for weather alerts and I can see why people have nervous breakdowns over it. More people are likely to be injured from stress and loss of sleep than an actual tornado. It makes sense to be aware, but not to get worked up over it, take cover or don't. Simple, I think.
We were recently faced with several days of severe thunderstorm and tornado warnings...had several touch down. During dangerous weather, the local weather stations do a great job of keeping us informed with live radar and commentary. A friend of mine has one of these radios which he can program to show or ignore various types of warnings...this ability cuts the number of unecessary shrieks and sirens from the thing. I stepped out onto the pation the other night and the wind suddenly jumped to 70 miles per hour, the rain was horizontal, and my houseplants were blown over. I stepped back into the house, mildy panicked;) Still, I'd like to join one of those storm chasing teams one day. I enjoyed the humor in your article, and the photo is amazing Donna!
I enjoyed your article. I've never owned one of those radios but the topic of tornadoes is really scary to me. My husband's family lost their entire farm to one. When it past by all that was standing is one wall of a house held in place by a clothes line tied between the house and a tree. When they cut the line, the wall fell.
;-)