Accountability for the unpredictable

Last week I lived through something that I never figured I would see. A server storm that produced six (6), tornados. Yes you saw that right SIX TORNADOS. Now here is the funny things, we never set off any of the tornados sires. Why… well it was not till after the storm we found out a tornado, let alone six, had touched down.

Tornado Damage

No deaths reported and only minor injuries. Lots of property damage. The tornados were all small, weak and did not stay on the ground long.

So a week later we have letters to the editor and comments on web news pages calling for investigations as to why no tornado sires were set off. People are mad. They want blood. As many are saying “someone needs to be held accountable, someone needs to be disciplined for the error.”

But here is the problem. Two days after the storm is when the national weather service actually stated that a tornado, maybe two tornados, might have touched down. A day later they confirmed two tornados did in fact touch down.

Now over the last week the National Weather service has been saying after reviewing the data on their RADAR scans, they are saying 6 tornados did touch down.

So here is the basic timeline of the night. Weather service says clear skies with a chance of showers after midnight.

By midnight they say light showers, chance of a T-storm.

Then at midnight the weather service puts out a bulletin for a serve t-stom watch. A new weather front literally materialized over the midwest. The stom developed right over the top of us and dropped down on us.

As the storm was going on they did not see the telltale indicators of tornado activity. No one called into 911 to report a tornado. So not till days later did anyone know a tornado took place.

Yet fingers of blame are still being pointed.

I asked one of my vocal neighbors “If no one knew till after the storm there was a tornado how could we set of the sirens?”

My Neighbor said “that is no excuse. Your job is to serve and protect. Obviously once again the city failed us.”

Seriously. If the trained weather people with all their technology took days to figure it out… how would the cops know?