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Real
Stories
On January
21, 1999, Dr. Keith Williams, Superintendent of the Beebe, Ark.,
school district, was in his office when the alarm on his NOAA Weather
Radio sounded at 2 p.m. Williams continued monitoring the strong
line of thunderstorms that was heading his way all afternoon. It
was a potentially dangerous situation. That evening the school was
to be the site for several high school basketball games. When the
first game began, the National Weather Service had issued tornado
warnings associated with the strong line of thunderstorms approaching
Beebe.
By half time, around 6:30 p.m., NWS had issued "upstream" tornado
warnings. Althought it was an unpopular decision, Williams cancelled
the game and evacuated the 300 to 400 fans and players. Many fans
were angry about the decision, since they had paid admission for
two games. However, when the tornado that completely destroyed the
gymnasium struck, everyone had been evacuated. No lives were lost;
no one was injured.
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In July 1997, more than 3,000 people had turned out in Lancaster,
Ohio, for an outdoor concert. When the NWS issued a severe thunderstorm
warning for the area, it automatically came over the 50 public works
walkie-talkies in the field. Organizers had time to cancel the event
and evacuate the field. The result? No one was hurt except for a
few people who were still in the parking lot when lightening struck
a car.
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On April 4,1997, at 4:52 p.m., the NWS issued a tornado warning
that included the small community of Shongaloo, La. The principal
of the local high school was the only person in the school building
at the time. He knew about the tornado because his NOAA Weather
Radio had sounded an alarm. His wife also had a weather radio at
home and called to tell him of the approaching storm. By the time
the tornado hit Shongaloo at 5 p.m. -- only 8 minutes later -- the
principal had taken cover and was not injured. Even if the tornado
had struck during school hours, eight minutes is still enough lead
time to move students to a safe place in the building.
For More Information
Contact Marci Hilt, National Partnership for Reinventing Government,
at marci.hilt@npr.gov or
(202) 694-0089.
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