Extreme Weather Text Alerts Beneficial to Public

We've certainly had our fair share of extreme and dangerous weather over the last year. Tropical Storm Irene, which hit the region Saturday night, August 27, will long be remembered by residents of southwestern Connecticut for the number of lives it affected. Two months later, the Nor'easter of October 29 and 30, 2011, was one for the record books. The unusual early Autumn storm delivered record-breaking October snow and massive power outages across Connecticut.

Most of us were well-prepared for both events, especially Irene. Generators and sump pumps were in short supply days before the storm hit, and most people were ready for the heavy rain, gusty winds, loss of electricity, and the storm surge along the shoreline. According to Mitch Gross, a spokesman for Connecticut Light and Power, more than 700,000 customers were without power hours after the storm, easily breaking the previous record of 480,000 following Hurricane Gloria in September of 1985.

The October Nor'easter delivered record-breaking October snow and massive power outages across Connecticut. By the time the storm pulled away, over a foot of snow fell across much of Northern Fairfield County, and four inches blanketed Sikorsky Memorial Airport in Stratford. Many trees and tree branches came crashing down due to the weight of the heavy, wet snow, the leaves still on the trees, and the gusty winds. This storm left more than 760,000 customers of Connecticut Light and Power and 9,000 United Illuminating customers in the dark.

Preparation is most important when severe weather is about to strike. That's why I am pleased to know that wireless carriers and the federal government are launching a system to automatically warn people of dangerous weather and other emergencies via a special type of text messaging to cellphones. The Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) service, which begins this month, is free, and consumers won't have to sign up. Warnings will be location-based. If you're traveling, you'll get an alert for whatever emergency is happening where you are.

Alerts will be issued for such life-threatening events as tornadoes, flash floods, hurricanes, typhoons, tsunamis, dust storms, extreme winds, blizzards and ice storms. Private forecasting companies have offered warnings to subscribers before, but this is the first national service by the federal government and the wireless industry. The weather alerts will be used specifically for weather "warnings," not the less-severe weather "watches."

"These text alerts will be very brief, under 90 characters," according to National Weather Service spokeswoman Susan Buchanan, "and are intended to prompt people to immediately seek additional information through the wide range of weather alert communications available to them, such as the Internet, television, radio or NOAA Weather Radio." Buchanan said alerts about very dangerous situations such as tornadoes will give advice such as "seek shelter immediately."

"This is another great way of receiving warnings immediately, just like weather radio and other sources," weather service spokesman Chris Vaccaro said. However, Vaccaro says people should not rely only on mobile devices for weather warnings since they can lose power. He urges using a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration weather radio, which has longer-lasting battery backup. I have one in my kitchen, and it's always on during inclement weather.

Modern technology, when used in a responsible and informative way, can be extremely beneficial. This is just one way that modern technology can help us prepare for dangerous or violent weather and potentially save lives. I'd like to know if you will be signing up for the service. After all, you can't beat the price. It's free. I'll be signing up.

Paul