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County ready for severe weather

By Chad Nation, Staff Writer

cnation@nonpareilonline.com

Published: Saturday, April 11, 2009 10:45 AM CDT

It appears that Pottawattamie County is ready for severe weather, or at least ready to issue warnings to the citizens.

Tornado sirens were activated Wednesday as part of an exercise in conjunction with Severe Weather Awareness Week.

Doug Reed, emergency management specialist with the Pottawattamie County Emergency Management Agency, said the drill went smoothly.

Reed said the test allowed the county to contact agency administrators and emergency responders, as well as allowing the 911 Communications Center to test equipment.

Had the drill been a real scenario, trained weather spotters would have been sent to 30 different locations throughout the county.

“They are deployed to keep an eye on the weather and report back to 911 communications or Emergency Management,” Reed said. “We then pass those reports on to the National Weather Service to help them determine whether or not to issue a weather warning or let it expire.”

Locally, Reed said everyone had the opportunity to practice severe weather preparedness when a tornado warning was issued for the area on March 23, and two tornados were reported in Harrison and Montgomery counties.

Reed said standard procedure in a severe weather event is to have amateur radio emergency services volunteers, Emergency Management staff and community emergency rescue team volunteers all report when there is a tornado watch and severe thunderstorms developing to the south/southwest.

Spotters report back to 911 or the Emergency Management Center with reports that are sent directly to the National Weather Service in Valley, Neb.

And spotters are coordinated in the county, but covering 1,000 square miles can be difficult.

“Sometimes they are needed more in one certain area, depending on the weather,” Reed said. “But we coordinate to make sure we can get accurate information to the National Weather Service and render emergency response if needed.”

This year also, the Emergency Management Agency and the County Firemen’s Association developed a countywide siren activation policy.

“We cleared up not only when sirens will sound, but what they will sound like, so we can educate the community properly,” Reed said. “That way if you are in Council Bluffs, or another community in the county, you know that the siren means the same thing.”

Sirens will activate throughout the county anytime there is a tornado warning or high straight-line winds. The sirens will sound for three minutes and then shut off, there will not be an all-clear siren.

“The sirens indicate citizens should seek shelter immediately,” Reed said. “There will not be a continuous siren throughout the warning.”

Reed said it is important to have access to a NOAA weather radio, AM/FM radio or a television in the space where shelter is sought to know when the all-clear signal has been issued.

Straight-line winds were added to the siren warning system because of damage produced by the winds in recent years. Last June, straight-line winds ripped through southern Pottawattamie County, killing two teens when the wind toppled a tree onto the car in which they were sitting.

Last year’s straight-line wind speeds were estimated between 70 and 90 mph. Reed said at that point they would have the force of EF-1 tornado.

“At that speed, it doesn’t matter if it is rotating or in a straight line; it is going to cause damage and possibly injury,” he said.

As part of Severe Weather Awareness Week, the county is also recommending people purchase a NOAA weather radio. In certain areas of the county, sirens are difficult hear.

“The sirens were designed as outdoor warning system, to warn people who are away from a radio or television,” Reed said. “And today, more ‘green’ building has resulted in better insulated homes and double pane windows, so it can be difficult to hear.”

Reed said a weather radio is the “smoke detector for severe weather,” and the quickest way for citizens to be updated on severe weather.