NWS to use doomsday language in alerts

If you can’t get people to take action when a siren sounds, does the National Weather Service (NWS) really think scary sentences will do a better job? Apparently, the folks in charge do!

Starting Monday in Missouri and Kansas, Tornado Warnings will be peppered with sentences like, "mass devastation is highly likely, making the area unrecognizable to survivors," Or even: "This storm is not survivable." Messages such as, "Complete destruction of entire neighborhoods is likely" may get more people posting on social networking sites and taking instant action according the NWS. The new warnings will be tested in the two states through November 30.

"We call this 'impact-based warning," Dan Hawblitzel, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Pleasant Hill, Missouri, said on Sunday. "The idea is to better convey the impact that a storm is likely to have on a community." Current National Weather Service tornado warnings generally cover portions of counties and urge people in the storm's path to take action.

The NWS says the more detailed warnings are largely made possible because of a new type of Doppler radar called dual-polarization, which can measure both the horizontal and vertical properties of a storm system and can tell forecasters whether debris is being picked up by the storm, a sure sign of a destructive system.

Unfortunately, studies show people are slow to act until they actually catch a glimpse of the severe weather. However, after everything we do to alert people to life-threatening situations, it’s hard to understand this manner of thinking. Sure, I sometimes run into people who give me the business: “ You guys don’t know what you’re doing! I can simply look at the window myself. ”

Of course, these are the same people who think we are only in the business to hype the forecast to get ratings. I distinctly remember people writing on our Facebook page claiming this very concept on …March 2! Here's the interesting part of all this, meteorologists are bringing in sociologists to examine why people don't heed the warnings. Does that seem strange to you? The actual scientists bringing in social theorists to find better ways to get people to protect themselves. I remember a line from comedian Dennis Miller pertaining to doing the right thing. He said we have too many people on this planet already and, " if you don't get this simple concept, it's time to take one for the team."

This is brutal, but funny advice. Mine is a lot simpler: If you get caught up in the negative vibe, don't be surprised if it's the last vibe you ever know.