Latest news with #JohnDeBlock
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Alabama weather radios to be out of service for 72 hours
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) — NOAA weather radios are not working due to a planned software outage, according to the National Weather Service. Officials are urging the public to have multiple ways to get alerted about severe weather ahead of tomorrow expected storms. The National Weather Service says nationwide systems are being upgraded and they have a July 1 deadline to do so. Here in Alabama, the National Weather Service planned this outage months ago, hoping this would be a quiet weather week but that's not the case. A message that says the weather station is off air will be played until at least Wednesday on NOAA weather radios throughout Alabama. National Weather Service Warning System Meteorologist John De Block says even though the radios are off air, his office will continue their work during tomorrow's storms. 'We are going to be working closely with our partners, our media partners, extra communications, and the chat program we have to give them the latest information so the meteorologists can get on air and let the people know. We are going to be issuing the watches and warnings still here, they just can't go over the weather radios unfortunately,' remarked De Block. Leeds Creek Bank Festival postponed to May 24 The outage is due to a planned hardware upgrade which De Block says will allow the National Weather Service to use the latest technology over the radio. The upgrade was planned months ago before the weather service knew about tomorrow's expected severe weather. 'Unfortunately in Alabama, tornado season runs from January 1 to December 31. We picked a time that we thought would have less of an impact, unfortunately it turns out we have some severe weather in mid-May. We put it off as long as we could but we have to get it done,' added De Block. With weather radios being out, the Jefferson County EMA is urging everyone to have multiple ways to get weather alerts. Phones and apps are a great way to keep informed if you don't have a cell phone. EMA Deputy Director Chris Tate says there are steps you should take. 'They need to be reaching out to friends and families to help support them during this time, I guarantee someone has those cell phones with different apps available to them. The Jeff Co. alerts app will call them to their landline, it will also send emails if they have those,' remarked Tate. The CBS 42 app is a great way to stay alerted to weather conditions. You can turn on notifications and find out when severe weather comes into your area. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
The Future of Severe Weather Forecasting
Columbus, Ga (WRBL)- 14 years ago, communities were just beginning to clean up following the 2011 tornado outbreak. Today we conclude our miniseries: Dixie Alley: The Super Outbreak, by looking ahead to the future of severe weather forecasting. Meteorologists learned a lot following 2011, but we are always looking ahead. The future severe weather forecasting is bright, with technology like phased array radar and the Warn-On-Forecast in the works. Phased Array Radar: NWS Birmingham Warning Coordinator John De Block explained that Phased Array Radars are a 'dish physically moving around inside that dome to stationary planes of radars with multiple radars basically in that array of radars that are out there looking at different parts of the sky.' While it might not seem too impressive, this method would allow the radar to scan the atmosphere 5-6 times faster than our current radars….. only taking a minute. This speed means that the National Weather Service can monitor storms in real time, leading to better accuracy, longer lead times, and less false warnings. Our current radar network was built in 1988, and at nearly 40 years old, many often need repairs. The Phased Array Radars are suggested to save taxpayers $4.8 billion over their lifetime. Warn-On-Forecast: Another life-saving technology currently in the works is the Warn-On-Forecast. This is currently in experimental trials with the National Severe Storms Lab. Warn On uses real-time data to signal that a specific storm could become severe or produce a tornado hours in advance. This gives local emergency management time to put protocols in place. The Warn-On-Forecast was used experimentally in March and was able to give emergency management a two hour heads up. Both the Warn-On-Forecast and the Phased Array Radars will allow for better accuracy, longer lead times, and less false alarms during severe weather. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
