Editorial: Recent campus weather

Yes, it can happen here.

Remember that many of you had to hit the respective Housing basements one night in January. Nothing severe happened, but it could have.

We’re talking about tornado and severe storm season, which is certainly upon us and has been upon much of the nation since January.

We do realize that much of the most severe outbreaks of twisters, hail, flooding rain and straight-line winds seem to go around us – north through West Kentucky and southern Illinois, and south through Jackson or Memphis or farther south in Mississippi and Alabama.

This season, so far, we’ve already seen a rare March tornado in Michigan, serious damage in northeastern Kentucky (also not the norm), and several storm scares in Middle and East Tennessee. The students at Tennessee Tech, during the latest outbreak, had to deal with two tornado warnings in one day, and from separate storm systems, one early in the morning and one in the late afternoon/evening.

The upshot of saying all this is that we want to remind our fellow students and the campus community to please learn the safety rules associated with all types of severe weather, and then follow the rules!

For example, learn the difference between a watch and a warning. Know that a storm system isn’t a static thing, but a changing atmospheric event that could drop a funnel without warning.

Get an inexpensive weather radio, keep batteries and water handy, have your safe place already picked out, keep an eye on the sky, don’t drive into deep water, get indoors when thunder starts rumbling, etc.

We love this beautiful weather we’re having, but we know what it can mean later in “Tornado Alley 2.”

So, just because it hasn’t happened here in a long time doesn’t mean it can’t or won’t happen. Be prepared.