For many emergency management teams and utilities in the United States, one high-impact, extreme weather threat is often considered more unpredictable – thus deadlier – than the rest: tornadoes.

Tornadoes represent a particularly sinister threat capable of devastating communities at any time, with little-to-no warning for anyone in their path. While tornadoes are typically associated with some regions more than others, every state is at risk of experiencing them during a severe storm if atmospheric conditions are right.

More concerningly, climate change’s evolving impact on historical weather trends is causing many emergency managers to rethink how they prepare for and respond to these deadly, fast-moving disasters.

Threats Unlike Any Other

When a community is likely to be impacted by a tornado, officials can be forced to issue warnings to residents as little as 20 minutes before they’re hit.  

While forecasters can predict the conditions where tornadoes can form— with powerful thunderstorms and hurricanes being most likely to create them due to supercells—they are unable to predict where tornadoes will potentially touch down. That’s why the National Weather Service issues blanket alerts and warnings for vast swaths of areas it anticipates could be impacted by tornadoes and their destruction.

But even then, there’s no guarantee that a tornado will impact areas under alerts – or spare those that may not have issued any notification or warning.

Supercharged Storms in Unexpected Places

A tornado that tore through the Houston area in January 2023 was the kind of early-season storm that some experts say is becoming increasingly more common.

The tornado struck Pasadena, southeast of Houston, seriously damaging homes and other buildings and knocking out power to thousands in the city and its surrounding areas. Additionally, more than a dozen other tornado sightings were reported as the storm system moved across the Gulf Coast.

After years of early-season events such as this one occurring beyond the constraints of what’s traditionally been viewed as “Tornado Alley”, it’s become clear that emergency managers beyond the midwest need to prepare a contingency plan to respond to these deadly weather events.

Responding to the Unpredictable

How can emergency managers and utilities better respond to high-impact events like tornadoes that are unpredictable? While there’s little to do during a tornado aside from seeking shelter, there are steps to take to ensure an organization’s response is swift and confident in the aftermath.

Once a tornado has passed, and it’s time to assess the impact within a community, tools like DataCapable’s Community Portal can prove to be invaluable.

A proven solution during severe disruptions of operations, the Community Portal helps utilities, local government, law enforcement, and emergency management teams immediately identify severely affected areas so that personnel can quickly respond. In addition, the Community Portal provides a communications platform to keep constituents informed about response and recovery in real time. 

During a widespread outage event – like those often experienced in the aftermath of storms capable of producing tornadoes – stakeholder engagement can be the difference between a problem and a crisis.

With Community Portal’s real-time mapping offering in-the-field incident reporting, teams of all sizes can respond quickly and confidently. As recovery begins, plans of action can be communicated via text and email to stakeholders throughout the chain in a transparent, accurate, and timely manner.
Looking to supercharge your storm and tornado response capabilities? Reach out to our team to schedule a demo today!