Shawna Davies
EF1
Hello all:
I've been talking via email to a gentleman in the west side of Chicago. He is on the Boy Scout council for that area and is trying to start a preparedness program and is having trouble. I've posted the email exchange below so you can see what he is looking for. If anyone in that area could help him out with footage, pictures or can donate some time to do a presentation or something, please email or PM me. [email protected] THANK YOU!
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Hi, Shawna! Thanks again for your thoughts on distributing stuffed animals to storm chasers and emergency personnel. I'm starting to pass the idea around now that I have feedback suggesting that the storm chaser idea may be viable. But another issue: I see that you know about the 2008 Boy Scout camp disaster. I'm on the executive board of our Boy Scout council, which runs Scouting in Chicago's near west suburbs (42 towns). Since the Little Sioux Scout Ranch disaster, I've been pushing for development of a severe weather training program for adult Scout leaders and for the older Boy Scouts, who tend to be a very bright and capable bunch. It turned out that Boy Scouts of America - even at the local level - can be a heck of a bureaucracy, and it was not until last month that the program finally got a green light. Not a "green light and FULL speed ahead", but a "green light and you may take your first steps". So I'm looking around for sources of video and photos that we can use - and that is not strictly the usual weather material. My audience is not "weather people" - they do not want to know the meteorolgy of an event, they just want to know are they and the boys in danger and what to do about it. Some of the leaders are skeptical and I also have to overcome their active disinterest in this danger. So, I need material which reaches out and grabs their attention, and which illustrates real-life problems they may face. Here are some examples of things I have seen in the severe weather classes I've been taking as I try to get a handle on the problem. Storm chaser video of a tornado in our south suburbs, seen as kind of wispy, then a house blocks the view of the tornado for 8 seconds, and when it reappears in view, it's exploded - our point being to show how fast severe weather can develop. Video of a small tornado flipping cars around in a parking lot - our point being to illustrate the NWS rule of getting out of a car when a tornado approaches. Photo of lightning illuminating a supercell and revealing a tornado-shaped formation - our point being to show one way to be able to tell that a night-time tornado [our biggest danger] approaches. On a NOAA website, photos showing the 3 clean spots under an overpass which was hit by a tornado, the 3 clean spots being where the bodies were found - our point being to illustrate the rule of not going under underpasses to escape tornados. In a few sources I found photos of people with their hair floating in the air, shortly being before struck by lightning - our point being to illustrate one way to know that a lightning strike is imminent. These examples show what I need: videos and photos that will reach out to our audience, get their attention, and give them real-life hands-on useful information that they can then use to keep these boys alive. 45 dead and wounded Boy Scouts from a single mid-size tornado - that screams out that we've got to get working on this. I've taken a lot of your time here, but I hope I clearly laid out what I need, and I'm wondering where you think I can turn for such material. Jim Allsopp (NWS-Chicago - - I think you met him last year at DuPage Co.'s event) told me that storm chasers are often willing to provide their work product for such a purpose and give permission for its use - but I don't know where to even start to deal with storm chasers. What do you suggest? -Pete Schmidt
Hi Peter!
WOW! I can't believe that your troops don't already have a weather preparedness program in place, and that your plight is being met with resistance. I've worked with some local boy and girl scout troops here in KC. After our presentations, the scouts that attend receive a weather badge. So, let's get this going for you!
First of all, I commend you for your effort. I've heard about the issues with the bureaucracy in regards to the council, so don't give up. I'm also sorry to hear that some leaders are not on board.
In my opinion, it's quite easy to teach the scouts about basic weather issues and awareness. Training can be in one evening if need be, and should cover the following:
1. Severe storm dangers: lightning, flooding, hail, and straight line winds.
2. Tornado dangers: knowing how to interpret the watches and warnings, how to respond, what to do after. It's especially important to go over what to do when CAMPING as that is a large threat. The Sioux City day would be an excellent case example. These boys knew about the watch, received the warning and did what they were supposed to do before, during and after the tornado. If it hadn't been for inadequate shelter, all boys would have survived.
It sounds like you already have some great pics and video. You don't need the meteorology to teach your troops to be prepared. Just the basics will do (cloud features of a severe storm, mesocyclone, wall cloud, etc.) to give the boys an idea of what they are seeing if faced with severe weather. Knowing how to receive and adhere to the warnings are the MOST important part.
Yes, chaser and spotters are great about giving their time and / or footage to help with training scouts and the public. I will make a post on StormTrack about your plight and see if I can find a chaser or spotter near you that would be willing to help you out. You should also see if you can find a scout branch near you that already has a program in place to learn from.
I will forward any responses to you that I receive! I'm also here for you to help you through this! Good for you!
Shawna
I've been talking via email to a gentleman in the west side of Chicago. He is on the Boy Scout council for that area and is trying to start a preparedness program and is having trouble. I've posted the email exchange below so you can see what he is looking for. If anyone in that area could help him out with footage, pictures or can donate some time to do a presentation or something, please email or PM me. [email protected] THANK YOU!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi, Shawna! Thanks again for your thoughts on distributing stuffed animals to storm chasers and emergency personnel. I'm starting to pass the idea around now that I have feedback suggesting that the storm chaser idea may be viable. But another issue: I see that you know about the 2008 Boy Scout camp disaster. I'm on the executive board of our Boy Scout council, which runs Scouting in Chicago's near west suburbs (42 towns). Since the Little Sioux Scout Ranch disaster, I've been pushing for development of a severe weather training program for adult Scout leaders and for the older Boy Scouts, who tend to be a very bright and capable bunch. It turned out that Boy Scouts of America - even at the local level - can be a heck of a bureaucracy, and it was not until last month that the program finally got a green light. Not a "green light and FULL speed ahead", but a "green light and you may take your first steps". So I'm looking around for sources of video and photos that we can use - and that is not strictly the usual weather material. My audience is not "weather people" - they do not want to know the meteorolgy of an event, they just want to know are they and the boys in danger and what to do about it. Some of the leaders are skeptical and I also have to overcome their active disinterest in this danger. So, I need material which reaches out and grabs their attention, and which illustrates real-life problems they may face. Here are some examples of things I have seen in the severe weather classes I've been taking as I try to get a handle on the problem. Storm chaser video of a tornado in our south suburbs, seen as kind of wispy, then a house blocks the view of the tornado for 8 seconds, and when it reappears in view, it's exploded - our point being to show how fast severe weather can develop. Video of a small tornado flipping cars around in a parking lot - our point being to illustrate the NWS rule of getting out of a car when a tornado approaches. Photo of lightning illuminating a supercell and revealing a tornado-shaped formation - our point being to show one way to be able to tell that a night-time tornado [our biggest danger] approaches. On a NOAA website, photos showing the 3 clean spots under an overpass which was hit by a tornado, the 3 clean spots being where the bodies were found - our point being to illustrate the rule of not going under underpasses to escape tornados. In a few sources I found photos of people with their hair floating in the air, shortly being before struck by lightning - our point being to illustrate one way to know that a lightning strike is imminent. These examples show what I need: videos and photos that will reach out to our audience, get their attention, and give them real-life hands-on useful information that they can then use to keep these boys alive. 45 dead and wounded Boy Scouts from a single mid-size tornado - that screams out that we've got to get working on this. I've taken a lot of your time here, but I hope I clearly laid out what I need, and I'm wondering where you think I can turn for such material. Jim Allsopp (NWS-Chicago - - I think you met him last year at DuPage Co.'s event) told me that storm chasers are often willing to provide their work product for such a purpose and give permission for its use - but I don't know where to even start to deal with storm chasers. What do you suggest? -Pete Schmidt
Hi Peter!
WOW! I can't believe that your troops don't already have a weather preparedness program in place, and that your plight is being met with resistance. I've worked with some local boy and girl scout troops here in KC. After our presentations, the scouts that attend receive a weather badge. So, let's get this going for you!
First of all, I commend you for your effort. I've heard about the issues with the bureaucracy in regards to the council, so don't give up. I'm also sorry to hear that some leaders are not on board.
In my opinion, it's quite easy to teach the scouts about basic weather issues and awareness. Training can be in one evening if need be, and should cover the following:
1. Severe storm dangers: lightning, flooding, hail, and straight line winds.
2. Tornado dangers: knowing how to interpret the watches and warnings, how to respond, what to do after. It's especially important to go over what to do when CAMPING as that is a large threat. The Sioux City day would be an excellent case example. These boys knew about the watch, received the warning and did what they were supposed to do before, during and after the tornado. If it hadn't been for inadequate shelter, all boys would have survived.
It sounds like you already have some great pics and video. You don't need the meteorology to teach your troops to be prepared. Just the basics will do (cloud features of a severe storm, mesocyclone, wall cloud, etc.) to give the boys an idea of what they are seeing if faced with severe weather. Knowing how to receive and adhere to the warnings are the MOST important part.
Yes, chaser and spotters are great about giving their time and / or footage to help with training scouts and the public. I will make a post on StormTrack about your plight and see if I can find a chaser or spotter near you that would be willing to help you out. You should also see if you can find a scout branch near you that already has a program in place to learn from.
I will forward any responses to you that I receive! I'm also here for you to help you through this! Good for you!
Shawna
