National Hurricane Preparedness Week

"History teaches that a lack of hurricane awareness and preparation are common threads among all major hurricane disasters. By knowing your vulnerability and what actions you should take, you can reduce the effects of a hurricane disaster." -- National Hurricane Center (US)

There are an average of about 6 hurricanes each year in the Atlantic, 2 of those being being at least Category 3 or stronger. So with the official start of Hurricane Season just a few days away, this is as good a time as any to begin making preparations if you reside in the path of "Hurricane Alley".

The ever-vigilant forecasters at the National Hurricane Center are spending this week educating the public as to the history, threats, and preparations we should be aware of during this very unpredictable season.

So take a few minutes and educate yourself with these resources. Hurricane season starts June 1st -- the time to prepare is now!

Best Regards,
Rory Groves

Founder & CEO

SWIFT Weather

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Also in this update:

Under Development

2009 Hurricane Season Data

For the first time ever, we are making available a complete and very comprehensive Hurricane Datatset for the 2009 Hurricane Season!

Each Tropical Storm and Hurricane will come with its own selection of layers which you can track with precision in Weather Defender.

The dataset selection includes:

• Current Location
• Wind Ranges
• Forecast Tracks
• Forecast Wind Swath
• Forecast Error Swath Wind Probabilities
• Past Tracks
• Advisory Positions
• Past Wind Swath
• Hurricane Watches and Warnings
• Rainfall Estimates (1-3 Days)
• Flooding Outlook

The Hurricane Data will be available soon as an optional upgrade to your basic membership. Stay tuned for pricing details and a special discount promotion!

Community Spotlight

Adam Wainwright

Page County, Iowa

Username: Firemedicadam

Occupation: Assistant Coordiantor for Page County Emergency Management

How do you use Weather Defender in your professional responsibilities?

I used Weather Defender almost every day to look at pending storms coming into our area. I have also worked with other Emergency Management Agencies as well as Fire Depts to educate them on the capabilities of Weather Defender. I use it while viewing at home, as well as using the alert perimeter and email / text capabilities. This is great for when I am out "in the field" and it alerts my phone of attributes or other alert profiles.

The full Community Update is sent out every other week to all members of the Weather Defender Community. If you would like to join, click here to get started.

Unexpected but Prepared

Vacations are a rare thing for me during the severe weather season, but at the urging of my wife I decided to travel with her to Kansas City on a short weekend excursion. Of course, I packed the laptop "just-in-case" but promised not to work.

My sister-in-law was playing an outdoor concert near Kansas City and it sounded like a great opportunity to connect with my family and get away from the grind for a few days.

Well, I did in fact break out the laptop, but not to work. Turns out that eastern Kansas was under a "Moderate Risk" for severe weather the day of the concert and I could tell from observing the wind and humidity patterns on the ground that things could get ugly fast.

In addition, I was among 500 or so other concert-goers who were plainly exposed in open air to any and every weather threat coming our way.

I booted up Weather Defender on my laptop and using a Sprint EVDO card for Internet access, I created a 20-mile Alert Perimeter around the concert site, monitoring for Lightning, Severe Thunderstorm or Tornado Warnings. I configured the alerts to go to my cell phone as well as my wife's phone just in case we were separated. Leaving the laptop running in my sister's tour bus, I returned to the concert.

The storms did indeed come, but skirted north of us by about 25-30 miles. Everyone enjoyed the concert and went home safely. It really made all the difference to me knowing that Weather Defender was continually watching the skies for potential threats.

I don't know if you call that a working vacation, but it was definitely a happy ending.

Best Regards,
Rory Groves

Founder & CEO
SWIFT Weather

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Also in this update:

In The News

Severe storms, tornadoes batter Missouri

Dirk VanderHart, Springfield News-Leader

 

Suspected tornadoes tore through southwest Missouri this morning, killing an elderly man and ripping the roof off of a high school as students fled the building.

 

Shortly before noon, the National Weather Service here said nine tornado tracks had been reported in the area, though none have been confirmed as tornadoes. The service reported winds of 60 to 80 mph.

 

Full Story >>

Wildfire imperils Santa Barbara

By RAQUEL MARIA DILLON, AP

Powerful winds during a night in which "all hell broke loose" have pushed a raging wildfire to the doorstep of this wealthy coastal city, threatening to destroy dozens more homes and leading to the evacuation of more than 20,000 people.

Firefighters were putting out roof fires Friday as gusts drove the flames down from the steep canyons above Santa Barbara and started burning homes in the residential flatlands. Once tame, the fire front now stretches for five miles, city Fire Chief Andres Dimizio said. "Literally last night, all hell broke loose," he said.

Full Story >>

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Community Spotlight

Brian Vauter

San Antonio, Texas

 

Username: sacaver

Silver Defender

 

Occupation: Cavern Geologist/ Operations Manager/IT guy for Natural Bridge Caverns, Inc.

 

We are a commercial cave operation located near San Antonio, Texas in the Texas Hill Country.

The full Community Update is sent out every other week to all members of the Weather Defender Community. If you would like to join, click here to get started.