2008 Woodie Awards
Warrensburg prepares for severe weather
Matt Twillman
Issue date: 2/9/06 Section: News
- Page 1 of 1
With spring and the severe weather which usually accompanies it rapidly approaching, Central will host a storm spotter training session at 7 p.m. tonight in the W.C. Morris Auditorium.
"The seminar is to prepare people to act as storm spotters for the county," said Scott Ammon, environmental health and safety coordinator. "It is great training if someone has never seen SLC's - scary looking clouds - and how to determine a SLC from an actual twister."
The demonstration will provide a first-hand look at determining how dangerous a storm can be by featuring several pictures and videos of actual severe thunderstorms and tornados.
The seminar is especially important for residents of the Warrensburg area because of the city's location on the cusp of tornado alley - a series of Midwestern states where tornados are most frequent and deadly.
From 1950 to 1995, Missouri ranked 12th in the United States for tornado-related deaths. There have been 32 tornado-related fatalities in Missouri since 2001, including 19 deaths in 2003 alone - the most in the country that year.
While none of those deadly tornados occurred in Warrensburg, the area has not been without its scares.
"I remember my freshman year we had a tornado warning," said Daniel Ruble, Central student. "They took everyone in the dorm and moved us to the basement for over an hour."
Rachel Brown, Warrensburg resident, hopes the session will ease her mother's weather concerns.
"It seems like at least once every spring, my mom calls me and tells me the weatherman said a tornado was coming right toward us," Brown said. "Maybe going to this training session will make her not worry quite so much."
Two years ago, some of Central's facilities were damaged by severe weather. The South Recreation Athletic Complex, which contains the Jennies' softball and soccer fields, saw significant damage. Parts of the roof above the locker rooms and coaches' offices were torn off, and the inside sustained considerable water damage.
In 2001, severe weather caused $100,000 in damages to the roof of the Ellis residence halls, contributing to the total $300,000 the storm cost Central.
This seminar is presented by the National Weather Service (NWS) along with the Johnson County Emergency Management Agency (JC-EMA).
This is the fourth year the NWS and the JC-EMA have presented a seminar of this type at Central. The NWS has tornado and severe weather storm spotter training sessions scheduled in several counties throughout Missouri and Kansas, but this will be the only session held in Johnson County this year. The session is scheduled to last about 90 minutes and is open to the general public.
"The seminar is to prepare people to act as storm spotters for the county," said Scott Ammon, environmental health and safety coordinator. "It is great training if someone has never seen SLC's - scary looking clouds - and how to determine a SLC from an actual twister."
The demonstration will provide a first-hand look at determining how dangerous a storm can be by featuring several pictures and videos of actual severe thunderstorms and tornados.
The seminar is especially important for residents of the Warrensburg area because of the city's location on the cusp of tornado alley - a series of Midwestern states where tornados are most frequent and deadly.
From 1950 to 1995, Missouri ranked 12th in the United States for tornado-related deaths. There have been 32 tornado-related fatalities in Missouri since 2001, including 19 deaths in 2003 alone - the most in the country that year.
While none of those deadly tornados occurred in Warrensburg, the area has not been without its scares.
"I remember my freshman year we had a tornado warning," said Daniel Ruble, Central student. "They took everyone in the dorm and moved us to the basement for over an hour."
Rachel Brown, Warrensburg resident, hopes the session will ease her mother's weather concerns.
"It seems like at least once every spring, my mom calls me and tells me the weatherman said a tornado was coming right toward us," Brown said. "Maybe going to this training session will make her not worry quite so much."
Two years ago, some of Central's facilities were damaged by severe weather. The South Recreation Athletic Complex, which contains the Jennies' softball and soccer fields, saw significant damage. Parts of the roof above the locker rooms and coaches' offices were torn off, and the inside sustained considerable water damage.
In 2001, severe weather caused $100,000 in damages to the roof of the Ellis residence halls, contributing to the total $300,000 the storm cost Central.
This seminar is presented by the National Weather Service (NWS) along with the Johnson County Emergency Management Agency (JC-EMA).
This is the fourth year the NWS and the JC-EMA have presented a seminar of this type at Central. The NWS has tornado and severe weather storm spotter training sessions scheduled in several counties throughout Missouri and Kansas, but this will be the only session held in Johnson County this year. The session is scheduled to last about 90 minutes and is open to the general public.