Earth Day & Being Prepared

I found this article on my Facebook posted by N.O.A.A. Funny thing about this is I have been posting weather alerts on my stations group page for a year now. Anyway it is worth a look. April 22 is not only Earth Day — it’s also the start of the *first-ever* National Severe Weather Preparedness Week: http://1.usa.gov/NSWPWeek. It’s clear from the wild weather we’ve seen lately that we’re entering the heart of severe weather season. Being prepared for severe weather is critical to saving lives and livelihoods and ultimately building a Weather-Ready Nation. As a member of the public, *you* play a vital role in the way the country prepares for and responds to disasters. The NSWP Week initiative – a joint effort between NOAA and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, along with a host of federal, state and local partners – is calling on you to “Be a Force of Nature” in your community to help people be prepared should a severe weather event strike. We’re asking you to take action: Know your risk, pledge to prepare, build an emergency kit, create an emergency plan for you and your family – and then tell your social network all about it using your favorite social media tools, like Facebook, Twitter ( use tag #ImAForce) and YouTube. I encourage you to visit http://www.ready.gov/severeweather and http://www.noaa.gov/WRN this week to learn more about how to be a force of nature. We’re counting on you! By: Jane Lubchenco

I like the idea of relaying messages about severe weather to friends and family but an article like this does make you sort of wonder one thing, is there not enough faith in the current warning systems that N.O.A.A. and NWS want's citizens to relay info via social networks,text messages and other means? Maybe so, but have you ever played Telephone with your friends as a kid? You have a group of friends lets say 10, one person thinks of something to say usually a phrase, then whispers that phrase to another and that get's passed down the line eventually making it to person number 10. Person number 10 tells the group what the phrase was, sometimes it comes out exactly the way person number 1 said it and other times well not so much. The main thing here to remember when passing on vital information is to remain calm, remember all the details, maybe even write them down on paper (you remember pen and paper don't you?) and then relay the information exactly the way N.O.A.A. or NWS presented it on their broadcast's or website. Severe weather or any other potential danger is not something to be taken lightly, relaying the details exactly as they were received is the difference between life or death. Double check the source and then share the information post haste. #ImAForce