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Weather: the Celebration of Weather

Writer's picture: Andrew HawkinsAndrew Hawkins
Dec 4, 20194 min read

Weathermen are so unpredictable. Weathermen has changed the groundwork for reporting the weather.  Weather has had an influence on my life in a positive light. Weathermen needs to be celebrated because of the following reasons. First weathermen have helped lead the technological improvements of weather forecasting. Second, weathermen have helped saves lives through advanced warning systems. Third, weathermen have helped educate the general public on tornadic events and severe thunderstorms.

First, Weathermen have helped lead the updates of meteorological tools. Weathermen are physicists who study atmospheric phenomenon using complex math equations. Due to the unpredictability of severe weather, two meteorologists across the nation has revolutionized the weather industry: Christian Doppler and Dr. Greg Forbes. In 1842, Christian Doppler revolutionized the weather industry by observing the frequency of light and sound waves affected by the relative motion of the source and the detector. Thanks to Doppler, we have the doppler radar. Another scientist, in the current decade, shocked the weather industry was Dr. Greg Forbes. Dr. Greg Forbes should be recognized as a hero, because he instituted the Tor-Con Index. The Tor-Con index is an index that puts a ranking on how likely a tornado develops in your area. The Tor-Con Index has brought an awareness of tornadic weather events to the citizens. This is the reason why Dr. Greg Forbes is the one that I look up to in the world of meteorology. Climate Central reported that “Thanks to decades of investments in tornado research, and upgraded Doppler radars, tornado forecasts and warnings are now more accurate than ever.” Thus, meteorology has advanced due to improvements on warning systems and the doppler radar

Second, Weathermen saves lives. Picture the Moore Tornado Incident. The Oklahoma Tornado “touched down in Newcastle, near Oklahoma City at 2:56 p.m. on May 20th, 2013.” (about 6 years ago). Once the tornado touched down in Newcastle, Oklahoma, it traveled 14 miles (that’s a lot of miles traveled). The Moore Tornado width spanned over 1.1 miles. This met that the Tornadic Terror lasted over 40 minutes. The Moore tornado destroyed over 300 buildings and caused $2 billion worth of damage. (World Vision, 2018, para. 9). The Moore Oklahoma citizens had 35 minutes of Advanced waning which helped all the people get to safety. Climate Central reported on the Moore Tornado incident that “While 24 died and more than 350 people were injured Monday, that advance [tornado] warning no doubt saved dozens, if not hundreds, of lives. Nationally, the average warning lead time is about 13 minutes.” (World Vision, 2018, Para. 14) After the tornado struck, World Vision helped during the tornado damage recovery. World Vision reported, “Within 24 hours of the deadly tornado on May 20, 2013, World Vision staff arrived in Moore, Oklahoma, with a 53-foot trailer carrying emergency supplies, including food kits, hygiene kits, diapers, blankets, cleaning supplies, and tarps.” This proves that the citizens were resilient and fought their way to recovery. The Washington Post reported, “like so many disasters, it was a relatively brief flash of terror and pain and danger followed by the long, slow process of recovery.” The recovery effort is something amazing. It is amazing how a city can fight back against the insurmountable odds of a tornado strike. Therefore, weathermen help save lives through advanced tornado warning systems and by the recovery effort demonstrated in the city of Moore after the tornado strike.

Third, Educating the American society on severe thunderstorms is important because it increases the likelihood of the citizens’ survival during a severe thunderstorm. Have you ever set through a severe thunderstorm safety briefing? Several organizations have held safety briefings on severe thunderstorm. They talk about subjects like a supercell thunderstorm has an anvil type of clouds. the following organizations that help are the Weather Channel, Red Cross, NWS, NOAA, and local organizations. Supercell thunderstorms generally contain hail, lightning strikes, gusts of wind and the possibility of a tornado. A Shelf clouds generally form and behind them could be a tornado or gusts of wind. Lightning strikes contains several volts of electricity. Lightning strikes are known to occur in supercell thunderstorms or regular thunderstorms. Lightning is dangerous. This past year lighting has injured 300 people. Therefore, educating the general public on severe thunderstorms is very crucial to enhance their safety.

In conclusion, Weathermen are still unpredictable, but they are saving lives across the nation. Therefore, a celebration of meteorology is warranted because first, weather has lead to technological advancements, weathermen are saving lives by giving citizens an advanced warning on a possible tornado strike, and weatherman and the Red Cross has increased the likelihood of citizens surviving a possible severe thunderstorm.

References

Freedman, A. (2019). Oklahoma Tornado Shows Progress in Weather Warnings. Climate Central. Retrieved from https://www.climatecentral.org/news/moore-tornado-showcases-advancements-in-weather-warnings-16026

World vision (2018). 2013 Moore, Oklahoma, tornado: Facts, FAQs, and how to help. Retrieved form https://www.worldvision.org/disaster-relief-news-stories/2013-moore-oklahoma-tornado-facts

Berman, M. (2016). Recovery and remembrance a year after the Moore, Okla., tornado. Washington Post. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2014/05/20/recovery-and-remembrance-a-year-after-the-moore-okla-tornado/

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