Tornado warning for Drew County issued
Published by Jeff February 24th, 2007 in News.
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN LITTLE ROCK HAS ISSUED A
* TORNADO WARNING FOR…
WESTERN DREW COUNTY IN SOUTHEAST ARKANSAS
* UNTIL 415 PM CST
* AT 342 PM CST…NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO 8 MILES
SOUTHWEST OF WILMAR…MOVING NORTHEAST AT 55 MPH.
* THE TORNADO WILL BE NEAR…
WILMAR AROUND 350 PM CST…
LAKE MONTICELLO AND MONTICELLO AROUND 355 PM CST…
&&
THE SAFEST PLACE TO BE DURING A TORNADO IS IN A BASEMENT. GET UNDER A
WORKBENCH OR OTHER PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE. IF NO BASEMENT IS
AVAILABLE…SEEK SHELTER ON THE LOWEST FLOOR OF THE BUILDING IN AN
INTERIOR HALLWAY OR ROOM SUCH AS A CLOSET. USE BLANKETS OR PILLOWS TO
COVER YOUR BODY AND ALWAYS STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.
IF IN MOBILE HOMES OR VEHICLES…EVACUATE THEM AND GET INSIDE A
SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER. IF NO SHELTER IS AVAILABLE…LIE FLAT IN THE
NEAREST DITCH OR OTHER LOW SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.
REPORT SEVERE WEATHER TO THE NEAREST LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY. THEY
WILL RELAY YOUR REPORT TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORECAST
OFFICE IN LITTLE ROCK.
A TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 400 PM CST SATURDAY AFTERNOON
FOR ARKANSAS. A TORNADO WATCH ALSO REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 900 PM CST
SATURDAY EVENING FOR SOUTHEASTERN ARKANSAS.
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Just a question after today’s events. What is the method of warning residents of impending bad weather? I know of one instance today where the police stopped to inform a motorist that was parked to please get inside a structure as a tornado was approaching. Do we have tornado sirens in place to warn residents? I’ve not heard a siren since I lived in Monticello over the last two years.
No I was told today we do not have sirens! Wow that
really surprised me. I really think we should, We
would have been in alot of trouble today if we would
have been Dumas. I have only lived here two years
ans just realizes today we don’t have them! Can someone tell me why not? My family is important to me
let’s think about that!
Our lives don’t seem to be important to the powers that be in this community. They only channel funds to please their own interests. Politics as usual. How long did it take to get a stop light in front of Wal-mart? It took long enough until the city decided they weren’t going to pay for all of it!!! How many lives have been affected by the traffic on 425? How people have been injured, or killed and paid for it with their lives!
We need an emergency warning system in this community!!! It is absolutely shocking to know that we don’t. Oh, but let’s get that sports complex all finished up, and let’s be sure and get that community center built! We’ll need it for a shelter and a makeshift morgue after a tornado rips through this town and devastates lives!!!
When Mayor Anderson was in office; I asked him about this issue and he did check on this for me. He made a special point to come to my work place to tell me the results. I can’t remember the reason he was told that Monticello could not get one; it may have been the funding; but I’m not sure.
I previously lived in Osceola which is in Mississippi County. We had sirens that have saved many lives because of their advance warning. The city checked them each Saturday at 12 noon unless the weather appeared to be stormy.
These sirens were placed in various places throughout the city and they were very easy to hear. If you can remember back to 1999 when Arkansas has 28 Tornadoes to touch down; several passed through our area. The sirens sounded so many times that night that our dogs would beat us to the bath room and they would jump into the bath tub when they sounded.
Kay-
As I understand it, Monticello has avoided a tornado touch-down for many, many years. I think that fact is more to blame than “the powers that be” wanting to neglect the citizenry. When you go so long without experiencing something, you begin to think you are immune.
You yourself admit that you’ve lived in Monticello two years and didn’t know whether or not an alert system was in place. Thus, it wasn’t something that was important to you until severe weather — literally — struck close to home. I think the same could be said for those that have lived in Monticello twenty years. It’s never been a priority because it’s not something that is needed often. That’s no excuse… But it is human nature.
Our emergency response system in Monticello should be upgrade. From my previous stand on things, we are not at all close to where we should be. Possibly Michael is right, some of this money from a tax extension should be used to fund such system.
I just want to be safe! Your right I should have inquired on this issue when I moved here! I guess
I thought that was a must in every city! I moved here
from Tulsa,Ok. We were very well taken care of in our cities there because Tornados are so common!
Thanks for your insight Michael.
Yes, this is actually a public safety issue. It along with many others should be addressed long before even considering a Recreation Center.
Our Mayor’s proposal of a Recreation Center is like going shopping for running shoes when you have 2 broken legs.
Let’s focus on the NEEDS in this community. Great idea…..but let’s heal the broken areas in our town before we worry about creating new.
You guys probably saw this on the news, but the National Weather Service confirmed yesterday (Monday) that a tornado track from Saturday’s storm in Drew County.
The track had a path length of 15 miles stretching from 4.5 miles north of Monticello to 3.5 miles southeast of Garrett Bridge in Lincoln county. The tornado has been rated as an EF2 with winds between 110 to 137 mph.
So, we can now say that we’ve had a recent tornado in Drew County and it’s time to do something about building a warning system.
Yes, the reports do confirm this, which does mean we should step up to the plate and do something. To be honest, our community is way behind others in this state for emergency prepardness. Our systems are not up to date, and our response plans are not where they need to be.
There needs to be an office for this specific task in Monticello, and needs to be manned daily by an individual who can stay on top of this, and see that we are safe regardless of the disaster that might occur.