Two More Tornado Warning Busts

[Mike Smith]

At the risk of making the usual suspects unhappy, we had two strong tornadoes over the weekend that were inadequately warned. I have done write-ups of them both:

• Saturday, EF-2 Palm Beach Gardens: Yesterday's Tornado Warning Failure in Florida
• Sunday, EF-3 Virginia Beach: Virginia Beach EF-3: Another Inadequately Warned Tornado

No one can continue to claim these are isolated incidents. As meteorologist Ed Vallee wrote (see VB post), in spite of blowing the PBI warning, there were still plentiful false tornado alarms.

If this is ever going to be repaired, we must have an independent National Disaster Review Board modeled after the hugely successful National Transportation Safety Board. Others now agree:

• The Next Step to a National Disaster Safety Board
• We Need a Disaster Investigation Board for COVID-19 Failures

If any of you agree and would like to email your congressional delegation, it would be greatly appreciated. Otherwise, another JLN is inevitable.

 

[J Sims]

I live in Norfolk, Virginia and I had no idea that a warning was issued, if there was one at all. I live less then 5 to 10 miles from the damage path and knew nothing until I started seeing posts of reported damage on Facebook.

 

[Mike Smith]

I live in Norfolk, Virginia and I had no idea that a warning was issued, if there was one at all. I live less then 5 to 10 miles from the damage path and knew nothing until I started seeing posts of reported damage on Facebook.

As I mention in the Virginia Beach post, there was no tornado watch nor severe thunderstorm watch. There was a severe thunderstorm warning a few minutes before but they should have gone straight to tornado warning. The data is produced in the VB post.

 

[J Sims]

As I mention in the Virginia Beach post, there was no tornado watch nor severe thunderstorm watch. There was a severe thunderstorm warning a few minutes before but they should have gone straight to tornado warning. The data is produced in the VB post.

After reading your article I agree. NWS in Wakefield should have issued a warning, there was clear radar evidence any forecaster in the Midwest would have immediately acted on and put out a warning, NWS in Topeka has put out warnings for far less on radar. The fact that a EF3 slipped through the cracks is horrible. Just thinking of what would have happened if it had gone through my area of Norfolk and caught me unaware on my couch I don't want to think about, and the fact that most of my neighbors are transplants from all over and most have little to no idea what a tornado is or how to respond to one scares me, people could have been killed.