WARNINGS, NON-FICTION, BY MIKE SMITH

Weather warnings have become so ubiquitous that they're annoying, so reading this book is unexpectedly bloodcurdling. Mike Smith, who holds eighteen patents in meteorology, communicates his fascination with weather in every page. He gives us the development of weather forecasting and warning, and the bureaucracy which has many times prevented progress. I can't begin to described the excitement and sheer terror I experienced with this book. It is well written, informative, and riveting. I cannot think of any other non-fiction book I've ever read cover to cover.

Having lived in Tornado Alley all my life, I was stunned to learn that for decades the National Weather Service prevented its meteorologists from issuing tornado warnings, thinking this would cause more deaths due to panic. There was much in-fighting between aviation meteorologists, the National Weather Service, and the media about announcing warnings. I'd never known of this idiocy. Astonishingly, the first completely successful tornado warning was in Topeka Kansas, in 1966. Smith also recounts the mostly unsung story of genius Ted Fujita. He created the F-scale for tornado intensity, and his research into dangerous downbursts directly reduced death from airplane crashes.

The author also relates the unbelievable fact that ten years before the millennium, the National Weather Service was still using dilapidated WWII equipment with vacuum tubes, purchased from a single manufacturer in the Soviet Union. Because of governmental delay, advanced Doppler radar was not completely installed until 1996. Dear Lord in Heaven!

He describes many advances and reverses, and has a long discussion about the tragedies of Hurricanes Andrew and Katrina, which were well predicted storms.

Closing on a high note, Smith recounts the story of Greensburg, Kansas, which was obliterated by a tornado in 2007. But because of modern warning systems the lives of over 200 people were saved, compared to a similar Kansas tornado fifty years earlier.
I will never complain about TV weather interruptions again.