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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - 02-16-1993 - IV-A 1 ORANGE C O U N T Y BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date: February 16, 1993 Action Agenda Item # =V-A SUBJECT: SEVERE WEATHER AWARENESS WEEK PROCLAMATION DEPARTMENT: Emergency Management PUBLIC HEARING: Yes �. No ATTACHMENTS: INFORMATION CONTACT: 1 ) Proclamation Nick Waters, Director ext. 3030 2 ) Fact Sheet 3 ) 1/26/93 Memo from the National Weather TELEPHONE NUMBERS: Service 4 ) Brochures (Under Hillsborough - 732-8181 Separate Cover) Durham - 688-7331 Mebane - 227-2.031 Chapel Hill - 967-9251 PURPOSE: To proclaim the week of February 21 through 27, 1993 as Severe Weather Awareness Week and support the Public Education activities. BACKGROUND: Governor Hunt has proclaimed February 21 through 27 , 1993, as Severe Weather Awareness Week in North Carolina. During this week, public information and educational activities will be conducted in an effort to raise the public's awareness of tornados. A statewide drill will be conducted on Wednesday, February 24, 1993 in which a simulated tornado watch and warning will be issued. Drill participants include all radio and TV Stations which broadcast the information, local agencies and Communications Centers and the school systems. The general public and private industries will be encouraged to participate. Emergency Management, in cooperation with the American Red Cross, is making available pamphlets to the public for their information and to assist them in becoming more aware of tornados and safety actions to be taken. RECOMMENDATIONS: The Manager recommends the Board adopt the resolution designating February 21 through 27, 1993 as Severe Weather Awareness Week in Orange County and support the public education efforts. 2 ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS A PROCLAMATION SEVERE WEATHER AWARENESS WEEK FEBRUARY 21 THROUGH FEBRUARY 27, 1993 WHEREAS, Governor James Hunt has proclaimed the week of February 21 through February 27, 1993, as Severe Weather Awareness Week, and WHEREAS, Orange County is vulnerable to severe weather, including the devastation of tornados, and WHEREAS, Citizens of Orange County suffered the effects of an actual tornado on November 23, 1992, and WHEREAS, There is a need to continue public education campaigns to make citizens more aware of the dangers of tornados and safety actions to protect lives, and WHEREAS, A statewide tornado drill will be conducted on Wednesday, February 24 , 1993, that all citizens should participate in, NOW THEREFORE, The Orange County Board of Commissioners hereby designate the week of February 21, through February 27, 1993 as SEVERE WEATHER AWARENESS WEEK in Orange County, and encourage all citizens to participate in the drill and make a special effort to become more aware of severe weather, as such awareness may help protect them from injury or death. Adopted this 16th day of February, 1993. Moses Carey, Jr. , Chair A PROCLAMATION SEVERE WEATHER AWARENESS WEEK FEBRUARY 21 THROUGH FEBRUARY 27, 1993 WHEREAS, Governor James Hunt has proclaimed the week of February 21 through February 17, 1993 as Severe Weather Awareness Week, and WHEREAS, Orange County is vulnerable to severe weather, including the devastation of tornados, and WHEREAS, Citizens of Orange County suffered the effects of an actual tornado on November 23, 1992, and WHEREAS, There is a need to continue public education campaigns to make citizens more aware of the dangers of tornados and safety actions to protect lives, and WHEREAS, A statewide tornado drill will be conducted on Wednesday, February 24, 1993 , that all citizens should participate in, NOW, THEREFORE, The Orange County Board of Commissioners hereby designate the week of February 21, through February 27, 1993 as SEVERE WEATHER AWARENESS WEEK in Orange County, and encourage all citizens to participate in the drill and make a special effort to become more aware of severe weather, as such awareness may help protect them from injury or death. Adopted this 16th day of February, 1993 . oses Carey, Jr. , Ch.r r 3 1992 SEVERE WEATHER IN NORTH CAROLINA TORNADOES Twenty-eight tornadoes struck North Carolina in 1992 . This is thirteen more than the annual average of 15 using the last 33 years or record (since 1960) . The tornadoes came on 12 days during 1992 , but 16 of the 28 came on 3 days in November. This is unusual since most tornadoes in North Carolina occur in the Spring, March through June. Three people were killed by tornadoes, two near Hillsborough on November 23rd, and one in Charlotte on March 10th. Another 93 North Carolinians were injured. Tornado occurrence was most frequent over two broad areas of the state: the western Piedmont, from Cleveland and Mecklenburg Counties in the south to Stokes County in the north, and the Sandhills, central Coastal Plain, and northern Coastal Area, from around the Fort Bragg area northeast to Currituck County. This does not include waterspouts over the coastal waters and sounds of North Carolina. The longest tornado damage path on record occurred November 23rd when a tornado touched down near Coats in Harnett County and continued for 3 hours and 15 minutes across 160 miles northeastward to around Elizabeth City. (See tornado statistics in the summary table attached. ) HAIL On twenty-nine days in 1992 , we had 121 instances of large hail, hail of dime-size or larger, in North Carolina. Most of the large hail occurred in June, July, and August, causing damage in the millions to crops, automobiles, and other property. The largest hail reported was tennis ball-size (2 . 5-inch diameter) in Duplin and Onslow Counties on June 21st, and near tennis ball- size in Cleveland County on March 7th. LIGHTNING There were twenty-four instances of lightning causing harm to people or structures during 1992 . One child in McDowell County was killed when lightning struck near a large oak tree September 19th. Five other people were injured by lightning during 1992 . DOWNBURSTS On forty-eight days during the year, downburst winds from severe thunderstorms caused 186 instances of damage or injury in North Carolina. There were no deaths attributed to downbursts, but four people were injured. Damaging downburst winds were most frequent during June, July; and August. 4 FLASH FLOODING Floods and flash floods claimed three lives and injured another two people in North Carolina during 1992 . Two of the deaths resulted from people trying to drive their cars across flooded highways in Cabarrus and Montgomery Counties on April 21st. That same day, a small child was swept away while playing near a flooded stream in Guilford County. There were 33 instances of flash flooding in the state last year. Perhaps the most dramatic event occurred on the evening of September 10th in the southwest part of the state around Cherokee. Nearly eight inches of rain fell from thunderstorms over the headwaters of the Oconaluftee River in the Great Smoky Mountains. This sent a wall of water up to twenty-feet high down Raven Fork toward Cherokee and Bryson City. Thanks to quick action by emergency officials to evacuate residents and campers, nobody was killed or injured in this event, though several homes were destroyed and property damage ranged in the millions of dollars. 5 NORTH CAROLINA TORNADO STATISTICS FOR 1992 PATE COUNTY PATH (MI) P-SCALE KILLED INJURED Mar 7 Catawba 0. 1 0 0 0 II Lincoln- -Iredell 4 . 5 1 0 0 Mar 10 Alexander 0.2 0 0 0 If Mecklenburg 3 .4 2 1 18 Cabarrus 0. 5 1 0 3 Jun 4 Cleveland 0.2 0 0 0 Jun 21 Hyde - 0,2 0 0 0 Jul 5 Dare 0. 2 0 0 0 Jul 12 Pasquotank 0.2 0 0 0 Jul 18 Pasquotank 0.2 0 0 0 Aug to 15 Currituck 0.8 1 0 0 Currituck 0.5 0 0 0 Nov 4 Tyrrell 0. 1 0 0 0 to Cumberland 0. 2 0 0 0 Johnston 0.4 1 0 0 Scotland 0.4 0 0 0 " Hoke 0 .2 0 0 0 " Cumberland 0. 2 0 0 0 11 Harnett 0. 3 1 0 0 Johnston 0. 3 1 0 0 " Hertford 1. 5 1 0 0 " Wayne 0. 2 0 0 0 " Wayne 2 . 0 1 0 0 Nov 22 Cleveland 5. 0 1 0 0 It Catawba- -Iredell 26. 0 1 0 0 Nov 22-23 Yadkin- -Stokes 31. 0 1 0 13 Nov 23 Orange 5. 5 3 2 10 Harnett- -Johnston- -Wilson- -Edgecombe- -Martin- -Bertie- -Chowan- -Perquimanns- -Pasquotank 160. 0 3 0 49 1992 TORNADOES KILLED INJURED TOTALS 28 3 93 1 4 6 TORNADO INTENSITY SCALE Category Definition - Effects FO Gale Tornado - 40-72 MPH. Some damage to chimneys; broken branches and tree limbs; some shallow rooted or weak trees blown over; signs and billboards damaged. F1 Moderate Tornado - 73-112 MPH. This is also the lower limit- of hurricane force winds; shingles or tin peeled off roofs; ' mobile homes pushed off foundations or overturned; moving vehicles blown off the road. F2 Strong Tornado - 113-157 MPH. Roofs torn off frame houses; mobile homes demolished; large trees snapped or uprooted; railroad boxcars pushed over; light-object missiles generated. F3 Severe Tornado - 158-206 MPH. Roofs and some walls torn off well-constructed houses; train cars overturned; heavy vehicles lifted off the ground and thrown; most trees in forest blown down. F4 Devastating Tornado - 207-260 MPH. Well-constructed houses leveled; structures with weaker foundations blown some distance away; heavy vehicles thrown and large missiles generated. F5 Incredible Tornado - 261-318 MPH. Strong frame houses lifted off foundations and carried considerable distance to disintegrate; automobile sized missiles fly through the air in excess of 100 yards; trees debarked; incredible damage phenomena will occur. 7 National Weather Service Raleigh-Durham Intl Airport P.O. Box 80337 Raleigh, NC 27623-0337 26 January 1993 TO: Agencies Responding to the Annual Tornado Drill in Nort Carolina Afi4t9VWLA FROM: Stephen W. Harned Area Manager National Weather Service SUBJECT: Annual Tornado Drill Governor James B. Hunt has declared February 21-27 as SEVERE WEATHER AWARENESS WEEK in North Carolina. The National Weather Service in cooperation with the North Carolina Division of Emergency Management will conduct a statewide tornado drill on Wednesday, February 24th. A similar exercise will be conducted at the same time with our neighbors in South Carolina. Taking part in the drill is simple. When you hear the tornado warning, take actions to protect yourself and the people around you as in a real tornado emergency. But think about it ahead of time. What would you do? Every agency, business, and school should have a tornado safety plan and a means of obtaining timely severe weather warnings from the National Weather Service. The tornado drill will be conducted in the morning of the 24th before the midday lunch break at schools. There will be two parts: a Tornado Watch, followed later by a Tornado Warning. Both messages will be carried on NOAA Weather Radio, the North Carolina Weather Wire, news wire services, the Emergency Broadcast System (EBS) , and the Division of Criminal Information (DCI) system. If actual severe weather threatens any part of North Carolina on February 24th, the drill will be postponed until Friday, February 26th. Should you have any questions about the drill, or need assistance with developing a tornado safety plan, contact your nearest National Weather Service office or your county Emergency Management Office.