It’s National Severe Weather Awareness Week, and it seems the jet stream is aware.
This week, U.S. forecasters expect record cold and blizzards across the West and Midwest regions, ice storms along the Great Lakes and record highs and severe thunderstorms in the Southeast.
The transition to spring is normally a time for tumultuous weather. As the saying goes, March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb.
In the next few weeks, we’ll probably see a lot of rain and a few thunderstorms, some of them severe, so it’s important to know what to do to keep you and your family safe.
Thunderstorms can produce sky-to-ground lightning, high winds and heavy rains. That’s why it’s important to keep abreast of the latest weather alerts.
Lightning may strike an isolated tree or an object in the open. It may strike many miles from the parent storm. In an average year, lightning will claim more victims than tornadoes or hurricanes.
Damaging winds from severe thunderstorms are also much more frequent than tornadoes in our region. Straight-line winds can reach more than 100 mph, and often leave paths of destruction in their wake.
Severe thunderstorms are why every Tennessean should be drilled on what to do during a tornado and other extreme weather events. When a tornado warning is issued, residents should immediately seek shelter in the lowest level of a permanent structure (a mobile home or car will not suffice).
If a cellar or basement is not available, go to a closet or another interior room. Experts say it’s best to put as many walls between you and the outside as possible.
Again, preparation is key to surviving a tornado and other dangerous weather situations. Knowing what to do and where to go is essential. Those who live in mobile homes should plan to take shelter in a family member or friend’s house during a tornado warning.
Never, we repeat, never drive over a road or bridge that is covered by flood waters.
Seems like a no-brainer, right?
But law enforcement officials say you’d be surprised at how many drivers find themselves trapped in their cars (or worse) during heavy rains.
More Americans are killed annually from flooding than from any other weather-related disaster, which is why emergency officials say motorists should never drive through flooded areas.
Weather officials say most flood deaths occur at night and when people become trapped in automobiles that stall on flooded roads. Flash floods are the deadliest because they can happen in a short period of time — generally less than six hours.
Areas of Northeast Tennessee are most susceptible to flash flooding because of mountain streams and rivers. If the National Weather Service issues a flood watch, residents living in the affected area should check flood action plans, keep informed and be ready to evacuate if a warning is issued or flooding is observed.
