Experts have warned the public to expect many more brutal
storms through the next ten years. Be safe. Be Prepared!
As
we write this column, we are in Branson, Missouri with
a group of friends for the Branson Music Rally. The weather
is sunny and hot and the skies are clear. This was not
the story a few weeks ago. Just a little northwest of
us, a small town in Kansas called Greensburg was destroyed
by tornados. Watching the news, we saw the images of the
storm raging through the center of town, and the wreckage
of homes that lay in the path of the storm’s fury,
all destroyed and even more tragic, nine lives gone.
They had about twenty-minutes advance warning of this
storm, which came in the middle of the night. Sirens around
the town went off, and those who heard the alarm made
for cover. Those who lived outside of town could not hear
the sirens, but some of the homes were equipped with weather
radios and these radios saved many lives. Ultimately,
the people of Greensburg will rebuild their homes and
restore the town, and the population will move on with
their lives, but the impact of the tornado will never
really disappear from their collective memories.
This past winter, while we were in Florida, tornados raged
during the night and destroyed several trailer parks.
Many people were hurt and lives were changed forever,
but fortunately there were quite a few people who had
weather radios and these radios warned them that the storm
was coming, and they braved the storm to raise the alert
throughout their campgrounds, saving many of their fellow
RV’ers.
Last summer, right here in Ontario, several severe storms
blew through the province and by August there had been
more than eighteen confirmed tornados that had touched
down, leaving quite a bit of property damage in their
wake. Just north of Toronto, in the Town of Vaughn, a
severe windstorm during the spring did a great deal of
damage.
Every province of Canada has experienced an unusually
active change in the typical weather patterns. We have
been told by the experts to expect even more brutal storms
through at least the next ten years. This is quite alarming,
since North America currently experiences in excess of
one thousand tornados per year, more than any other continent
in the world.
Over the years that we have been writing for RV Lifestyle
Magazine, we have always advised that every RV’er
should carry a weather radio, and they should leave it
on, placed in their bedroom. You need a model that works
on both the 110V electric feed as well as a battery backup.
No matter where you travel in North America, by car, or
RV, a storm can come upon you and do some real damage
if you are not prepared.
Last March, we received an e-mail from friends who were
wintering in Texas. This just about says it all when you
bring up the subject of weather radios.
“Hello M.B. & Karen, we are here in Texas and
having a great time. Two years ago, we bought a weather
radio from you at an RV Show in Ontario. Faithfully we
put the radio by our bed each night. Last night at around
3 AM it went off and gave us quite the scare. The weather
radio warned us of a severe storm, heavy winds, possible
hail and tornados. I got up and went out and put my awnings
away, along with my lawn chairs. The couple staying in
the RV beside us opened their window and asked what I
was doing. I told them a severe storm was coming and I
was putting everything away. They closed their window
and went back to bed.
The storm arrived about twenty minutes later and it was
bad. Wind, rain, and small hail. It lasted about half
an hour. After the storm we went back to bed.
The next morning I looked out our window and saw our neighbor
trying to pull his awning off our campsite. I went out
to give him a helping hand. He asked me how I knew about
the storm and I told him that I had bought a weather radio
back in Canada, and it warned me of the storm. We started
dragging the awning towards his RV, when he stopped and
said. “You are telling me, that they sent you a
signal all the way from Canada, to tell you there was
a storm coming through Texas?” I looked at him and
all I could say was “Yup”.
I explained how the weather radio works, and our friends
went out and bought one that evening. Thanks for telling
us about the weather radio. It has more then paid for
itself.” (Charlie & Sue).
Even though they had been alerted to the coming tornado
threat, Charlie and Sue stayed in their RV during the
storm. They should have looked for cover. Any time you
receive a message that stays possible tornadoes, look
for cover. Do not stay in your RV. If a tornado hits your
RV and you are in it, your chances of survival are very
slim. Get to a shelter, whether it is an interior room
of a building, or even a low ditch.
Karen and I have a weather radio in our house, and one
in our motorhome. We always have our weather radio on
beside our bed at night. When we get ready to leave in
the morning, we listen to the weather report and then
shut the radio off. As we are driving down the road, if
we see a storm off in the distance, Karen will bring our
weather radio up to the front of the motorhome and turn
it on. She will find the weather channel for the area,
and listen to see if the storm we see in the distance
is expected to develop into a severe weather event. If
it is, we will look for a safe place to stop.
Weather radios save lives, and every RV’er should
have one. Remember - severe storms come at any time of
the day or night, anywhere in North America. Our weather
is changing and RV’ers must be prepared.
There are many types of radios on the market today, but
we like the Midland All Hazards Alert Weather Radio –
it works all over North America, and you can choose from
two types - the AM/FM Radio Alarm Clock Weather Radio,
or the Alarm Clock Weather Radio. You can buy these radios
at any of The Source stores, and if you have any problem
finding them, we have them in our Wagon Trains Chuck Wagon
Store.
We have been moving from Brampton to Petrolia, Ontario
and this has been a real eye-opener for us. We will let
you know how it works out.
(It’s
amazing how much damage a tree can cause when high winds
blow through your area –
Luckily, nobody was injured when this garage was crushed.)
Take Care & Happy RVing,
M.B. and Karen Wilson
The Wagon Masters
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