Tornado watches

[Wingshooter]

The thing that bugs me most is the over saturation.  They issue so many warnings that don't amount to anything that people (including me) are becoming numb to it and just ignore most of them.  To me, a "tornado watch" means conditions exist where one could form; while a "tornado warning" means there is a tornado.  This business of blabbering on and on about "doppler radar indicates...."  is garbage.  It does nothing but scare people unnecessarily and desensitize them.  I know they're just doing their jobs and trying to help, but it's over saturating.  They really need to refine their computer models to better distinguish between what's real and what might be real.  Easier said than done, I know. 
 
 
As for the house thing... my parents' house quickly became known as the "bomb shelter" by the guys helping build it.  While it doesn't have a purpose built storm shelter or panic room inside (they weren't very common when it was built), the structure in the basement is considerable.

I agree. It's hard to run and hide with every cell that passes through the county. I'd much rather have too much warning than not enough warning, but I do wish they would differentiate if its just a radar signature 20 miles away. "Enhanced Tornado Watch" or something. To me "Tornado Warning" means hang on hear it comes.

[enfield]

. . . . To me, a "tornado watch" means conditions exist where one could form; while a "tornado warning" means there is a tornado. . . .

 

That's exactly what the terms mean to the National Weather Service.  It's the entertainment folks on TV (yes, including the Weather Channel and all the 'news' networks) that confuse the issue and the viewers.

[Hershmeister]

[quote name="Dolomite_supafly" post="1144000" timestamp="1398745449"]Just had the meteorologist on a local channel warn people about flooding. He wanted to remind everyone that because car tires are filled with air your car will float away if the water is too deep. I kind of chuckled. I guess it might if you are in a monster truck. It is going to be a long night for me. I am bordered by trees on the back side of my house so winds are always a worry.[/quote] Holy cow, thats some dangerous advice

[bersaguy]

I have no intentions of deflating my Jeep tires for fear it may float away in heavy rains...........Who ever said that was an idiot with zero brain cells functioning...........jmho

[peejman]

That's exactly what the terms mean to the National Weather Service.  It's the entertainment folks on TV (yes, including the Weather Channel and all the 'news' networks) that confuse the issue and the viewers.

 

 

Forgive me if I'm nit picking...   If that's the case, then why were a number of areas under a tornado warning for an hour or more last night when this morning I read "no confirmed tornadoes" in the news?  In my mind (and particularly in my wife's mind), there's a big difference between a "watch" and a "warning". 

[enfield]

The NWS will issue a tornado warning if either or both of two things occur: 

 

1) the storm center in Norman Oklahoma believes, from their analysis of the radar data, that there is a high likelihood of a tornado in an area and/or

2) a qualified spotter reports that he/she has actually seen a tornado.

 

In the second case, the local NWS office will issue the tornado warning.  Tornadoes are confirmed by visual contact or by analysis of the destruction after the fact.

 

You should listen to both the NWS warnings and your local Skywarn net.  A Crane CCRadio2 will pick up both (if the Skywarn net is on 144 Mhz)  and is, incidentally, the best-performing portable am/fm radio I've ever had.

[dawgdoc]

My weather radio woke me up 4 times last night (thunderstorm warning, flood warning, tornado watch), but none for a tornado warning.  I really only care about the tornado warnings; I wish I could set it to only go off for a tornado warning.  I really don't care about watches, flood warnings don't affect me, and I can usually figure out that there is a thunderstorm without the help of a warning.

[Guest Lester Weevils]

I have a midland weather radio, set properly for the region as best I can tell. Maybe should read the manual again. It will alert to heavy weather, tornado watches and warnings, for anything going on from north georgia up thru northern areas of east tn, sometimes western pieces of the carolinas. It was alerting constantly the other night, warnings all the way from n ga thru mid east tn.

 

Are some of them settable tighter than that, so they would only alert on hamilton county or even just red bank?

Edited April 30, 2014 by Lester Weevils

[2.ooohhh]

I have a midland weather radio, set properly for the region as best I can tell. Maybe should read the manual again. It will alert to heavy weather, tornado watches and warnings, for anything going on from north georgia up thru northern areas of east tn, sometimes western pieces of the carolinas. It was alerting constantly the other night, warnings all the way from n ga thru mid east tn.

 

Are some of them settable tighter than that, so they would only alert on hamilton county or even just red bank?

 

Weatherradio from iMap for android and iOS is pretty impressive, the best weather radio app I have found. It's is great for quickly finding local alerts when your traveling and may not know what county your currently in and allows very precise control of where you want it to alert you. (I dropped a pin on my house and it lets me know if a tornado warning encompasses around a square mile surrounding my house rather than going off if a warning is issued for Spring Hill at the opposite end of the county from me)

 

Developer's site- http://imapweatherradio.com/

 

iOS

 

Google Play

[tnguy]

I'm hoping for enough of a storm to require a new roof.

 

Check your insurance. A lot of the insurance companies have started discounting what they'll pay against age.

[Hershmeister]

[quote name="tnguy" post="1144688" timestamp="1398910259"]Check your insurance. A lot of the insurance companies have started discounting what they'll pay against age.[/quote] Yep - roof insurance is like a tire warranty now

[dawgdoc]

I have a midland weather radio, set properly for the region as best I can tell. Maybe should read the manual again. It will alert to heavy weather, tornado watches and warnings, for anything going on from north georgia up thru northern areas of east tn, sometimes western pieces of the carolinas. It was alerting constantly the other night, warnings all the way from n ga thru mid east tn.

 

Are some of them settable tighter than that, so they would only alert on hamilton county or even just red bank?

 

I was researching weather radios last night.  Midland has one on Amazon (model WR-300) that lets you silence the the alerts (thunderstorm, flood, blizzard, etc) you don't want; my Midland (WR-100) doesn't do that.  The WR-300 is of course the more expensive one.  On my Midland, there is a way to set it to just the counties you want.  I think mine is the most basic model, similar to the ones pushed by the weather guys.  Also, Midland has all of their manuals online, and I think setting to the county level was the most basic control that they offer on all their radios.  In my case I have it set to Walker, Catoosa, and Hamilton because were are very close to those borders, but that means we get alerts for problems no where near us.  I may just set it for Catoosa if I don't buy a new one.

Edited May 1, 2014 by dawgdoc

[peejman]

Check your insurance. A lot of the insurance companies have started discounting what they'll pay against age.

 

 

Yes, make sure you have "replacement cost" coverage.  Else they'll pro-rate what they pay based on the age and life expectancy of the roof. 

 

And don't expect them to pay for the whole thing up front.  I had mine replaced a couple years ago.  They (State Farm) gave me a check for about 50% of the cost up front, then paid the balance after the work was complete.  I had to pay the roofer the full amount.  Thankfully, they were prompt in reimbursing me, but I still had to write a check for $12,000. 

[tnguy]

We had our roof done a while back. Had saved up a bunch, called the roofer and he said the insurance would cover it (nice surprise. This was before the pro-rating started too) and we just had to pass him on the check when it came through. Got the architectural shingles too which should last a good while. Didn't get quite the color we were after (Didn't seem within reasonable bounds of factory variance but the labels on the shingles were correct) but it looks fine.

Edited May 1, 2014 by tnguy