Is that tornado legit? (A personal story)

There’s never a good time for bad weather. But a Monday after a weekend is especially tough. Most people are slowly getting back into their routine after a few days off.

On Monday, May 3rd in metro Atlanta, things went from bad to worse when dark skies became dangerous, and suddenly, a nasty storm showed signs of producing a tornado.

TORNADO TIMELINE

The National Weather Service office in Peachtree City, which covers much of north and central Georgia, issued a tornado warning at 10:22 am ET. Here’s what that warning looked like (highlighted in the red outline):

Tornado warning, outlined in red straddling parts of Douglas and Fulton Counties in north-central Georgia on Monday, May 3, 2021, at 10:22 am

The problem is that warning covered parts of downtown Atlanta, sparking fear and some confusion in a matter of moments.

Why? Because for most weather radios and many cell phone apps, the tornado warning appears as a threat to all of Douglas County and Fulton County (black outlines above), which contains much of the city of Atlanta.

I live in Roswell, circled in white below, some 15 miles from the tip of the tornado warning:

While I am in Fulton County, I am not in this warning. Nevertheless, here is what my smartphone showed me:

The Emergency Alert System (EAS) blared a warning loudly on TV, indicating I was at risk.

A CONFIRMED WARNING

The initial warning from the NWS was based on signs of rotation in the storm, even though human eyes didn’t see an actual funnel. Often, in this part of the country, a tornado is wrapped in rain, making it hard to see the tell-tale danger.

However, there are usually enough indicators to prompt a warning. Sadly, since many of these never actually produce a tornado or damage, many people tend to ignore or downplay the notifications they receive.

At 10:44 am, the NWS issued a second warning when specific signatures made it apparent a tornado was present as the radar showed debris lofted into the air. Inside this tornado warning, the NWS includes special coding that WeatherCall detects and labels as a confirmed tornado to clients using the HazardCall app.

One of those clients, a manufactured housing community, located just northwest of downtown Atlanta was in the warning. Their residents received an urgent phone call, text, and email informing them that this was a confirmed tornado warning through HazardCall. The text message they received showed this image:

Notice the highlighted sections labeling this as a confirmed tornado and the recommended safety action. Anyone else who received a regular tornado warning message on their cell phone did not know that this warning was for a confirmed tornado!

By the way, even though this warning still wasn’t in my part of Fulton County, the EAS blared again, and phone apps told me of a second warning.

WHY THIS MATTERS

The bottom line is that the greatest danger lies within the NWS’s specific warning, and only WeatherCall/HazardCall tells you if your location is in the warning. Additionally, ONLY WeatherCall/HazardCall makes the critical distinction between a tornado warning and one that is confirmed.

It IS that simple. Either you are in the danger zone, or you’re not. WeatherCall has been reliably warning people since 2007 when the NWS changed how they make warnings. It’s a service you can trust and one that won’t lead to confusion.

While this scenario may unnecessarily inconvenience some, businesses should be more concerned. They may shut down their operations in the light of such false alarm warnings, which cost money.

Manufactured housing owners should want this kind of service to provide an extra layer of protection for residents.

Are you in either category? Then let’s talk about your current safety process and how we can add value. Please find a convenient time in this calendar; I look forward to connecting with you soon.

Gene Norman is a Certified Broadcast Meteorologist and consultant representing WeatherCall. This nationwide company offers WeatherCall Enterprise, providing businesses weather information needed to make critical safety decisions and HazardCall. This app lets property managers reach residents with urgent messages and automatically sends site-specific weather alerts.