Use of "Tornado Emergency"

[Shane Lee]

On Saturday May 1, a meterologist at KARK 4 here in Little Rock started using the term "Tornado Emergency" for a cell near Pine Bluff, Arkansas. Knowing that this is a warning issued by the NWS, I checked the NWS website for the statement....finding only a Tornado Warning, but no emergency. Is this a term that is too freely thrown around by the media? Was he technically incorrect?

 

[Rob H]

Shane, there won't be a special box/polygon for a Tornado Emergency, it would just be wording inside of the Tornado Warning. Did the warning for that area include a statement specifically saying that there is a Tornado Emergency? I'm having a hard time finding that archived warning. Wikipedia doesn't list that date as a TE (but we all know how accurate that site can be). I believe the governor declared a state of emergency, could that have been what the reporter was talking about?

Regardless, if the text "Tornado Emergency" was not in the warning, then the reporter was likely using the term incorrectly.

 

[rdale]

It's usually (if ever?) not in the Tornado Warning product - it is in the Severe Weather Statement.

In any case, if the meteorologist thought this was a full-fledged emergency, he was fully within his rights to say "this is an emergency." Nobody owns a patent on that phrase

 

[Shane Lee]

Thanks for the speedy responses to my question. The meterologist was actually using the words "Tornado Emergency" and the main reason this struck me as odd was that the situation didn't appear to be an especially bad one. There was no ground truth indicating a touchdown and the radar echo looked sloppy and disorganized. The night before I was at the NWS office working as a volunteer SKYWARN net controller. The forecasters were discussing issuing a "Tornado Emergency" for the small town of Clinton, AR because there was a confirmed storm on the ground and a debris signature on the radar nearing the 10,000 person (est.) town. They actually decided not to use the terminology because by radar, the storm was looking like it was going to miss the city. If the NWS forecasters are so cautious of using this term, I thought it funny that it was used on the TV without any mention in an official product.

 

[Patrick Marsh]

Hi Shane,

I witnessed/heard the event you are referring to in real time. The on-camera personality was using this term on his own - it was not "issued" by the NWS. In my opinion this guy was a little over the top by focusing on this term and using extreme wording. In fact when told of a storm with a confirmed tornado, he told his crew that "we'll talk about that storm in a minute" and continued to focus on the Pine Bluff storm (which didn't have a confirmed tornado).

 

[rdale]

If the NWS forecasters are so cautious of using this term

That varies from office to office and forecaster to forecaster. Some TE's have been issued that were REALLY out of left field, with no tornado on the ground either.

I thought it funny that it was used on the TV without any mention in an official product.

Many TV weathercasters are actual meteorologists, and some with the same (or even more) training in severe weather and radar interpretation. So it's not out of question that one meteorologist can see things happening that another doesn't, regardless of whether they are getting a paycheck from a media outlet or taxpayer money.

 

[Mike Smith]

Here is a very long thread on the pros and cons of the "tornado emergency" message: www.stormtrack.org/forum/showthread.php?t=12361

I would like to see the TE go away, but read the thread and form your own opinion.

 

[Steven Marshall]

The night before I was at the NWS office working as a volunteer SKYWARN net controller. The forecasters were discussing issuing a "Tornado Emergency" for the small town of Clinton, AR because there was a confirmed storm on the ground and a debris signature on the radar nearing the 10,000 person (est.) town. They actually decided not to use the terminology because by radar, the storm was looking like it was going to miss the city.

So why would the residents of the country side NOT inside Clinton AR. not be entitled to the same warnings/heads up as someone in town? This has been an issue here with CLE too. "well the storm will miss XXX so we arent warning on it"...are NWS mets spending so much time in front of their computer screens that they think no one lives outside urban areas? Apparently. If anything, the suburban folks may need more warning because they may be out of range of tornado sirens.
Personally IMO, "Tornado Emergency" terminology needs to be reserved for immediate use when a nader is on the ground and headed your way. Its an attention getter, hopefully spurring a call to action to seek shelter..or in some folks cases, spurring an urgent need to find your camcorder and head outside.
Over use will delute the effect, just like over use of tornado warnings does now.

 

[rdale]

So why would the residents of the country side NOT inside Clinton AR. not be entitled to the same warnings/heads up as someone in town?

They are. But a TE is only for use when a confirmed tornado is approaching a well-populated area.