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Of more than 40 types of clocks, warnings and advisories issued by the National Weather Service, one stands out. The severe thunderstorm warning is issued more often than any other warning, but it could also be the most misunderstood.

Most people don’t know it, but the presence of frequent lightning or heavy rain does not affect whether a thunderstorm is classified as severe. The weather service only issues a severe thunderstorm warning if it produces winds of at least 90 km/h or hail at least 2.5 cm in diameter.

How well the public understands severe thunderstorms plays a big role now as they begin to progress from their winter lull to a summer peak. According to consumer research firm ValuePenguin, many states conduct severe weather awareness weeks in March to educate people about these storms and their warnings, which are issued more than 80,000 times a year on average across the United States.

To better understand what the public knows about severe thunderstorm warnings, researchers from the University of Oklahoma surveyed more than 1,400 U.S. adults about the hazards considered by the Weather Service when issuing severe thunderstorm warnings. Eighty percent of respondents correctly identified wind, but only 58 percent correctly identified hail. Perhaps more worryingly, 77 percent identified lightning, 76 percent rain and 67 percent flooding, none of which form part of the criteria for a severe thunderstorm warning.

Understanding Storm Warning Confusion

The confusion surrounding severe thunderstorm warnings “isn’t particularly surprising,” said Makenzie Krocak, a researcher at the University of Oklahoma, during a presentation at the American Meteorological Society’s annual meeting in January. “If you see [forecasts] Speaking of severe thunderstorms, what symbols do you see often? A lightning bolt and a raindrop. So it is not surprising that people associate these warnings with lightning and water.”

To add to the confusion, severe thunderstorm warnings are sometimes issued for showers that produce strong winds but no lightning or thunder, like the warning issued Wednesday by the San Francisco and Monterey Bay Area Weather Service Office for winds up to 80 km/h.

Despite misunderstandings about what hazards play into severe thunderstorm warnings, Krocak isn’t necessarily proposing a name change.

“In general, I would say that we do not yet have evidence that changing the name of the alert would affect understanding or response,” Krocak said in an email. “There’s also a lot of accumulated knowledge with the current name, so we would need to understand if and how a name change would affect people with that institutional knowledge and their intended response.”

How to choose the best weather app

Chris Wirz, who studies weather risk communications at the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, notes that the alerts include descriptions of expected impacts and recommended safety precautions.

“Even if people are confused about what hazards are covered, the alert tells them what to expect and what they can do to stay safe,” Wirz said in an email. “There is also a lot of other communication that is taking place before these warnings are ever issued. So if warnings are needed at all, many people have an idea of ​​what to expect and how to respond.”

Barring misunderstandings, about 80 percent of survey respondents said the weather service issues “the right amount” of severe thunderstorm warnings, and most said they plan to take action to protect themselves if they receive a warning.

Why lightning isn’t among the criteria for a severe thunderstorm warning, meteorologist Jim Duncan explained in a story he wrote for the Washington Post last year that it only takes lightning to kill or to hurt, and lightning strikes may or may not a storm is considered violent. That’s why the weather service and security experts advise: “Go indoors when there’s thunder” and stay there for 30 minutes after the last clap of thunder. Lightning has killed an average of 23 Americans and injured hundreds each year for the past 10 years.

Because severe weather is not just severe weather, the Weather Service has introduced “damage risk” categories for severe weather warnings starting in 2021, with the aim of better communicating the strength and potential impact of thunderstorms and hail. The three categories are defined as:

• Base – Thunderstorms expected to meet only the minimum criteria of winds of at least 58 miles per hour or hail one inch (about as much as a quarter) in diameter. Expected impacts include damage to vehicles, trees, roofs and sidings.
• Significant – Thunderstorms expected to generate winds of at least 70 miles per hour or hail at least 1.75 inches in diameter (about the size of a golf ball) causing injury to people and wildlife outdoors. Other anticipated impacts include damage to roofs, sidewalls, windows, vehicles, trees, RVs, and outbuildings.
• Destructive – Thunderstorms expected to produce winds of at least 80 mph or hail at least 2.75 inches in diameter (about the size of a baseball), creating life-threatening situations and seriously injuring people and wildlife outdoors . Other expected impacts include power outages, broken windows, and extensive damage to trees, roofs, siding, vehicles, and RVs.

Only severe thunderstorm alerts marked as destructive will now trigger emergency weather alerts, which are delivered via cellular carriers.

The introduction of severe thunderstorm damage threat categories is part of a larger effort by the Weather Service to simplify and clarify its monitors, alerts and advisories by reducing the number of alert types and refining the alert language.

For example, the Weather Service is preparing to replace alerts such as “wind alert” or “coastal flood alert” with “plain language” headlines that convey the threat more clearly and quickly. Planned for no earlier than 2025, the change is based on social science research pointing to a public misunderstanding of warnings issued when hazardous weather is occurring or imminent, but the expected impact is less severe than a warning.

What to do if there is a severe thunderstorm warning?

Social science research has found that not only do people not understand the criteria for a severe thunderstorm warning, but they often confuse a storm warning with a gale warning, two very different things.

A severe weather warning is issued when severe weather is possible but not certain. If your area is under surveillance, experts advise sticking to trusted sources for weather information and being ready to act when an alert is issued. This is usually a good time to secure outdoor objects that could be blown away or cause damage or injury, transport light objects inside, and consider postponing outdoor activities.

A severe weather warning is issued when severe weather is imminent or is already occurring. If you receive an alert for your area, stay in a sturdy building or shelter and stay away from windows and doors, bring pets, pull shades and blinds over windows, and avoid electrical appliances and plumbing. It’s also a good idea to turn off the air conditioner and unplug appliances, computers, and other electronic devices to prevent damage from power surges.

The Gulf of Mexico is very warm. That could mean a bad tornado season.

If you can’t make it safely to a stable building or shelter, a hard-top (non-convertible) vehicle can offer you some protection with the windows closed. (However, in the event of a tornado, cars are not at all safe.) Avoid open spaces, high ground, water, picnic shelters, shelters and bleachers, and tall, pointed objects such as trees and flagpoles.

The post Individuals do not perceive extreme thunderstorm warnings, the commonest climate alert appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

Nov 24, 2022

An orange sun sets in a hazy sky near the Bay Bridge on Wednesday, August 18, 2021, in Alameda, Calif.

Yalonda M.James/The Chronicle 2021

High levels of wood smoke pollution were expected to make air quality unhealthy Friday, leading regional air quality officials to ban most fires.

The Spare the Air Alert prohibits using fireplaces, wood stoves, pellet stoves, outdoor fire pits, chimneys or other wood-burning devices. The ban doesn’t apply to households with no other heat source.

Wood smoke accounts for about one-third of fine particulate matter pollution in the Bay Are during winter months, according to the Bay Area Air Quality Management District.

For more information, visit https://www.sparetheair.org/

Julie Johnson (she/her) is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: julie.johnson@sfchronicle.com

Julie Johnson covers the changing climate, sea level rise and strategies to stem California’s wildfire crisis. Before joining The Chronicle, she spent 11 years as a staff writer at the Santa Rosa Press Democrat, where she had a leading role on the breaking news team awarded the 2018 Pulitzer for coverage of the 2017 Wine Country fires. Julie has covered murderous pot deals, police corruption and marijuana’s rocky path from a black-market trade to a legitimate industry.

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San Franciscans may soon want to pay more attention to text messages from unknown numbers. Starting this week, an annoying notification could alert them that their vehicle is about to be towed.

The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) has launched an initiative that will send a text message to customers whose vehicles are to be towed for one of four parking violations: parked more than 72 hours; block driveways; building zones; Temporary no-parking zones, such as B. Special events or moving trucks.

Together, these categories accounted for 12,500 vehicle towings, or 27% of towed cars, in 2020.

Typically, a full-price first-time tow costs a whopping $500 to retrieve the vehicle, although there are a number of discount programs for eligible individuals. Recovering the car also requires the owner to pay any outstanding ticket debt.

“It touched me because it’s a fundamental quality of life issue,” said SFMTA Board Director Manny Yekutiel, who spearheaded the initiative. “It’s a very expensive city to live in, and it’s a difficult city in many ways, so how can we make things a little easier in our city?”

The idea for a text-before-tow program came from a chance encounter with a generous neighbor.

As Yekutiel tells the story, the battery on his Vespa scooter was dead in Bernal Heights when a guy stuck his head out the window, offered to drop jumper cables, and invited Yekutiel upstairs for a beer. They struck up a conversation, and the neighbor told Yekutiel about an idea he once had for a text-to-tow program.

It seems so simple, but San Francisco will be the first major city in the country to offer this type of service.

The goal of SFMTA is not to make life easier for drivers at the expense of transit. Director Jeffrey Tumlin has made it clear that towing is a necessary tool to ensure pedestrian safety, the proper operation of Muni service, and to prevent misconduct by car owners.

Vehicles will still be towed without a prior text warning if they are parked in, for example, rush hour tow lanes, drive-thru lanes and other curb areas where parking is clearly prohibited.

But the four types of violations selected by the Department of Transportation for this program represent those more likely to be the result of a benign error, forgetfulness, or a misunderstanding of ever-changing road signs in transient events.

“It is quite reasonable that you accidentally parked here,” said Yekutiel, who mentioned that he had been towed many times. “It makes sense to start in those categories to give people a little more grace.”

SFMTA hopes these warnings will shift at least some of the burden of road clearance from the traffic agency to motorists themselves.

“We hate having to tow cars to make the transit go smoothly,” Tumlin said in a statement. “We can clear the streets faster and serve our customers better just by sending a text message so motorists can move their cars.”

The SFMTA’s towing policy has come under scrutiny during the pandemic for the disproportionate impact it has had on people of color, people living in their cars and low-income earners.

Though the city has struggled to provide discounts and extended notice periods to eligible individuals, this program could give some of the most vulnerable residents another opportunity to avoid the costly and often disastrous experience of having their vehicle towed.

To receive an SMS, residents must fill out a short online form to register their license plate number and phone number. Notifications alert the person that a tow truck is approaching, but don’t include an estimated time of arrival. If the vehicle owner arrives before the tow truck, towing fees will be waived, but parking fees will still apply.

cgraf@sfexaminer.com

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SAN FRANCISCO (BCN) – Air District officials extended a Spare the Air Alert through Monday, urging Bay Area residents not to drive on the holiday weekend to reduce smog buildup.

The air alarm for smog is paired with an air quality warning for smoke, which will also be extended until Monday, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District said.

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A combination of high temperatures, vehicle exhaust and forest fire smoke is expected to increase smog or ozone build-up.

“Restricting driving this holiday weekend can help reduce the build-up of harmful smog pollution,” said Veronica Eady, Air District senior deputy executive officer.

When a spare-the-air alarm goes off, outdoor exercise should only be done in the early hours of the morning, when ozone levels are lower, air district officials advise.

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If temperatures allow, residents should stay indoors with the windows and doors closed until the smoke subsides. If it’s too hot inside, people should go to an air cooling center or other building that provides filtered air.

The Air District also recommends that people affected by flue gas air conditioners and car ventilation systems recirculate to prevent outside air from getting inside.

Air quality measurements are available at baaqmd.gov/highs.

To find out when a spare-the-air alarm is in effect, residents can sign up for SMS notifications by sending the word “START” to 817-57, or sign up for email AirAlerts at www.sparetheair Register .org, 1 (800) HELP AIR, download the Spare the Air app or connect to Spare the Air on Facebook or Twitter.

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© Copyright 2021 CBS Broadcasting Inc. and Bay City News Service. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) – Changing winds pulled a large cloud of smoke from the raging forest fires in Caldor and Monument over the San Francisco Bay Area early Friday, throwing a haze over the sunrise and setting off a spare-the-air alarm.

As of Friday morning, the Monument Fire, which burned in Trinity County, was on 157,557 acres and was 20 percent contained. The Caldor Fire, meanwhile, continued to rage near Lake Tahoe along Highway 50 and had grown to 143,951 acres.

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Southwest winds have fueled the flames near Kyburz and Strawberry and pushed a thick layer of smoke over the Lake Tahoe Basin.

According to AirNow.gov, a partnership of state, state and local aviation authorities, residents and visitors to South Lake Tahoe and Tahoe City have endured some of the worst air pollution in the country for several days.

Just south of Tahoe, Rick Nelson and his wife Diane had planned to hold a weekend wedding at Fallen Leaf Lake, where his daughter and her fiancé had met. However, the smoke caused most of the community to leave. The sun was an eerie blood orange and the swimmers and boats in the lake were obscured by mist on Tuesday.

In the end, the Nelsons spent two days arranging the relocation of the wedding from Glacier Lake several hours southwest to the San Francisco Bay Area.

“Everyone is trying to escape the smoke. And I think it’s going to be a reality for us, unfortunately, ”said Diane Nelson. “I just think the smoke and fires got bigger, hotter and faster.”

Now these winches are turning. The National Weather Service said dry north winds are developing that will turn the cloud west and over the Bay Area.

The Bay Area Air Quality Management District issued an air quality recommendation for Friday and Saturday on Thursday. Late on Friday morning, the advisory was upgraded to a spare-the-air alarm for both days.

Air quality is predicted in the Air Quality Index as “unhealthy for sensitive groups” in most of the Bay Area, with spots “unhealthy” at higher altitudes.

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Burning wood, logs, or other solid fuels both indoors and outdoors is prohibited during the spare-the-air warnings.

“With wildfires continuing to burn in California, conditions are changing very quickly,” said Jack Broadbent, executive officer of the Air District. “Wildfire smoke is unpredictable. When forest fires are active, it is important to remain vigilant and check the air quality to protect your health from smoke. “

Residents can see the latest air quality readings at baaqmd.gov/highs or the AirNow Fire and Smoke Map at fire.airnow.gov. The independently operated air monitoring website PurpleAir.com also provides localized air quality measurements.

To find out when a spare-the-air alert is in effect, residents can register for text alerts by sending the word “START” to 817-57, register for email AirAlerts at sparetheat.org, 1 Call (800) HELP-AIR, download the Spare the Air app or connect with Spare the Air on Facebook or Twitter.

Temperatures will also rise in the next 72 hours. The weather service has issued a heat warning for the counties of Mendocino and Lake for Friday.

Locally in the Bay Area, three-digit projections were planned for many inland areas, including the communities east of the Caldecott Tunnel.

Rising temperatures and low humidity will continue to suck moisture from the bushes and trees in the drought-ravaged region, increasing the risk of fire.

“The warming and drying trend will quickly dry out the fine fuels in the next 1-3 days, with the values ​​of the energy release component expected to slowly increase again towards the 97th percentile,” said the weather service. “The hills stay warm and dry without the humidity recovering over the weekend.”

The energy release component is used to measure the likelihood that an ember could ignite a fire.

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© Copyright 2021 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All rights reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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If you’ve ever dreamed of moving into a lighthouse on a tiny island, this may be your only chance to get paid for it. The San Francisco Chronicle reports that the current caretakers of the East Brother Light Station in San Francisco are looking for two people to take over the historic site. The only catch is you have to be willing to keep running them as a bed and breakfast.

The lighthouse was built in 1874 on a tiny island in San Pablo Bay (in the northern part of San Francisco Bay) and 100 years later it was saved from planned demolition by a group of conservationists. The site has since been included in the national register of historic sites and converted into an inn with five rooms.

The current operators, Che Rodgers and Jillian Meeker, do whatever is necessary to keep the site up and running, including greeting guests, serving meals, conducting supply runs, and keeping the place clean. Each of these tasks will be passed on to the new lighthouse keepers, who will also have to transport guests back and forth by boat from the inn, so that at least one of the new employees must have a US Coast Guard captain’s license.

The couple, willing and able to meet these requirements, will receive a total annual salary of approximately $ 130,000 and a new home in the East Brother Light Station. Qualified applicants are encouraged to submit this application. The position will start sometime in April.

[h/t The San Francisco Chronicle]

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