AccuWeather Provides Most Advance Notice, Earliest and Most Accurate Warnings for Multi-Day Severe Weather Outbreak
AccuWeather customers and users were once again best prepared for life-threatening, damaging tornadoes. AccuWeather Storm Warning meteorologists exclusively issued numerous lifesaving SkyGuard® Tornado Warnings with far more advance notice compared to the government’s NWS and all other known sources.
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From April 2-3, tornadoes and floods wreaked havoc in Arkansas, Tennessee and surrounding states, leaving communities in ruins.
Key Highlights:
• The most advance notice that a severe weather outbreak was expected on Wednesday, April 2, by forecasting a “high” risk (second from highest risk category) on Sunday, March 30, two days in advance of the National Weather Service’s (NWS) Storm Prediction Center (SPC) doing the same.
• The most accurate and timely warnings of tornadoes during the outbreak, including far more advance notice compared to the government’s National Weather Service (NWS) and all other known sources.
• The best communication of the forecast and impacts through specific, detailed language across AccuWeather forecast platforms.
Beginning on April 2, a multi-day stretch of severe thunderstorms impacted parts of the Ohio, Mississippi, and Tennessee valleys. AccuWeather customers were best prepared for the damaging storms, which caused over 100 tornadoes, many especially intense and hundreds of damaging wind and hail reports.
This severe weather outbreak was best forecast by AccuWeather, which provided:
AccuWeather provided more accurate forecasts and warnings, with proven Superior Accuracy™, far ahead of the event to the minutes that mattered most when tornadoes were imminent. AccuWeather’s forecasts were once again more valuable and provided more impactful descriptions to people, communities and businesses, helping them better prepare and stay safer.
AccuWeather customers and users were once again best prepared for life-threatening, damaging tornadoes.
• AccuWeather Storm Warning meteorologists exclusively issued numerous lifesaving SkyGuard® Tornado Warnings with far more advance notice compared to the government’s NWS and all other known sources.
• AccuWeather’s more advance warnings benefited AccuWeather For Business SkyGuard® customers and customers of the AccuWeather Premium+ feature in the AccuWeather app. Some of the many such examples include:
In Jeffersontown, Kentucky
• AccuWeather Expert Storm Warning meteorologists issued a lifesaving SkyGuard® Tornado Warning, which exclusively provided 28 minutes of advance notice BEFORE an EF3 tornado struck. The NWS and all other sources provided only five minutes of advance notice.
• The particularly intense tornado, the first EF3 tornado in Jefferson County, Kentucky, since 1996, produced devastating peak winds of 145 mph and destroyed businesses and homes.
Near Pocahontas, Illinois
• AccuWeather Expert Storm Warning meteorologists issued a lifesaving SkyGuard® Tornado Warning, which exclusively provided 24 minutes of advance notice BEFORE an EF3 tornado struck just south and east of Pocahontas, Illinois, during the afternoon hours.
• As has been the case with many other situations, AccuWeather was the ONLY known source to provide advance notice of the tornado, which caused major damage to several homes. The NWS and all other known sources issued a tornado warning for this area only AFTER the tornado had been on the ground for 15 minutes.
In Saint Philip, Indiana
• AccuWeather Expert Storm Warning meteorologists issued a lifesaving SkyGuard® Tornado Warning, which exclusively provided 26 minutes of advance notice BEFORE the tornado struck.
• As has been the case with many other situations, AccuWeather was the ONLY known source to provide advance notice of the tornado, which caused major damage to several homes. The NWS and all other known sources issued a tornado warning for this area only AFTER the tornado had been on the ground for three minutes.
Near Columbus, Georgia
• AccuWeather Expert Storm Warning meteorologists issued a lifesaving SkyGuard® Tornado Warning, which exclusively provided six minutes of advance notice BEFORE a tornado struck.
• As has been the case with many other situations, AccuWeather was the ONLY known source to provide advance notice of the tornado, which caused damage and sadly led to at least two fatalities. The NWS and all other known sources issued a tornado warning for this area only AFTER the tornado had been on the ground for two minutes.
Near Zalma, Missouri
• AccuWeather Expert Storm Warning meteorologists issued a lifesaving SkyGuard® Tornado Warning, which exclusively provided 25 minutes of advance notice BEFORE an EF2 tornado struck south of Zalma, Missouri, during the afternoon hours.
• As has been the case with many other situations, AccuWeather was the ONLY known source to provide advance notice of the tornado which caused major damage to several homes. The NWS and all other known sources issued a tornado warning for this area only AFTER the tornado had been on the ground for six minutes.
>> LEARN MORE how to best protect your business with AccuWeather's SkyGuard Severe Weather Warnings
Near Wilmington, Ohio
• AccuWeather Expert Storm Warning meteorologists issued a lifesaving SkyGuard® Tornado Warning, which exclusively provided 24 minutes of advance notice BEFORE a tornado struck just east of Wilmington, Ohio.
• As has been the case with many other situations, AccuWeather was the ONLY known source to provide advance notice of the tornado, which caused major damage to several homes. The NWS and all other known sources issued a tornado warning for this area only AFTER the tornado had been on the ground for three minutes.
Near Altamont, Illinois
• AccuWeather Expert Storm Warning meteorologists issued a lifesaving SkyGuard® Tornado Warning, which exclusively provided 37 minutes of advance notice BEFORE a tornado struck just south and east of Altamont, Illinois, during the afternoon hours.
• As has been the case with many other situations, AccuWeather was the ONLY known source to provide advance notice of the tornado which caused major damage to several homes. The NWS and all other known sources issued a tornado warning for this area only AFTER the tornado had been on the ground for five minutes.
In Owasso, Oklahoma
• AccuWeather Expert Storm Warning meteorologists issued a lifesaving SkyGuard® Tornado Warning, which exclusively provided six minutes of advance notice BEFORE a tornado struck just north of Tulsa, Oklahoma, in Owasso, Oklahoma, in the pre-dawn hours.
• As has been the case with many other situations, AccuWeather was the ONLY known source to provide advance notice of the tornado which caused major damage to several homes. The NWS and all other known sources issued a tornado warning for this area only AFTER the tornado had been on the ground for two minutes.
In Pilot Grove, Missouri
• AccuWeather Expert Storm Warning meteorologists issued a lifesaving SkyGuard® Tornado Warning, providing 32 minutes of advance notice BEFORE an EF2 tornado struck, compared to only one minute of advance notice provided by the NWS and all other known sources.
In Calamine, Arkansas
• AccuWeather Expert Storm Warning meteorologists issued a lifesaving SkyGuard® Tornado Warning, which exclusively provided 15 minutes of advance notice BEFORE a damaging tornado struck, compared to only six minutes of advance notice provided by the NWS and all other known sources.
In Carmel, Indiana
• AccuWeather Expert Storm Warning meteorologists issued a lifesaving SkyGuard® Tornado Warning, which exclusively provided 17 minutes of advance notice BEFORE a damaging tornado struck, compared to only six minutes of advance notice provided by the NWS and all other known sources.
Near Macon, Georgia
• AccuWeather Expert Storm Warning meteorologists issued a lifesaving SkyGuard® Tornado Warning, which exclusively provided 30 minutes of advance notice BEFORE a damaging tornado struck, compared to only seven minutes of advance notice provided by the NWS and all other known sources.
As a result, people and businesses relying on NWS warnings directly, or all other known weather sources that simply distribute NWS tornado warnings, would have had far less notice than that which was available from AccuWeather or, in several cases, NO NOTICE of the imminent life-threatening emergencies before the tornadoes touched down.
Government cell phone alerting (wireless emergency alerts) would not have been triggered, outdoor sirens would not have been activated, and other emergency notifications from other agencies may not have been issued, as those notification methods depend upon National Weather Service warnings. Only those systems based on AccuWeather Warnings, including National Weather Service warnings but supplemented by the expertise of AccuWeather's expert Storm Warning meteorologists, would have been activated.
>> READ MORE: Tornado Safety: When and How Businesses Should Shelter in Place
AccuWeather was the first known source to significantly enhance the forecast risk for severe thunderstorms on Wednesday, April 2.
• On Sunday, March 30, AccuWeather correctly predicted a “high” risk (second from highest category) from Arkansas to Indiana. In contrast, the SPC only upgraded their forecast to their second from highest category (moderate) April 1, two days later.
AccuWeather was the only known source to use the following language across its forecast platforms, including local city forecasts in the Mississippi and Tennessee valleys, notifying users of the upcoming high-impact weather.
• Severe thunderstorms and flash flooding can threaten later this week.
• Risk of major flooding creating dangerous travel; avoid rapidly rising water.
AccuWeather forecasts for Little Rock, Arkansas, were more detailed, accurate, and specified impacts better than other sources, including the NWS. On March 31, AccuWeather’s Little Rock forecast included language such as:
• "Severe thunderstorms and flash flooding can threaten later this week."
• "Risk of life-threatening flooding; there can also be damaging wind and an isolated tornado."
At the same time, the NWS forecast stated:
• "Showers and possibly a thunderstorm" for multiple forecast time periods.
• "Details regarding exact timing and extent of the [severe thunderstorms] remain somewhat uncertain."
More than 100 times every year, AccuWeather has been documented as providing more accurate, more advanced notifications of significant and extreme weather events that impact businesses and threaten the health, welfare and lives of individuals. AccuWeather has proven to be the most accurate source of weather forecasts and warnings.
These are additional examples of the many weather events where AccuWeather provided superior forecasts and impact descriptions to people, communities and businesses, helping them better prepare and stay safe.
Contact AccuWeather today to learn how AccuWeather's SkyGuard® Severe Weather Warnings can help your business better prepare for tornadoes and all severe weather threats.
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