Staying out of harm’s way
Last week, a dip in the jet stream brought a return of winter weather to our area as the winds transported a supply of cold dry air from the Arctic region. The result was cold and some snow for most of the week along with some cold wind chill temperatures.
As this cold air continued its’ journey southward, it ran into some very warm and moist air flowing northward out of the Gulf of Mexico and the collision of these two air masses produced some 41 tornadoes in Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia. One tornado in Alabama killed some 23 people and devastated everything in its’ path. Homes, cars and buildings were just picked up and tossed about. No doubt you have seen the pictures. The National Weather Service estimated the winds at 175 miles per hour. What made it so bad was the large concentration of mobile and modular homes many without any basements to seek shelter. With winds this extreme and no place to hide made the storm so terrible.
Our own area of Southwestern Pennsylvania has large amounts of mobile and modular homes, many of which have no basements to offer some shelter. This puts residents at grave risk when severe storms move over the area. The Alabama storm did not give residents a whole lot of warning, but the real problem was they had no place to go. Weather warnings have improved over the past few years and even though there were severe weather watches issued earlier the actual tornado can spawn in just a short time and cause death and destruction in minutes. With winds of 175 mph even well-built structures can be damaged although sheltering in them will probable save lives.
As we move into the spring months, we should always be aware of the danger of severe weather. The cold air of winter wants to hang around and is not ready to retreat back to its’ home in Canada and the Arctic. The warming moist air from the Gulf of Mexico is looking for any opportunity it can to surge northward and chase away the army of cold air. It is this constant battle of contrasting air masses that produces all of our weather and the battleground is called a weather front.When the cold army is winning it is called a cold front and when the warm moist air is advancing it is called a warm front.
In winter the cold army of air dominates and summer sees the warm army of air replace the cold with those warm and hazy days we associate with our summer season. The war of the cold and warm armies never ends. It is just a series of advance and retreats that goes on all year, every year.
This coming week, we should experience a retreat of the cold air and snow and experience weather more normal for this time of March. Averages are 50 degrees for the daytime high and 28 for the morning low. Precipitation should be a bit above normal, but mostly in the form of rain.
Lastly, make sure you and your family have a game plan in place in the event of severe weather. A place to shelter out of harm’s way.