Weather Prediction in the South

This is not anything technical.

A True Short Story About Weather Prediction

 

By Elton Camp

 

            In the 1930s, weather forecasting throughout the nation was in its infancy, mainly relying on ground reports, weather balloons and past trends.  Advance warning of threatening conditions were rarely possible and people suffered as a result, especially in the rural areas. 

 

            People spoke about the “September gales” that occurred spasmodically in the fall of the year, but had no way to associate them with the remnants of hurricanes that blew into Alabama from the Gulf of Mexico.  Even people in South Alabama were often taken by surprise by destructive hurricanes when they arrived with unexpected ferocity.  The most lethal hurricane in United States history struck Galveston with warning coming from the weather bureau only within hours of its arrival, far too late to attempt evacuation.

 

            The first year my parents worked in North Alabama, one of the heaviest snowfalls in the history of the area blanketed the ground with nearly two feet of heavy, wet snow.  It fell on already frozen ground and the temperature remained well below freezing for weeks afterward.  Transportation came to a halt for nearly two weeks.  The winter storm had come as a complete surprise to the public and to the weather bureau. 

 

Mother had experienced snow only as scattered flakes in the air where she’d grown up.  Her unfamiliarity with North Alabama enabled her husband to have fun at her expense. 

           

“It snows like this a whole lot.  I’ve seen it even deeper and it’ll stay most of the winter.  We won’t be able to get around.  And you’ll go for months without seeing your parents.  You might as well get adjusted to it.”  It was only after hours of her upset and tears that he admitted the cruel tale was untrue. 

 

 

            The following spring of 1933, they had potentially much more serious encounter with severe weather.  One day had been distinctly cool, but overnight a warm front abruptly moved into the area.  Due to the clash of temperatures, the sky grew threatening.  A dark, ominous wall cloud appeared.  Brilliant lightning flashed repeatedly.  The thunder from close bolts vibrated the windows of their rural schoolhouse. 

 

 “We’d better get all the children in the same room.  They’ll feel better with us both,” Eloise urgently whispered to her husband.  He nodded in agreement. 

 

As the teachers stared apprehensively out the window, they saw a dark funnel drop suddenly from the wall cloud.  It extended almost instantly to the ground and began to roar.  Large pieces of hail rocketed from the sky. 

           

“It’s a tornado,” Howard whispered.  “There’s no storm pit anywhere that’ll hold this many people.  Even if there were, we wouldn’t have time to get to it.  We’ll have to ride it out where we are.”

 

            “We’re going to play a game,” she called out to the children with as calm a voice as she could muster.  “Everybody get down on the floor under the desks and cover your head with your arms.  Anybody who moves or talks loses.” 

 

            The children obeyed but giggled at the strange instructions.  While the adults watched out the window, the tornado passed on the opposite side of the road from the school.  A dense debris cloud of dust, leaves, limbs, and pieces of tin arose as it ground along.   Since it moved parallel to the building, they escaped damage.  It might have changed direction at any moment.  There had been no advance warning or even notification that threatening conditions were moving into the area. 

 

            Significant improvements in weather forecasting didn’t come until after the horrible “day of the tornadoes” in the 1970s.  The death and destruction of that day, including the nearby town of Guin in Marion County made the government and weather authorities ashamed and they became determined to do better.  From that came Doppler weather radar, satellite photos and the warning systems that have saved countless lives. 

 

            In April 2011, a series of savage tornadoes hit north Alabama.  Two town near here, Phil Campbell and Hackleburg, were devastated.  People had at least twenty minutes warning, but the tornado was an EF 5 that leveled even well-built houses.  Many deaths resulted and there was massive property damage. 

 

            Despite advances in weather forecasting, the awe-inspiring power of nature continues to impress.