Your post is very interesting. The events of the past few days is a reminder how quickly things can change and how important it is for folks to monitor weather. I am wondering whether camps, RV parks, etc should be encouraged to monitor weather events on their own - it seems like the warnings were there that should have alerted those in the area to continue to monitor the weather. I don’t want to blame anyone but I am wondering if there could be more PSAs to remind folks to monitor weather conditions after a flood watch has been in effect. Also, if a flood warning is issued folks should immediately take action to get to higher ground. Should every RV Park and camp have a NOAA radio ? Would that have helped? You said the weather alerts is just part of it - folks need to be monitoring and implement the warnings after issued. Such a terrible loss of life.
The deadliest weather disaster in modern Canadian history occurred in a residential neighborhood in a floodplain near Toronto by a flash flood triggered by Hurricane Hazel in 1954.
It is amazing how these things can happen. I think we've seen so many examples of how flooding is devastating and deadly, yet we still underappreciate its potential. What makes it harder in a place like Texas is that we get a lot of flood warnings each year. Determining which ones require immediate action is somewhat challenging for some people.
Great color on the models and the information at hand. The NWS needs to revisit its terminology, and disseminate raw predictive data on rainfall. Warnings at 1 and 4am do minimal good. If people knew before they went to bed that someplace in a target area was going to get 10" of rain, they could have taken some proactive action -- perhaps have someone stay awake to monitor, perhaps move early. Waiting until 4am was too long -- by then Hunt and Ingram were 30 minutes into washing away. And as we know, miles matter, esp in the Hill Country. Kerrville was still planning a parade at 6am, not really knowing what was headed their way and that (in particular) the upper South Fork of the Guadalupe was getting hit with 2-4"/hour rain rates. Way too early to Monday-morning quarterback this, but post-Wimberley we have new tools, which we need to combine with old-fashioned smarts, logic and looking our for your neighbor. So sad.
My husband and I lived in Bloomington Indiana for graduate school. Every Friday at noon the tornado siren was tested. In 1980 a tornado passed over the apartment complex we lived in. From what we could see from our windows, we and most other residents got to the underground parking garage swiftly. Once it was safe to go back to our apartment after a few minutes, we heard the tornado siren for the first time. So I certainly wouldn’t wait for a siren to take safety precautions in a dangerous weather event.
Your post is very interesting. The events of the past few days is a reminder how quickly things can change and how important it is for folks to monitor weather. I am wondering whether camps, RV parks, etc should be encouraged to monitor weather events on their own - it seems like the warnings were there that should have alerted those in the area to continue to monitor the weather. I don’t want to blame anyone but I am wondering if there could be more PSAs to remind folks to monitor weather conditions after a flood watch has been in effect. Also, if a flood warning is issued folks should immediately take action to get to higher ground. Should every RV Park and camp have a NOAA radio ? Would that have helped? You said the weather alerts is just part of it - folks need to be monitoring and implement the warnings after issued. Such a terrible loss of life.
The deadliest weather disaster in modern Canadian history occurred in a residential neighborhood in a floodplain near Toronto by a flash flood triggered by Hurricane Hazel in 1954.
It is amazing how these things can happen. I think we've seen so many examples of how flooding is devastating and deadly, yet we still underappreciate its potential. What makes it harder in a place like Texas is that we get a lot of flood warnings each year. Determining which ones require immediate action is somewhat challenging for some people.
Great color on the models and the information at hand. The NWS needs to revisit its terminology, and disseminate raw predictive data on rainfall. Warnings at 1 and 4am do minimal good. If people knew before they went to bed that someplace in a target area was going to get 10" of rain, they could have taken some proactive action -- perhaps have someone stay awake to monitor, perhaps move early. Waiting until 4am was too long -- by then Hunt and Ingram were 30 minutes into washing away. And as we know, miles matter, esp in the Hill Country. Kerrville was still planning a parade at 6am, not really knowing what was headed their way and that (in particular) the upper South Fork of the Guadalupe was getting hit with 2-4"/hour rain rates. Way too early to Monday-morning quarterback this, but post-Wimberley we have new tools, which we need to combine with old-fashioned smarts, logic and looking our for your neighbor. So sad.
My husband and I lived in Bloomington Indiana for graduate school. Every Friday at noon the tornado siren was tested. In 1980 a tornado passed over the apartment complex we lived in. From what we could see from our windows, we and most other residents got to the underground parking garage swiftly. Once it was safe to go back to our apartment after a few minutes, we heard the tornado siren for the first time. So I certainly wouldn’t wait for a siren to take safety precautions in a dangerous weather event.