[EAS] 9-1-1 Outages From Derecho/Windstorm

[Tim Stoffel]

Mike McCarthy writes

> I'm not suggesting that anything more be developed.

> The meteorological community has more widely publicized so many new phenomena as part of severe weather 
> that some sort of educational campaign similar to that of tornado is needed just to get the word out there is more > to a SVR than the most commonly known items (high wind and hail).

We get Derechos in Nevada??

Although some education on the meanings of the different watches and warnings is useful to some people, the bottom line is that if there is a severe thunderstorm warning, there is likely to be high wind and hail. As far as I know,  you don't need to shelter differently if you are expecting a macroburst vs a microburst. A severe thunderstorm warning should mean just that (and I am glad they are not thinking about more severe thunderstorm warning types). The most good, I think, for most weather events happens when the least number of event types are used. Today, there are a bewildering array of watches and warnings available. Personally, I am surprised there is not a 'fair weather watch/warning'. The weather service does not need to further justify its existence by adding even more alert types. Adding and adding to the mission of government is one of the reasons the Federal Government has become more bloated that a dead hippo in the hot sun. It also devalues the existing watches/warnings to the point where I can just hear the weather service crying 'Wolf!' every time a watch/warning project is issued.

The weather service is actually thinking about changing its terminology for 'advisory', 'watch' and 'warning'. This is a direct result of overusing the system. 'Watch' and 'warning' should remain just that, and carry a sense of gravity of the situation. Most people are used to that, and new terminology only confuses things. The term 'advisory' is a bit more open to interpretation, and discussion about changing it is not completely unwarranted. But even advisories lose their value if issued too often for relatively unimportant weather events.

K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple and Significant)
Tim Stoffel, KNPB