Schools hold tornado drills

Many Dyersburg and Dyer County schools scheduled emergency drills this week designed to prepare students and teachers for the possibility of severe weather. The exercises were being held in conjunction with Severe Weather Awareness Week in Tennessee.

According to Tommy Gibbons, director of emergency services for Dyersburg, tornadoes have taken place in this region in February, which caused the National Weather Service to set aside February 16-22 in Tennessee to improve public-safety awareness for severe weather.

Gibbons explained that at this time of year the jet stream drops low causing cold Canadian air to mix with warm air from the Gulf often resulting in strong, sometimes destructive, storms. Gibbons said he hoped to make this week's school safety drills an annual event. "A tornado is a violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground. If the circulation is not on the ground, then it is termed a funnel cloud," Gibbons stated.

Tornadoes usually descend from thunderstorms. Wind speeds in tornadoes are usually around 100 miles an hour; but they can approach or exceed 300 miles an hour in the most violent of storms. "Your safety depends on being constantly alert to the possibility of tornadoes from the thunderstorms that approach you," Gibbons said. "This is especially true during tornado watches. A careful lookout should be kept during any period of severe weather activity. Plan in advance where you will go and what you will do if a tornado threatens you."

A tornado watch means that tornado development is possible. Citizens should stay tuned to weather radio or commercial radio or television stations for weather statements or warnings. A watch offers the public time to think about what should be done if a tornado approaches. It is an alert that atmospheric conditions might favor the development of severe thunderstorms and tornadoes. A watch might cover several thousand square miles over parts of one or more states. A tornado warning, usually issued for 1 or 2 counties at a time, means that a tornado has been sighted or indicated by weather radar. Persons in the path of the storm need to immediately find shelter, preferably in a sturdy building, below ground if possible.

"It is important to remember that tornadoes can sometimes develop rapidly and there may not always be time for a warning to be issued," Gibbons said. "If you see or hear a tornado, or if you feel threatened, move immediately to shelter. Seconds can save your life." Gibbons offered the following tornado safety rules:

* In homes or small buildings, go to the basement or to an interior room, such as a closet or bathroom, on the lowest level.

* Get under something sturdy such as a heavy table or a bed.

* In mobile homes and vehicles, abandon them and go to a sturdy structure.

* If there is no such structure nearby, lie flat in a ditch, ravine, gully, culvert or low spot with your arms and hands shielding your head.

* In large buildings, such as schools, factories, hospitals, nursing homes and shopping centers, go to the predesignated shelter area. Interior hallways on the lowest floor are usually best. Stay away from rooms that are large in area because they have weakly supported roofs.

* In high-rise buildings, go to an interior small room or hallway.

* Stay away from windows. Don't bother opening or closing them. It won't make any difference to the structure, and you'll just waste time or put yourself at risk should glass break when you are near.

"Weather radio will carry information and safety tips all this week offering important safety rules that you can use to protect yourself and your loved ones from the dangers of severe weather," Gibbons said.