Florida High School Gets Things SO Wrong During Tornado Threat Students Seriously Endangered

This photo posted to social media last week appears to
show students evacuated to a large free standing room
in a Florida school during a tornado warning. This type
of room is the most dangerous if a tornado hit. The students 
should have been in smaller, windowless interior rooms.

Did a Florida school put a bunch of students in danger last week during a tornado warning?

Judging from some posts on social media, they might have. 

 I do have to a disclaimer, because, Duh! not everything you read in social media is true.  

Not all the facts are in, and I haven't yet seen a response from the school in question. And I don't have it all confirmed through a reliable new source.  But the person who posted the info at least seems at least somewhat credible. 

Given what I saw on X, formerly Twitter the other day, if true, this school put students in the worst possible,  most dangerous place in the school during the tornado warning. And they should have known better. 

Twisters swept through parts of Florida lastWednesday night and Thursday, causing damage from Clearwater on the state's west coast to north of Daytona Beach on the east coast.

The National Weather Service issued numerous tornado warnings, including one for a location north of Tampa.  One student at a high school that was under the tornado warning, showed students evacuated to what appears to be a gymnasium or large common room, facing the walls as a "safety" evacuation.

The student, a weather enthusiast who goes by JakeWx said he knows - like most people in tornado prone areas - that a gymnasium or similar big, open room is the worst place in a school to shelter in a tornado. 

In its tornado safety outline for schools, NOAA has this to say:

DANGER - GYMS and AUDITORIUMS: Large, open-span areas, such as gymnasiums, auditoriums and most lunchrooms can be very dangerous even in weak tornadoes, and should not be used for sheltering people. This sort of room has inherent structural weaknesses and lack of roof support, making them especially prone to collapse with weaker wind loading that more compact areas of the same school building."

NOAA says there's no one size fits all tornado safety protocol for schools, but students in general should be rushed to ground floor or basement rooms away from windows and exterior walls. Interior rest rooms are often good places to shelter. That's what JakeWx thought when his school was under a tornado warning.

"When I tried to go to a bathroom and bring other people with me, they threatened to give me a referral. Not safe at all to be in that spot, if that tornado hit us directly, we would all be dead and it would be the school's fault," JakeWx wrote on X.

Hmm. Getting detention for doing a smart thing. How Florida! 

Snark aside, if indeed this school directed kids into that big room during a tornado warning, I hope this school revisits its severe weather protocol. True, I don't know the structural integrity of the room they were in. Many Florida schools act as hurricane shelters, so the room might have been reinforced. But I still strongly doubt it was the safest place in the school. 

JackWx didn't specify which school he was in. Only that it was north of Tampa. 

El Nino is going to be going strong this winter.  That tends to increase the odds of strong storm systems in the South that can spin off tornado outbreaks. 

Severe weather safety in homes, workplaces and schools has thankfully been getting more attention. Sometimes it takes a tragedy to force this.

In December, 2021, a tornado outbreak caused widespread destruction and deaths. Those deaths included workers at a candle factory in Mayfield, Kentucky that was leveled by a tornado. Also, six people died when a tornado struck an Amazon warehouse in Illinois.

In both instances, questions were raised about worker tornado safety.  Should Mayfield employees been allowed to leave the plant for safer shelter elsewhere in town?  And did Amazon allow workers there to flee to reinforced rooms inside the sprawling warehouse to make themselves safer?

Let's just say lawsuits are ongoing in the Mayfield incident and in the Illinois Amazon deaths. 

Many schools in tornado and storm prone areas have excellent safety plans for severe weather. But not all of them. In the Florida case last week, the tornado either missed the school or lifted before it got there. No damage or injuries were reported at the school.

However, perhaps schools nationwide should review their plans to make sure they are safer than what appeared to happen last week in Florida. Either that, 

 

As Expected, Severe Storms Added To Vermont Misery; New Flood Threats Loom

A thunderstorm dumped a huge gush of torrential rain
on a section of Lake Champlain as Thursday afternoon'
as the latest round of storms began. 

 Just as expected, a line of severe thunderstorms Thursday added to the damage and misery in Vermont, while residents gear up for the risk of more flooding.  

And there was added bad news from Barre. The first Vermont flood fatality has been reported. A 63-year old man drowned in his flooded house, the Vermont Health Department reported. 

The damage from Thursday's storms was of course much less than what we dealt with early in the week. But, between the local flash flooding, the wind damage and the power outages - plus the interruptions to cleanup the storms caused - it wasn't something we needed.

All but the somehow charmed northwest corner of Vermont were hit by the storms. (I don't know what it is about Franklin, Grand Isle and northwestern Chittenden County, but that area is the only one almost untouched by our summer of horrible storms).

THURSDAY'S STORMS:

The most intense storm was an apparent supercell that entered Vermont from New York roughly at the Rutland/Addison county line and moved northeast into central parts of the state, apparently making it as far as Braintree and Vershire in eastern Vermont. 

Rotation in the storm prompted a tornado warning for northern Rutland and southern Addison County.  Social media contained reports of funnel clouds and in that area, and there was a particular concentration of trees and power lines down in areas like Hubbarton, Sudbury and Whiting, Ripton, Chittenden and Waitsfield.

A funnel cloud with noticeable rotation was also reported in Waitsfield. 

I haven't heard whether there's enough evidence for the National Weather Service in South Burlington to send investigators to determine whether a tornado touched down. Stay tuned on that. 

Our neighbors to the north tangled with tornadoes and severe storms.  A tornado in an Ottawa suburb damaged 125 homes. Another tornado touched down near the Montreal region's Mirabel airport. Montreal itself suffered a lot of wind damage and flash floods. 

Bask in Vermont, at the peak of the storms, 18,000 or so homes and businesses were without power. By 6:30 a.m. today, that number had dropped to about 4,000, mostly in Rutland County. 

The storms created new flash flooding in Orwell, Castleton, Belmont and South Lincoln, among other places. Water was over Route 30 near Lake Bomoseen, and over Routes 73 and 22A around Orwell, where 2.1 inches of rain fell in just an hour and 15 minutes.

In any other year, this would have been the worst summer storm of the year.  Not this time.

And it ain't over yet.

TODAY

The weather front that caused Thursday's mayhem in Vermont has gotten hung up in central New England. 

Low visibility on Interstate 89 in Waterbury Thursday
evening as a torrential thunderstorm passed through. 

The front's proximity means showers and thunderstorms will blossom again today.  They could happen anywhere in Vermont, but will be most concentrated over the southern half of the state.

There was already a batch of renewed rain passing through far southern Vermont early this morning. 

The storms could easily  generate renewed flash flooding over southern Vermont today. 

Any new flash flooding would be more harassment than anything widespread.  Just enough to add to the damage tally, and maybe undo some of the repairs on mountainous back roads in Windham and Bennington counties.

As always, take any flash flooding seriously, and don't try to drive over flooded roads. 

I think northern Vermont is basically in the clear for flooding today, despite some scattered downpours and thunderstorms around. 

SATURDAY

A pretty low risk day, all things considered.  Thunderstorms will be few and far between. There's a quite low but not zero chance that a slow moving storm could cause one or two local problems, but overall, Saturday will be a bit of a breather. 

SUNDAY

Another risky day. We're expecting yet another surge of deep moisture feeding into New England, including Vermont. There's definitely a risk of more flooding, and it could be on the fairly extensive side. 

It won't be as bad as Monday and Tuesday but it is something to watch. We're at risk for at least a little more flood damage on Sunday. 

"I know this is hard news for many. And folks will want to think this is over as soon as the weather breaks on Saturday," Vermont Gov. Phil Scott said. "But it's critical that Vermonters understand that we need to remain vigilant and prepared. Do not be complacent."

It's hard to say where the heaviest rain might set up. Early indications point to southern and eastern Vermont, and especially New Hampshire and parts of Massachusetts. I'll have more updates on this for sure as we get closer. 

NEXT WEEK:

We're still not entirely out of the woods.  At least spotty heavy rain is possible Tuesday, and maybe toward the end of the week. It's too soon to say how heavy and exactly where. But since soil conditions will still be quite wet, it won't take much to set off new trouble. 

Somalia Hurricane; Cape Cod Tornado Alerts: Two Weird Storms

Satellite view of Tropical Cyclone Gati striking
Somalia on Sunday. 

Hurricanes don't hit Somalia.  Tornadoes don't threaten Cape Cod in November. Until now, apparently. 

This past week, Somalia, in Africa, got hit by a compact, but powerful hurricane. 

As NPR reports:

"Tropical Cyclone Gati made landfall in Somalia on Sunday with sustained winds of around 105 mph. It's the first recorded instance of a hurricane - strength system hitting the country. At one point before landfall, Gati's winds were measured at 115 mph." 

This is the strongest tropical system on record in the norther Indian Ocean, and furthest south in the Indian Ocean. Tropical systems sometimes hit further north in Yemen and Oman, but not Somalia. 

Tropical Cyclone Gati also holds the record for the fastest intensification rate for any hurricane type storm in the northern Indian Ocean, with winds ramping up from 40 mph to 115 mph in just 12 hours. 

I have to say this seems consistent with climate change.  Warmer ocean water is fuel for tropical systems.  As larger areas of ocean water become warm enough to sustain hurricanes, chances are new places can be hit, and places that do normally see hurricanes are at risk for stronger ones. 

NPR reports:

"'With climate change were seeing warmer ocean temperatures and a more moist atmosphere that's leading to a greater chance of rapid intensification for tropical cyclones like Gati, meteorologist and climate journalist Eric Holthaus told NPR. 'Gati's strength is part of that broader global pattern of stronger storms.'"

As Gati was developing, it was small in area and came across an area of very light upper level winds, which allowed it to strengthen over warmer than normal Indian Ocean waters. "

 Tropical Cyclone Gati hit the northeastern corner of Somalia, a desert area that normally gets just four inches of rain per year.  Gati was expected to dump twice that in just two days. 

At least eight deaths were reported with Gati.  Widespread flooding hit much of Somalia, and wind damage was severe near where Gati made landfall.  

CAPE COD TORNADO WARNINGS

Tornado warnings went up for Martha's Vineyard and Cape Cod in Massachusetts Monday as a rotating thunderstorm swept through the area.  The scary weather was part of a storm system that was just starti to rapidly develop.

This storm brought widespread downpours and thunderstorms to New Jersey, the New York City area and southern New England as it organized. (Vermont got light rain and snow out of this). 

Possible funnel cloud over Cape Cod Monday during a 
tornado warning. Photo by Bart Jarek

Sometimes, the initial formation of what eventually becomes a strong storm can set off severe weather and even tornadoes. That type of thing, however, rarely happens this time of year in New England. 

It was the first time on record that the National Weather Service office in Boston saw fit to issue tornado warnings in November. 

I'm not sure if any tornado touched down in Massachusetts. There was briefly vague signs of a debris in the air near Yarmouth, but it's very unclear if that was produced by a tornado or just gusty winds.  Most of the rotation on radar was rather broad, and not tightly wound in small areas.  That broader rotation could well mean no tornado could get its act together and touch down.

People did report seeing a funnel cloud, and minor wind damage was reported on the Cape. 

I imagine the National Weather Service in Boston might investigate the area today.  

The storms did bring 1.5 to 2.5 inches of much needed rain to good sized chunks of southern New England. The rapidly deepening storm departed, bringing gusty winds and heavy rains to the Canadian Maritimes.