🚀 go-pugleaf

Please excuse the triple post but portions of this are relevant to all
three lists.  Some of the original post has been deleted for brevity.

Charlie Fenwick writes...

>I am positively incensed with the idea of "no aparrent warning."

>SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (May 31) - A tornado that struck after dark with no
>apparent warning wiped out the small town of Spencer in South Dakota,
>killing six people and injuring another 150, officials said on Sunday.

>Warning sent at 8:32.  Tornado strikes at 8:45.  But "no aparrent warning"
>and " the only warning she had was the sound of the storm bearing down on
>the town of 300."

Roger Edwards and I were on this storm.  We discovered the large tornado as
we were driving south on Hwy 25, about 5 miles due west of Spencer.  We
filmed the tornado for about 2 minutes until it became rain wrapped as it
moved toward and then through the town of Spencer.

We shared our video with Sioux Falls NWS and assisted them with a damage
survey on Sunday.  All of the residents of Spencer and nearby farms with
whom we spoke were aware of both the watch and the warning from local
media.  The sirens in Spencer, however, did not sound.  I was told that the
power went out shortly before the storm struck and therefore the sirens
could not be activated.  Consequenly, many of the residents who had come to
rely on the sirens as their source of warning were not aware of the
imminent danger.

My concern, as an Emergency Manager, is that the general population has
become too reliant on someone else to provide them with such lifsaving
information during severe weather.  Someone had posted earlier that most
watches were useless.  I strongly disagree!  Preparedness activities should
be initiated during the watch period.  People should monitor NWR, their
local media, TWC, etc.  They should consider postponing the picnic or field
trip.  They should be prepared to take immediate action if threatening
weather approaches.  We (EM, NWS, and Public Safety) can not reach everyone
within our communities.  The people must learn to provide, to some degree,
for themselves.

There was a Tornado Warning issued for the residents of Spencer.  There
were storms in the area.  These folks did have adequate warning but many
were not aware of it until it was too late.  How can we better prepare and
education the citizens of our communities so these tragedies can be
avoided?  (A question for the Skywarn list specifically).

And as a side note to those who may have video of (or witnessed) the
Spencer tornado, I encourage you to contact Greg Harmon of Sioux Falls NWS.
 I'm sure he would be glad to hear from you.


Steve Marks, KE4FCW
Emergency Mgmt, Greensboro NC
(currently in Norman, OK)

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