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February 14, 2000 — NOAA's National Weather Service was able to provide advance warning of the tornadoes that devastated Georgia during the night of February 13-14 three to six times faster than average, NOAA announced today. But NOAA acknowledged that those without NOAA Weather Radio may not have heard the alert as quickly and reduced the effectiveness of the early warning.

According to the NWS Southern Region Headquarters Deputy Director Gary Grice, residents without a NOAA Weather Radio would have little chance of getting a warning in the middle of the night. "I would never be without an alarm-equipped NOAA Weather Radio for just that reason. We issued warnings from 33 to 59 minutes in advance of these tornadoes touching down. With that kind of tornado warning we should be able to prevent most loss of life." Grice added, "A NOAA Weather Radio alarm should alert you to tune into local TV and radio stations for more information. This was a devastating tornado because it struck at night."

According to NWS Storm Prediction Center Warning Coordination Meteorologist Dan McCarthy, nighttime tornadoes can be the most deadly since many people do not get the NWS watches and warnings. "Nighttime tornadoes seem to be more common in recent years. For example, the 1998 tornado outbreaks in Birmingham, Alabama and Central Florida occurred at night totaled more than 98 fatalities in spite of NWS watches and warnings." A tornado watch was issued six hours prior to the tornadoes in Georgia.

The powerful storm system moving through the southeastern United States spawned lines of severe thunderstorms and several tornadoes. Southwest Georgia was hard hit by two lines of severe thunderstorms.

The NWS says the threat for severe weather has diminished in southern Georgia and northern Florida for today, however, a slight risk of additional severe weather continues for the eastern half of the Carolinas and southeastern Virginia.

The following NOAA offices have experts who are available to comment on subjects related to the Georgia tornado outbreak and NOAA Weather Radio:

NOAA Weather Radio:
NOAA's National Weather Service Headquarters
Contact: Curtis Carey (301) 713-0622

Specifics about this Tornado and Historical Perspective:
NOAA/NWS Southern Region Headquarters, Ft. Worth, TX
Contact: Gary Grice (817) 978-2651

Tornado Research and Technology:
NOAA's National Severe Storms Laboratory; National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center, and Operational Support Facility
Contact: Keli Tarp (405) 366-0451

Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, Silver Spring, Md
Contact: Jana Goldman (301) 713-2483 x181

NOAA Weather Radio information: http://www.nws.noaa.gov/nwr/

Additional information including tornado background information, and facts about deadly and destructive U.S. tornados can be found on the following Web page: http://www.outlook.noaa.gov/tornadoes.

Satellite images will also be available on these Web pages.

An excellent Web site pertaining to storm shelters (select "In-residence shelters"):
http://www.wind.ttu.edu/