Good Morning America 5/7

[Mike Umscheid]

I will be interviewed by Diane Sawyer of GMA about the warnings and statements issued by our office along with showing some of the velocity radar images I sent them prior to the tornado hitting Greensburg. Anyway, just FYI for those interested and up at that time of day. I gotta be up by 3:30 or so, I better get to bed, LOL.. still in a state of shock really, the magnitude of this whole thing is just something I'd never expect to experience so early in my career... just nuts! -Mike U

 

[B Ozanne]

I just saw it, nice job.

More importantly, nice job on the warnings. I hate to use the word hero, but I'd throw it out there. You saved countless lives.

 

[Brett Adair]

Just saw it here as well.....wonderful job. I think your SVS's did the trick also, not just the warning. Great job.

 

[Jay Cazel]

I saw you this morning before I had to take the kids to school...Great job!

 

[Joey Ketcham]

If you missed it, GMA has it on their website

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=3146565&page=1

 

[Mike Peregrine]

Good work, Mike ... as hard as it probably was for you not to be out in the field, I'm glad you weren't chasing Friday night. You were right where everyone needed you the most. Excellent - - -

 

[Alex Lamers]

Good interview Mike.

AJL

 

[Mike Parker]

In a world that is quick to jump on bad decisions, you are to be commended on making a great call in a tough situation. Thanks again for a job well done. One of the things that I will remember most about that night is the great job done by you and the staff there.

 

[rdale]

Any reason why the Stafford County TOR was dropped at midnight and then started back up a few minutes later? I don't think that impacted anyone negatively since the media stayed on top of the event, but it just seemed a little strange at the time to watch the warning expire and not see something reissued...

 

[Mike Umscheid]

Any reason why the Stafford County TOR was dropped at midnight and then started back up a few minutes later? I don't think that impacted anyone negatively since the media stayed on top of the event, but it just seemed a little strange at the time to watch the warning expire and not see something reissued...

Hey Rob, I was on that storm the entire time...from a warning ops standpoint. I would have to go back and review the warnings vs. radar to see where anything might have slipped through the cracks... I wish we were perfect :-/

Anyway, thanks everyone for the kind remarks... it was the integrated warning process that saved lives. The dissemination of the warnings/statements in an extremely timely fashion by not only us at the NWS but the TV media since they reach out to a very large audience... this along with the accurate reports from chasers/spotters...is what saved lives in Greensburg and elsewhere.

 

[rdale]

No problem, as I said the media stayed on that storm even as the warning expired right at midnight so didn't know if there was a reason it wasn't reissued for several minutes or if it was just a "oops it expired" type of situation.

http://www.srh.noaa.gov/productview.php?pil=TORDDC&version=30&max=61

http://www.srh.noaa.gov/productview.php?pil=TORDDC&version=29&max=61

 

[Jim Zandonai]

Thanks for the Link to the video Jketcham ! I couldnt catch it this A.M.
Way to go Mike.. Thank God you were there is right. You and your Staff are the reason so many are probably still alive.

 

[Jason Bolt]

Mike as you probably already know my real job is the Fire/EMS/Emergency Manager for Stafford County and I want to personally thank you and the entire DDC office for the outstanding job you all did. We lost power here and had no radar, I know I called you at least a dozen times Friday night and everyone I talked to was so helpful. We had a good 30 minutes lead on the first Macksville storm and all the folks with major damage told me they "knew it was coming and were in the cellar." Outstanding job.

 

[Robert Rohloff]

NWS DDC proves again lives can be saved

Mike, Great job all the way around. The warning and tornado emergency did get people to take shelter, no question that people were saved.

 

[Mike Umscheid]

Mike as you probably already know my real job is the Fire/EMS/Emergency Manager for Stafford County and I want to personally thank you and the entire DDC office for the outstanding job you all did. We lost power here and had no radar, I know I called you at least a dozen times Friday night and everyone I talked to was so helpful. We had a good 30 minutes lead on the first Macksville storm and all the folks with major damage told me they "knew it was coming and were in the cellar." Outstanding job.

Hey Jason! It's fantastic to see one of our county EM's on this forum, pretty cool! Anyway, thanks for the kudos... and man... I'll toss the compliments back to you... this is an integrated warning/response system and I certainly don't envy your job. Stafford County took an incredible hit as well with not only the tornado damage over the wester portions of your county... but all that flooding as well. The Edwards County EM to your west was calling about as much as well... and this was a good thing. The flow of information was invaluable.