Blog

Looking for a family tornado safety plan your kids can actually follow without spending all weekend on it? The goal is simple: when the threat of a tornado or severe thunderstorm looms, every family member knows where to go, what to grab, and how to communicate. There should be no debates, no scrambling, and no…

Just when the weather seems safe, everything can change. Take today, for example.This morning, the National Weather Service in Portland said funnel clouds could form in Oregon, when stormy conditions straddled the Interstate 5 corridor, stretching from south of Cottage Grove all the way north of Kelso, Wash.The NWS predicted showers with scattered thunderstorms spreading across southwest…

You were wise. You planned ahead. You purchased a storm shelter. You outfitted it with the necessities. But how do you keep the kids busy while they are waiting out the storm?If you want to keep the kiddos calm and distracted when your family has to take shelter, make sure you have a few supplies on…

By Ben Nunnally, Star Staff Writer, bnunnally@annistonstar.com Residents of the Thankful community west of Anniston have one more thing to be happy about: a new storm shelter on 14th Street at Thankful Community Park. The shelter — called a “community safe room” in FEMA’s codes — has room for about 96 occupants, according to Georgia-based manufacturer…

Driving through our small town of Thomasville and seeing the destruction that Hurricane Michael caused, my heart is heavy.  I think about Panama City, Tyndall Air Force Base, and what used to be Mexico Beach, and I wonder how so many displaced people are just supposed to pick back up and start all over.  Where…

 So far, Mother Nature seems to be in stealth mode where tornadoes are concerned.  Is she is just being lazy or is this the calm before the storm?  Either way, the fact that not one tornado has been recorded in the state of Oklahoma since October 21, 2017 leaves many residents thankful for the quiet.  Rick…

One year ago, this month, Southwest Georgia area was caught off-guard by one of the sneakiest and most unexpected EF3 tornadoes.  Of course, there were a total of eight southern states that were affected by the swarm of tornadoes.For our Survive-a-Storm team members, however, the tornado that struck Albany was a grim reminder that what…