It was February 5th, 2008, 24 States were holding their political primaries, but Mother Nature had other ideas.

By the end of the next day, a massive tornado outbreak struck the Southeast, causing more than a billion dollars of damage, most notably the Memphis area.

With many of these tornadoes, predictions were spot-on, and numerous warnings were aired to the public throughout the event.

Nevertheless, 57 people lost their lives across four states, the lion-share of them in preventable situations. The National Weather Service decided to study the event and its warnings, to see if people heard the many warnings they were given, and to evaluate their effectiveness. It turns out nearly all the injured who were interviewed indeed heard these warnings, and their reasons for ignoring them should prove a lesson to us all.

As Glenn Field, the local Warning Coordinating Meteorologist at the National Weather Service explains, the chief reasons people tend to ignore or minimize tornado warnings boil down to a few main themes: 1) People wanted to personally confirm the presence of a tornado before seeking shelter; 2) They assumed a storm wouldn't be as bad as forecast; 3) Felt that the warning was out-of-place for what they knew about tornadoes (this event, for example, happened in February); 4) The prevailing disaster optimism that bad things only happen to "other" people.

In Western Massachusetts, this sort of reasoning can also be deadly-- and perhaps more so. As Peter Judge, Public Information Officer for the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency says, tornadoes around here are typically much smaller and shorter lasting than others in more prone areas. However, this means there's even less time to react when there's one on the ground. Often when a Tornado Warning is issued locally, the most advanced notice still leaves precious little time. In fact, in Western Massachusetts often tornadoes aren't confirmed until after they are gone, and officials have a chance to tour the damage.

Other hesitations about following tornado warnings stem from a little misinformation about the progress in tornado forecasting. Once an avoided subject by the meteorological industry, modern technology and forecasting techniques have made it immensely easy to pinpoint possible rotational development within a thunderstorm, and to identify areas favorable to tornadoes. This holds true whether it is July, or January. While it is true that the National Weather Service will err on the side of issuing too many warnings over that of too few, tornado warnings have been traditionally accurate in Western Massachusetts, and as such should always be followed. Even the smallest grade tornado can cause plenty of damage.

As far as the adage that "bad things always happens to other people", it's sort of shocking to see this pervasive attitude, even in light of the pessimism within a society that avows "Murphy's Law". Sometimes it seems only when people are commanded to take direct action, ironically even for their own safety, that they decide it's time to evaluate whether it's 'truly' important to listen to a warning. But, during a tornado warning, it is not the time for laziness. As Glenn Field puts it, tornado forecasting expertise has increased so remarkably, that tornado warnings themselves will not be issued for a huge swath of territory. Because they are so precise, they should be followed even more.

"Typically tornado warnings only last around 20-30 minutes" It's not going to ruin your day," Glenn explains. "But if you don't listen, it might ruin your day."

...So how should we respond to watches and warnings involving tornadoes? Well for watches, the first thing is to NOT panic. They only indicate that conditions can be favorable, given the right sequence of events, for rotation to develop within a thunderstorm capable of generating a tornado-- NOT guaranteeing one. In a Tornado Watch scenario, simply adjust your plans such that you are always near a TV, radio, weather radio, or otherwise have access to something that can pass along a warning to you in the event that there is one. A Tornado Warning, on the other hand, is time for immediate, direct action for people specifically in the warning area. Those in the warning area should immediately seek shelter in the lowest interior portion of their homes (avoiding mobile homes completely). Those outside the highly specific warning area should maintain their awareness, but not panic or similarly shelter themselves.

Tornadoes in Western Massachusetts occur infrequently, but can sometimes be quite damaging.

Some notable ones...
June 9th, 1953 - Worcester Tornado
October 3rd, 1979 - Windsor Locks Tornado
May 30th, 1995 - Great Barrington Tornado
July 11th, 2006 - Wendell Tornado