Always remain weather aware

Published 2:25 am Thursday, April 6, 2017

The EF-1 tornado that cut a 17-mile path through the area didn’t come with a tornado warning from the National Weather Service.

There was a severe thunderstorm warning for the storm that appears to have produced the tornado, but some have complained that the storm warning wasn’t enough.

Without a tornado warning, many in the affected area likely didn’t seek shelter in a safe place. To be honest, how many of us would have?

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Thankfully there were no serious injuries during the tornado, but had a tree fallen differently that might not be the case.

Predicting tornadoes is both art and science and the National Weather Service has a great track record of issuing warnings when needed. But it is not perfect.

That means residents need to remain aware during outbreaks of dangerous weather. Ignoring a severe thunderstorm warning is unwise, especially when the NWS has said repeatedly that tornadoes are possible.

In the future, we would all be wise to seek shelter anytime a storm warning is issued, even when a tornado warning is not. Monday’s storm shows that a tornado can sneak under everyone’s radar — even the weather service’s.