Editorial

Mother Nature makes a point

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

If Mother Nature doesn't have our attention yet, we don't know what will do the trick.

On the far side of the world, at least 154 people were killed when a 7.7 magnitude earthquake 13 miles below the ocean floor Monday sent a 10-foot tsunami toward the western Indonesian Mentawai islands, a popular surfer's paradise that's usually a 12-hour boat ride away from civilization.

Hundreds of body bags were being sent to the scene after villages were swept away. The quake was on the same fault line that caused the monster Indian Ocean tsunami that killed 230,000 people in a dozen countries.

If that weren't enough, 800 miles to the east, Mount Merapi, Indonesia's most active volcano, erupted Tuesday evening, killing an old man who was considered the mountain's spiritual gate-keeper and at least 27 other people.

Mid-Americans aren't likely to be threatened by exotic dangers like volcanos and tsunamis, but we do face our own risks, as illustrated by the storm that blew through the Upper Midwest. The storm was one of the worst in history because of its size, and barometric pressure as low as a Category 3 hurricane, but with lower winds.

Still, gusts of 80 mph or more were recorded in Ohio and Indiana, semi trucks were blown over and tornados spread destruction in Wisconsin, Ohio, North Carolina, Tennessee and other states.

Those kinds of natural disasters, we can understand.

To make sure we remember how to deal with them, however, the National Weather Service office in Goodland, Kansas, which serves our area, is observing Winter Weather Preparedness Week this week. Using Weather Radio transmitters like one in Trenton, Nebraska, which broadcasts at 162.500 MHz, the office is issuing statements on topics like winter travel safety, winter watches, warnings and advisories, high winds and blizzards, windchill, frostbite and hypothermia. The statements will air every 40 minutes and play throughout the day in addition to normal broadcasts.

As a reminder, here is some of the terminology used by the NWS:

* A blizzard warning means sustained or frequent wind gusts of 35 mph or more, falling or blowing snow and visibility below a quarter mile for at least three hours.

* A winter storm warning indicates any or all of the following may occur: accumulations of 6 or more inches of snow in 12 hours, 8 or more inches in 24 hours; accumulations of a half-inch or more of sleet, heavy snow and blowing snow, but not reaching blizzard conditions.

* A winter weather advisory means 3-5 inches of snow, a half-inch of sleet, blowing snow occasionally reducing visibility between a quarter and one mile with sustained winds of lower than 35 mph, snow and blowing snow falling and blowing snow occasionally reducing visibility between a quarter and one mile with sustained winds less than 35 mph, and may include freezing rain accumulations under a quarter-inch.

* A winter storm watch is issued when winter storm conditions (blizzard, heavy snow, heavy freezing rain, heavy sleet) are expected within 12 to 48 hours, and occasionally beyond 48 hours.

For the latest in watches and warnings for our area, click here.

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