This is what NOAA Weather Radio would tell you right now. I know this stuff because a friend called and told me to check on the Internet. But people who can’t afford $21 for a radio don’t have Internet connections; some don’t have telephones. When there’s severe weather frequently telephones don’t work, either.

The red line is severe weather heading this way fast:

WCTV reports Tornado Watch: Severe Weather Expected Throughout Fla. Panhandle:

The National Weather Service has posted severe weather watches and warnings for the Florida Panhandle.

The weather service issued tornado watches, severe thunderstorm and flash flood watches for a large swatch of the Panhandle on Wednesday morning and early afternoon. Minor power outages and road flooding were reported in the Pensacola area as the line of storms made its way through western Panhandle.

WALB says Tornado warning issued:

The NWS says a tornado was spotted at 2:13PM about 10 miles southwest of Poulan.

There are reports of downed trees in the Evergreen Road vicinity north of Doerun.

Update 11 March 2011 6AM: NWS confirms Doerun tornado.

Let’s go directly to the horse’s mouth, the National Weather Service:

That broad yellow band from the Gulf through Tifton is a Tornado Watch. It clearly includes Lowndes County.

Naturally you wouldn’t see this on NOAA Weather Radio. What you would hear would be this:

Tornado Watch

WATCH COUNTY NOTIFICATION FOR WATCH 47
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TALLAHASSEE FL
247 PM EST WED MAR 9 2011

FLC005-013-037-039-045-065-073-077-129-GAC017-019-027-071-075-131- 155-173-185-275-277-092200- /O.CON.KTAE.TO.A.0047.000000T0000Z-110309T2200Z/

TORNADO WATCH 47 REMAINS VALID UNTIL 5 PM EST /4 PM CST/ THIS AFTERNOON FOR THE FOLLOWING AREAS

IN FLORIDA THIS WATCH INCLUDES 9 COUNTIES

IN NORTHWEST FLORIDA

BAY CALHOUN FRANKLIN
GADSDEN GULF JEFFERSON
LEON LIBERTY WAKULLA

IN GEORGIA THIS WATCH INCLUDES 11 COUNTIES

IN SOUTH GEORGIA

BEN HILL BERRIEN BROOKS
COLQUITT COOK IRWIN
LANIER LOWNDES THOMAS
TIFT
GRADY

THIS INCLUDES THE CITIES OF… ADEL… APALACHICOLA… BLOUNTSTOWN… CAIRO… CALLAWAY… CARRABELLE… CHATTAHOOCHEE… FITZGERALD… LAKELAND… LYNN HAVEN… LYNN HAVEN… MONTICELLO… MOULTRIE… NASHVILLE… OCILLA… PANAMA CITY… PORT ST. JOE… QUINCY… QUITMAN… SOPCHOPPY… SPARKS… SPRING HILL… ST. MARKS… SWEETWATER… TALLAHASSEE… THOMASVILLE… TIFTON… UPPER GRAND LAGOON… VALDOSTA… WEWAHITCHKA AND WHITE CITY.

$$

Pithy and to the point. Especially when the sky is green and you have no working TV or Internet connection.

Lowndes County has a telephone emergency weather warning system. But my telephone hasn’t rung on this one. And I’m sitting on a hill that was cleared by a tornado about a decade ago. Plus, once again, during a big storm often the telephone is out.

Update 9 Mar 2011 3:43 PM: Ashley Tye with Lowndes County Emergency Management says he’s aware of these reports, but they make calls on tornado warnings or similar NWS reports, not on watches.

-jsq

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