It's Time to Start Thinking About Tornado Preparedness

None of us need to be reminded of how terrible a straight on strike by a powerful tornado can be. Alabama is still struggling to recover from the series of storms that raked the state almost ten months ago. And, according to climatologists, this year looks ripe for more of the same.

With forecasts for a warmer than usual spring the occasional cold fronts will be ideal for tornado events, according to John Christy, the state climatologist and director of the Earth System Science Center at the University of Alabama in Huntsville.

"In a La Niña type year, we tend to have more of these types of experiences with the trailing cold front creating the opportunity for those specific ingredients to provide the high contrast between cold and warm," he told the Associated Press.

Does this mean we should expect another massive tornado to hit Tuscaloosa? It isn't likely. But, as we learned last year, the dangers of being unprepared are simply far too large given the power of this type of storm. And, if there's another major tornado event in the state, we need to be ready to help out.

Governor Bentley has named next week Severe Weather Awareness Week and it is the ideal time to go over what we'll need to do in order to be prepared if the state suffers another outbreak of these deadly storms. Here are a few very good websites with information on preparation as well as what to do during and after a tornado event. We urge you to take a moment to read through them now.

• The Center for Disease Control and Prevention: Their tornado preparation list is probably the most comprehensive out there. It goes into a lot of detail and covers many things you might not think of beforehand but damn well wish you would have afterward. If you live in a house, this is a must read.
• The Red Cross: This is another very thorough site and the section on Tornado preparedness is extremely straightforward. They also have links to information on other emergencies you might want to take a look at while you are there.
• Federal Emergency Management Agency: Another very good resource page on preparedness. There are also workplace and school emergency plans listed.
• Alabama Emergency Management: The state has bolstered the website over the last year and there are a lot more resources available on it now. Last year, this site turned out to be a great source of information about the recovery so make sure you've got it bookmarked.

If you know of other good resources or have suggestions for folks we'd love to hear them in the comments.