TN Preps For More Severe Weather Starting Thursday, May 20th

Okay everyone in West TN - get ready for the next round of SEVERE WEATHER that is projected to head our way with rain starting this evening, Wednesday, May 19th and going through Friday.

In addition of up to another 3 inches of rain possible in a still soaked and flooded area, the chances for severe storms, wind shear and very strong, long-lived tornadoes are possible.

The time is NOW to know what your plans and preparations are in the event severe weather or flash flooding comes your way!

From NOAA:

...AN EXTENDED SEVERE WEATHER EVENT AND FLASH FLOODING APPEARS
LIKELY THURSDAY AND THURSDAY NIGHT...

WARM AND MOIST AIR WILL BUILD INTO THE MIDSOUTH LATE TONIGHT...BEHIND
A NORTHWARD MOVING WARM FRONT. STRONG THUNDERSTORMS AND FLASH
FLOODING WILL BE POSSIBLE NEAR THIS FRONT LATE TONIGHT...ESPECIALLY
OVER EASTERN ARKANSAS...WEST TENNESSEE AND THE MISSOURI BOOTHEEL.
A FLASH FLOOD WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR THESE AREAS FROM LATE TONIGHT
THROUGH FRIDAY MORNING.

THE ATMOSPHERE WILL BECOME VERY UNSTABLE THURSDAY AFTERNOON...
AS WARM AND HUMID AIR BUILDS BEHIND THE EXITING WARM FRONT. THIS
INSTABILITY...COMBINED WITH MODERATE WIND SHEAR...WILL PROVIDE
FAVORABLE CONDITIONS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF SUPERCELL THUNDERSTORMS
SUPPORTING VERY LARGE HAIL AND A FEW TORNADOES. ONE OR TWO TORNADOES
COULD BE STRONG AND LONG LIVED. STRAIGHT LINE WIND GUSTS WELL IN
EXCESS OF 60 MPH WILL ALSO BE POSSIBLE.

THE WINDOW OF POTENTIAL SEVERE WEATHER WILL BEGIN EARLY THURSDAY
MORNING OVER EASTERN ARKANSAS AND SPREAD EASTWARD ACROSS THE
MIDSOUTH DURING THE DAY ON THURSDAY. THE PEAK PERIOD FOR SEVERE
WEATHER WILL LIKELY OCCUR THURSDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING. THE
POTENTIAL FOR SEVERE STORMS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH EARLY FRIDAY
MORNING. THE FLASH FLOOD THREAT WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE ENTIRE
DAY ON THURSDAY.

THIS IS A POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS WEATHER SITUATION. IF YOU DO NOT HAVE
A WEATHER RADIO...THIS IS A GOOD TIME TO PURCHASE ONE. IN ADDITION...
YOU SHOULD REVIEW SEVERE WEATHER SAFETY RULES. KNOW THE DIFFERENCE
BETWEEN A WATCH AND A WARNING AND BE READY TO PUT YOUR SAFETY PLANS
INTO ACTION WHEN SEVERE WEATHER THREATENS.

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Severe Weather Safety Tips

Spring is teasing us here in West Tennessee this week with temperatures that are in the 70s and even into the 80s by the end of this week. Those of you who live in this area of the Mid-South know that spring storms and tornadoes can be pretty strong here - so let's take a little time to review some safety tips that I borrowed from the Texas Severe Storms Association (TESSA):

Tornadoes

Tornadoes can produce winds greater than 300 mph, and can travel across the ground at up to 60 mph. They can develop any time of day, any month of the year, but are most common in the afternoon and evening, and in the spring and fall. Tornadoes are most common across the Great Plains and Gulf States regions of the US. More tornadoes occur in the United States than any other country in the world, and more tornadoes occur in Texas than any other state.

Below-ground shelters, and reinforced "safe rooms" provide the best protection against tornadic winds.

Other options include:

In homes or small buildings, go to the northeast corner of a basement. If a basement is not available, go to the smallest, most-interior room on the lowest floor, such as a closet or bathroom. Cover yourself to protect your body from flying debris.

In schools, hospitals, factories or shopping centers, go to the smallest, most-interior rooms and hallways on the lowest floor. Stay away from glass enclosed places or areas with wide-span roofs such as auditoriums and warehouses. Crouch down and cover your head.

In high rise buildings, go to the smallest, most-interior rooms or hallways. Stay away from exterior walls and windows.

In cars or mobile homes, abandon them immediately!! Cars and mobile homes provide no protection from tornadic winds. If you are in either of those locations, leave them and go to a substantial structure or designated tornado shelter. Do not attempt to seek shelter beneath an overpass or bridge. They provide little or no shelter and have proved to be deadly options.

If caught in the open, lie flat in a culvert, ditch or depression and cover your head.

Lightning

Lightning is a threat anywhere thunderstorms occur. If you hear thunder, it is time to take shelter.

When inside:

- Avoid using the telephone, or other electrical appliances.
- Do not take a bath or shower, or stand near plumbing.

If caught outdoors:

- Seek shelter in a sturdy building. A hard-top automobile can also offer protection.
- If you are boating or swimming, get out of the water and move to a safe shelter on land.
- If you are in a wooded area, seek shelter under a thick growth of relatively small trees.
- If you feel your hair standing on end, squat with your head between your knees. Do not lie flat!
- Avoid isolated trees or other tall objects, water, fences, convertible cars, tractors and motorcycles.

Flash Floods

Flash Floods develop quickly. They can occur anywhere, along rivers or creeks, in low water crossings or in a dry stream bed. They can occur during any month and at any time during the day. In fact, flash floods often occur at night when it is difficult to find an escape route. Flash floods can be deceptive. Flood waters are likely deeper and moving faster than you think.

When driving:

- Avoid low water crossings.
- Use alternate routes to avoid flood prone areas.
- Leave your vehicle immediately if it stalls in flood waters.
- Move to higher ground if you can do so safely.
- Most cars and light trucks will begin to float in as little as 12 inches of water.
- Act quickly, rising waters make vehicle doors difficult to open.

If you are outside:

- Everyone, especially children, should stay away from flooded creeks, streams or drainage ditches.
- Swiftly flowing water can quickly sweep away even the strongest swimmers.
- Soggy banks can collapse, dumping you into flood waters.

Track Power Outages

Just found this neat little website by MLG&W where you can track power outages in the Memphis area:

MLG&W Outages

Don't know if there are similar website for other utility companies in the state, but I thought this was informational as I was watching the winter weather the past few days!

Winter Weather Watch - Are You Prepared?

Those of us here in West TN and in various other areas of the Mid-South are well aware of the watches and advisories that we've been seeing for potential hazardous winter weather that could hit us in the next 48 hours.

Are you prepared?

Remember what happened to Western Kentucky recently? There were places there without power for weeks on end after they got hit with their ice storm. Remember Memphis in '91 when the ice storm hit - again, places without power for weeks.

We have the "potential" for that kind of severe winter weather later this week - are you ready? Because if we have a significant weather event, believe me you're going to need more than a quick run to the grocery for milk, bread, chips and beer.

Things to Think About

If we get hit with 1/4 to 1/2 inch of ice, which is what they were considering earlier this evening, followed by 2 or more inches of snow - power outages are a real possibility. Weather forecasters are also concerned because here in West TN we're supposed to have wind gusts around 40 m.p.h. - which could cause ice covered tree limbs to fall, causing power outages.

~ Do you have a generator?
~ Do you have treated, stored gasoline to power it?
~ Do you know how long it can run on a gallon of gas? How often you have to change the oil in it? What you can safely run on it?
~ If you do not have a generator - what is your alternative?
~ Do you have plenty of batteries? Alternatives for lighting?
~ What will you do for heat?
~ How will you cook? Do you have stored cooking fuel? Utensils to cook over a fire in the fireplace?
~ What will you do with your fridge and freezer items if the power is out for an extended time?
~ Have you thought about water? Do you have water stored? Do you have places you can store water inside so it won't freeze? Do you know how much water you need for your family just for basic cooking?
~ If limbs come down on your property, do you have a way to remove them?
~ If, heaven forbid, limbs come down on your home - do you have contingency plans for a place to stay? Do you have extra cash on hand for unexpected emergencies such as this?
~ Do you have battery powered emergency radios or weather radios or hand-crank radios so that you can try to find out the status of events in your area?
~ Do you have activities to keep little ones busy during the day?

This is not anywhere near an all-inclusive list, but it is a start - ways you need to be thinking to prepare - because we just don't know what we might get this week.

Stay safe, stay tuned to the weather and be ready!

Spring Freeze - Again!

Okay everyone, get ready for another spring freeze this year! Here in West Tennessee, it was a balmy 73 degrees today. Forecast for tomorrow is rain, high in the 70s, with temps dropping drastically in the afternoon and evening - rain possibly changing to snow after midnight. Can you believe it?? No accumulation expected, but a low in the upper 20s is forecast for Monday night into Tuesday morning.

We seem to have one of these every year - at least this one is a bit earlier than the past two years, when we had a freeze near the frost-free date of April 15th.

If you have any garden veggies already out - get ready to protect them! We use old sheets, towels, old blankets, tarps, whatever we need to get everything covered from the elements. If you have any ideas that work well for you, let us know!

Severe Weather Helpful Hints

In my part of West Tennessee, we are entering our spring-time severe weather season. I've gone through our safe room to make sure all of our items are on-hand for those times when we'll have to make the dash into our safe room due to severe weather alerts:

Backup water
Battery operated weather radio
2 way radio
Small hatchet
72-hour kits nearby
Blankets and pillows nearby

One thing I always have on hand when we all head to our storm-safe room is an "Emergency Identification Card". At the beginning of each storm season (spring and fall), I take a few minutes to jot down our personal info on an index card that I then put in a ziplock bag. I include the following information on the card:

Name of each family member
Brief description (sex, height, weight, hair color, eye color and age)
Our home address and phone number
Emergency Contact Information

Whenever we head to our safe room I make sure I have this card in my pocket. Heaven forbid something terrible should happen, at least there would be a way for rescuers to hopefully help identify us.

You can also consider having "dog tags" printed up for each family member. We have these as well and have them hanging on the key rack just outside our downstairs bathroom, which serves as our safe room. Each person could put on their "dog tag" before heading in to the safe room.

We purchased ours here: 1800NameTapes

These are also handy for keeping id information in your child's backpack, sports bags, etc.

We also make sure that whenever we go to bed, everyone has a flashlight on their nightstand and sturdy shoes at the ready beside their bed. If we have to rush to our safe room during the middle of the night, everyone knows to grab their pillow, flashlight and shoes and head for safety whenever we give the alert.

On days or evenings when we have several hours of advance notice of severe weather possibilities, I take the time to go ahead and prep our safe room with some "extras" just in case we need them. I'll go ahead and put in a pair of socks and shoes for each person, make sure a cell phone and charger is there, make sure blankets and pillows are already in place, a "security" item or toy for each child, etc. It really doesn't take that much extra time to put these things in place or to put them away if we end up not needing them.

You should really practice sometime waking your children from a sound sleep to head to your safe room to see how long it takes. Believe it or not, there are lots of stories out there of children (and adults!) sleeping so soundly that they never even hear a smoke alarm go off, even when it is in the hallway just outside their rooms! It would pay to try this sometime to see how smoothly it would go for your family should an actual emergency actually occur.

Stay safe this spring season and make sure you are prepared!

Spared Ice

So far we've been very lucky and were spared the ice and 1-2 inches of snow that we were supposed to get last night and today. The temperature has stayed around 34-36 degrees and we've just been getting a misty, dripping rain all day. We might have some freezing overnight if the temps drop below 32.

The stew I made last night is certainly tasty! We had some for lunch today. Some will go into the freezer for another night. The cinnamon rolls were also delicious - we still had our power on this morning so the cinnamon rolls were a great treat. Laundry is done for the weekend - so the little bit of extra prepping that was done for the potential ice was in no way wasted!

Now just waiting for it to warm up enough again to work more on our tire garden. This weekend I'll be getting more starts going in the house for sweet peppers. Can't wait!

New Weather Widget

Quick update about the new weather widget on the right sidebar - at the top of the widget you'll see arrows pointing left and right beside the "menu" button - you can use these to scroll through the major Tennessee cities that are already programmed in to the widget. The major cities listed so far are Memphis, Clarksville, Chattanooga, Nashville and Knoxville.