Times of severe weather too late for warning system

Published 5:00 am Monday, April 6, 2009

Although not as troublesome as the prior week’s weather,Brookhaven and Lincoln County experienced more severe weather lastweek as a fast-moving storm dropped rain and some hail on thearea.

Had the weather been more severe, with the possibility oftornadoes and strong thunderstorms, a number of residents likelywould have been unaware of any impending trouble because of a lackof weather warning siren system in the city and county.

Many citizens believe it is time to change that situation. Anoverwhelming majority of respondents in The DAILY LEADER’sunscientific online poll question last week said it would be a goodidea for city and county leaders to pursue a weather warning sirensystem for their areas.

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Currently, Brookhaven and Lincoln County are unprotected due toa lack of warning system. The city has a siren that is no longerworking and the county has no system whatsoever.

The need for a system is imperative because county residents whoutilize satellite television frequently lose their signal, and thusa primary means of staying weather aware, during storms. And noteveryone has weather radios, which are recommended for keeping upwith the latest conditions.

Hardly anyone thinks about the need for weather warnings duringsunny days with good weather. But it is far too late to addressthat need when severe weather blows through and homes are inrubble.