Mike Smith
One of America’s most respected weather scientists. Recipient of a “Special Award for Lifetime Achievement” from the National Weather Association and a retired Fellow of the American Meteorological Society.
One of America’s most respected weather scientists. Recipient of a “Special Award for Lifetime Achievement” from the National Weather Association and a retired Fellow of the American Meteorological Society.
You are under a flash flood warning, and it is pouring rain outside. Suddenly, you hear the sound of tornado sirens. Should you use an underground tornado shelter?The answer is a bit more complex than one might imagine.This situation actually occurred in Big Sandy, Texas, on the morning of August 22, 2022, as a tornado […]
Tornado Alley is a concept that seems simple but is a bit complex. Traditionally, tornado alley has been depicted as a stripe of states north-south through the Great Plains. The illustration from Wikipedia (below) is typical. But we now know that depiction is incomplete. The map below, from Tornado Archive, is a new map of […]
Did you know? The year 2022 is the 50th anniversary of storm chasing.In the spring of 1972, two meteorologists from the National Severe Storms Laboratory and Notre Dame University came to the student chapter of the American Meteorological Society at the University of Oklahoma. At the time, I was a meteorology student. They requested that […]
Jo: [We’ll] get a profile [of the tornado’s structure] for the first time.Dr. Reeves: What will that do?Jo: If we know how tornadoes work, we can design a warning system.Dr. Reeves: Aren’t there warnings already?Jo: Right now, it’s three minutes. If we can get this information, we can increase it to 15, give people a […]
Tornadoes are one of nature’s most elusive and almost mystical phenomena. As a result, a large number of myths have developed around them throughout the decades. Unfortunately, those myths can put you and your family in great danger if a tornado approaches. So, we’ll run down some of the most common:Tornadoes will not strike […]
What caused this latest setback in the United States’ baby formula shortage? A derecho.”Abbott Laboratories said it has paused baby-formula production at its plant in Sturgis, MI, after recent thunderstorms flooded part of the facility, causing another setback for the company’s efforts to help alleviate a nationwide formula shortage.”Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Robert Califf […]
Tornadoes are far deadlier than most realize. Until the Weather Bureau began tornado warnings in the 1950s, tornadoes caused triple-digit death tolls surprisingly often. It is estimated that during a bad year, such as 2011, total tornado deaths in the USA might exceed two thousand if warnings didn’t exist.While tornadoes have happened in all 50 […]
How Sheltering Saved Lives in These Similar Tornadoes Seventeen deaths versus zero deaths. An important tornado safety lesson was gleaned from the recent tornado affecting Wichita and Andover, Kansas. On April 29, 2022, a strong tornado touched down in the far southeast part of the City of Wichita at 8:10 pm. The 2022 tornado moved […]
The Survive-A-Storm blog is an informational hub for storm and tornado safety. As the leading manufacturer and distributor of commercial and residential storm shelters in the United States, Survive-A-Storm, is proud to announce that it has teamed up with one of the nation’s most well-known and respected meteorologists, Mike Smith. Smith will be contributing to the Survive-A-Storm […]
Imagine working in a warehouse with the sound of hailstones pounding the roof, while thunder periodically roars. You check the radar on your smartphone but it is just a mass of confusing colors. Apprehension rises among the staff as something feels “off.” Suddenly, the sound of wind becomes deafening as the west wall begins to […]