Springtime in the Southland: The business case for family and business severe weather plans

Springtime in the south is a beautiful time of year. When we see the daffodils bloom, we know winter is almost over. Thoughts of the first family picnic, fishing our best spot or sitting on the riverbank listening to the radio comes to mind. One of my favorites is the South Franklin Catfish Festival in Wisner, LA. All part of our culture. This is who we are.

It is also our primary storm season. Some of the region's most infamous tornadoes, high-wind and flooding has occurred this time of year. The Great Natchez Tornado of 1840, 1920 Eros Tornado, the 1927 Flood, 1932 Flood, 1933 Minden Tornado, 1945 Flood, the February 1971 Mississippi Delta Tornado Outbreak, and there is more spring storm history, much more. Recent storm history includes the Great Flood of 2016 and the 2020 Monroe-West Monroe Easter Tornado. 

The Baby Boomers, Generation X and the Millennials have seen loss of life and billions of dollars in losses and costs incurred to mitigate future damages. Every community in the United States is required to have a hazard mitigation plan under the Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000. Our local and state hazards have been analyzed. As demonstrated below, the National Weather Service (NWS) products being used to warn the public are the best they have ever been. 

A solid business case for families and businesses to make severe weather plans has been made.  

After several years of repeated hurricanes, winter storms, tornadoes, flooding and a pandemic more adversity has visited upon the Gulf Coast States. The March 21 – 23, 2022 outbreak of severe weather brought death, injury and damage to Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi. Prayers for all the families as they rebuild and recover from these storms.

As of late, I have noticed the KNOE-TV Weather Team’s hard work to educate the public on weather. The Weather Academy was pretty cool. I was not surprised when KNOE Meteorologist Lucy Doll posted an illustration of the tornado warnings issued following the most recent severe weather episode. The illustration really told a story.

The National Weather Service (NWS) tornado warning layer was placed above the Storm Prediction Center’s Severe Weather Outlook layer. The tornado warning layer consisted of one hundred fifty warnings. The tornado warnings layer lined up perfectly with the Severe Weather Outlook map published before the storms.

I have to believe injuries and fatalities were mitigated by these NWS products. Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi were well served by these NWS forecast products.

Make your severe weather plan.

1. Make your family or business severe weather plan on a blue-sky day.

2. Make sure wherever your family members are, there is a severe weather plan.

3. If something happens, your phone may not work, the internet and cable might be down, and roads will be blocked. The only thing you will have to hang onto, is knowing there is a severe weather plan in place where your family members are.

4. Creating a disaster supply kit and communication plan is very important also.

5. For more preparedness information contact your local Office of Homeland Security or visit ready.gov.

Also, the Texas storm reports reminded of the May 27^th 1997, Jarrell, Texas tornado. Many died in that storm. Most storm history associated with the Jarrell tornado includes a reference to “dead man walking.” I will leave it to our meteorologists to describe the phenomena. Or you can do your own research.

If you live in Ouachita Parish, the May 27, 1997, date might sound familiar. We experienced a severe storm and high-winds that night. The damage was widespread in a corridor from Southwest Ouachita Parish through North Monroe. A Small Business Administration (SBA) disaster declaration was awarded.  Low interest loans were made available to homeowners and businesses.

Enjoy the spring.

Sources: NWS, FEMA, USGS, Newspaper.com and the Smithsonian

Tom M.