SECTION 1:

SEVERE WEATHER: UNDERSTANDING YOUR RISKS AND THE IMPORTANCE OF A PLAN

A. Tornadoes CAN Happen Here

While common thinking is that severe weather is a problem of the distant prairie dwellers in Kansas and Oklahoma, the truth of the matter is that all fifty states experience severe weather. The Lower Great Lakes and Ohio Valley region has a long history of severe weather. One should not forget the super outbreak of tornadoes that ripped through portions of Ohio on April 4, 1974. During this outbreak, the deadly Xenia, Ohio, tornado killed 34 people and caused millions of dollars in damage. Another deadly outbreak occurred on May 31, 1985, when 10 tornadoes trekked across Ohio and 17 across Pennsylvania. Damage from the event was estimated in the millions of dollars.

The above events were memorable due to the magnitude of death and destruction caused by the large numbers of tornadoes that occurred with each event. However, many relatively smaller events occur in central New York each year. From the period of 1950 through 1994, a total of 237 tornadoes have occurred in New York State with 21 deaths reported from these storms. Seventy one (30%) out of these 237 tornadoes have occurred within central New York. Across Pennsylvania, 437 tornadoes occurred between 1950 and 1994, with 77 deaths reported. Twenty eight of these tornadoes occurred in northeast Pennsylvania.

On average, 5.2 tornadoes and 0.8 tornado fatalities occur across New York State each year. On average, 9.7 tornadoes and 1.7 fatalities occur across Pennsylvania each year.

Would your school be prepared to take action if a tornado warning were issued? Section 2 of this manual will help you develop your plans.

While tornadoes grab headlines due to their swift and destructive nature, flash floods, lightning, straight-line winds, and hail are more common by-products of thunderstorms and result in many more deaths and millions of dollars in damage each year. In fact, tornadoes kill an average of 82 people per year nationally.

B. Flash Flooding/Flooding

The number one weather related killer is flooding. Flooding deaths often occur as people try to drive through flooded roads and become trapped or swept away in the rushing waters.

On January 19-20, 1996, disasterous flooding occurred across New York State Pennsylvania, and much of the northeastern United States due to rapidly melting snow that was on the ground and almost 3 inches of rain that fell in a very short period of time. Six people were killed in Delaware county New York and one person died in Cayuga county New York due to this flooding. Property damage from the flooding was estimated to be in the millions.

On September 12, 1996, flooding in Erie county Pennsylvania forced the evacuation of schools in two school districts. Property damage from the flooding was estimated at 12 million dollars. On January 28, 1994, in Lake County, Ohio, four school children and their bus driver were rescued from a bus that was stalled in rising water. Situations such as this are avoidable. When you develop your severe weather emergency plan, you will need to consider the potential flooding dangers to children and drivers of school buses. Guidelines will be provided in Section 2.



C. Lightning

Lightning causes on average, 87 fatalities each year across the nation. On August 2, 1994, two Franklin County, Ohio, students and an adult were struck by lightning outside a west side school. They were standing outside near the school because football and cheerleading practice had been canceled due to the storm.

As a rule, if you hear thunder, you are close enough to be struck by lightning. Lightning has been known to strike up to fifteen miles away from the parent cloud. Lightning dangers need to be addressed in your emergency plan. Methods to protect teachers and children in the school yard will be stressed in Section 2.

D. Straight-Line Winds

Straight-line thunderstorm winds, occasionally in excess of 100 miles an hour, can uproot trees and destroy buildings. Often, the damage from straight-line wind events is blamed on tornadoes. Similar to tornado preparedness, it is important that you designate safe areas in your school to shelter students and teachers from straight-line winds produced by thunderstorms.

E. Hail

Thunderstorms occasionally produce damaging hail. While fatalities from hail are few, hail injures many and causes millions of dollars in damage each year. On September 2, 1993, large hail occurred in Toledo, Ohio, and shattered windows at the University of Toledo. You should consider hail when developing your severe weather plan. Information will be provided in Section 2.

F. Winter Weather

Extreme winter weather takes a toll on lives and property throughout many portions of the United States. Heavy snow and freezing rain are responsible for numerous traffic fatalities each year. Moreover, hundreds of deaths and injuries from hypothermia, exposure, and frostbite are reported each year as bitter cold air masses plunge into the United States during the winter. Although the above weather conditions are often accepted as facts of life in central New York and Northeast Pennsylvania, many people are still injured or killed despite a long history of extreme winter weather activity.


Heavy Snow Storms - Remember the blizzard of 1993? We all know that heavy snow can immobilize a region and paralyze a city, stranding commuters, stopping the flow of supplies, and disrupting emergency and medical services. Accumulations of snow can collapse buildings and knock down trees and power lines. When snow is accompanied by wind, travel becomes even more hazardous. School bus routes may be blocked by drifting snow and travel may be hindered by near whiteout conditions. Often times, bus service is delayed or unavailable.

Lake Effect Snow - Lake effect snow is one particular type of winter storm common to the snow belt of western and central New York. Lake effect snow occurs when cold air rushes across the warm waters of the Great Lakes, initiating snow showers and squalls. In the primary snow belt, seasonal accumulations are often over 100 inches.

Ice Storms - Heavy accumulations of ice can bring down trees, utility lines, and communication towers. Roadways become a glaze of ice and nearly impassable. Again, school buses may be delayed or unavailable. Of all winter deaths related to ice and snow, 70 percent occur in motor vehicle accidents and 25 percent are people caught out in the storm.

Extreme Cold - Extremely cold temperatures often accompany a winter storm or are left in its wake. Prolonged exposure can cause frostbite or hypothermia and can become life-threatening. When extremely cold temperatures are accompanied by wind, an especially dangerous situation exists.

The Wind Chill is based on the rate of heat loss from exposed skin caused by the combined effects of wind and cold. As the wind increases, heat is carried away from the body at an accelerated rate, driving down the body temperature, leading to hypothermia. A wind chill chart is located in Appendix D.

G. Conclusion

The goal of this publication is that every student's safety is adequately accounted for when the weather turns severe. It has been well documented that severe thunderstorms and dangerous winter weather occur in central New York. If your school has never experienced severe weather, do not conclude that severe weather will never place your school in danger. A delay in developing a severe weather emergency plan could be a painful lesson. Only through preparedness before the storm, can the safety of all school children and personnel be assured. Please get prepared now and use this guide to help you develop a severe weather emergency plan for your school.