Severe Storm Warnings - Laughing in the O.C.

Reading the C.J. this morning I noticed that apparently we had a tornado warning out here in the O.C. early this morning. The warning went out at 4:24 am and since we don't have an audible siren warning system the county relies on a "One Call Now" system (??)...Which is apparently some kind of new fangled 20th century system where it calls your phone with a recorded message to advise you to seek shelter in your basement and kiss your ass goodbye. Reading the CJ, the county seemed fairly pleased that it took only 27 minutes for these calls to go out.

[Robin Garr]

<sigh> I guess the expense of an audible siren system is too much "big government" for everyone out here in Teabaggerville.

It's all about trickle-down economics. Everybody is expected to buy a weather radio with an alarm and support the free market. (And, as you'll soon discover, the alarm will go off and wake you up any time there's any kind of special weather statement anywhere in North Central Kentucky or Southern Indiana. )

We got our call @ 4:35 this morning. We made the obligatory trip to the basement to evaluate the situation. After 15 -20 minutes or so we went back to bed. The calls came from Columbus, OH so perhaps the IVR firm contracted by the county needs to invest in a few more T-1's to get all the calls out quicker.

<sigh> I guess the expense of an audible siren system is too much "big government" for everyone out here in Teabaggerville.

It's all about trickle-down economics. Everybody is expected to buy a weather radio with an alarm and support the free market. (And, as you'll soon discover, the alarm will go off and wake you up any time there's any kind of special weather statement anywhere in North Central Kentucky or Southern Indiana. )

Darn it Robin...You got to me before I edited out that last sentence. Didn't mean to offend...we are all entitled to have our views, even if they are rooted in...well never mind

Seriously though...I was moderately annoyed, bordering on mildly pissed to find out this "One Call Now" was the only system of warning here in the O.C. (Jefferson ???). Of course if I were to look at it on the glass half full side, until I read about the "One Call" warning system this morning, I wasn't aware we even HAD a warning system, so I guess it's better than (but close to) nothing. Still, if I would have awoken this morning to find my house laying on top of me and 15 minutes later the phone rang with an "oh by the way" message, I would have had a case of the White Hot Ass.

Please bear in mind, I've experienced both extremes of said audible alarms. In Minnesota if there was a Cumulonimbus cloud sited within 100 miles of the county, they were cranking that siren like the Russian bombers were coming. On the other hand, in Oklahoma they generally sounded the sirens precisely 96 seconds before the "big one" hit, giving you just enough time to put your head between your legs and kiss your butt goodbye.

We got our call @ 4:35 this morning. We made the obligatory trip to the basement to evaluate the situation. After 15 -20 minutes or so we went back to bed. The calls came from Columbus, OH so perhaps the IVR firm contracted by the county needs to invest in a few more T-1's to get all the calls out quicker.

That or maybe the folks out here in the hinterlands need to upgrade from those hand cranked phones to those new fangled ones you can "dial".

a1phone.jpg

I have one of those weather alarms at my house. My ultra paranoid mother from Arizona bought it for me. Unfortunately it's under my night stand, unplugged, and no batteries. It was SO loud it would literally frighten you to death. i tried to keep it in the kitchen, but even then it made me jump a foot. And it wouldn't just go off before a weather event. It would go off if any weather report was updated in the surrounding 4 counties. And since I have a light sleeping child, it's not worth it! Thankfully I live in Shelby Co and can hear the siren well enough. I would sell it..but it's one of those things I want my Mom to think we have when she comes to visit.

http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20110228/NEWS01/302280059/1008/NEWS01/Problem-radio-leaves-Louisville-civil-defense-sirens-silent-during-tornado-warning

Can't make fun of the OC when the JC drops the ball.

I'm not exactly sure what that article is saying (not to mention it has an important typo or two). But if the sirens went off last night, I slept right through them.

[Robin Garr]

Can't make fun of the OC when the JC drops the ball.

I'm not exactly sure what that article is saying (not to mention it has an important typo or two). But if the sirens went off last night, I slept right through them.

But DID Jefferson County drop the ball? The weather was moving from west to east. The cloud rotation was spotted EAST OF PROSPECT, HEADING UPRIVER.

Should they have warned the entire metropolitan county of 700,000 people? Really? My question: In a highly populated county, with the magic of modern Doppler radar, do we really need to scare folks in Shively to their basements when we know that they are well out of harm's way?

Can't make fun of the OC when the JC drops the ball.

I'm not exactly sure what that article is saying (not to mention it has an important typo or two). But if the sirens went off last night, I slept right through them.

But DID Jefferson County drop the ball? The weather was moving from west to east. The cloud rotation was spotted EAST OF PROSPECT, HEADING UPRIVER.

Should they have warned the entire metropolitan county of 700,000 people? Really? My question: In a highly populated county, with the magic of modern Doppler radar, do we really need to scare folks in Shively to their basements when we know that they are well out of harm's way?

I agree, Robin. When we lived in St. Louis, they would sound the sirens when a funnel cloud was spotted in any county adjacent to St. Louis County. It was ridiculous. I wouldn't even send my kids to the basement until I checked the TV weather information to see where the actual funnel was observed.

The Ballardsville VFD sirens cranked-up a little after 0430, and sounded again when a funnel cloud was reported near Centerfield (just before 0500)...the "One Call" came in well after we were in the basement...by then, the worst of the storm over the OC was churning ESE into Henry and Shelby counties....we barely heard it pass by.