Severe Weather Season

It is finally spring again which means warmer weather, flowers blooming, and for many it means severe weather season is beginning again. Severe weather always happens in the transition seasons, Spring and Fall, but for the Spring it becomes especially dangerous because March marks the beginning of tornado season.

Tornado season typically lasts from March to May.

Even though Mississippi is not technically in Tornado Alley, it still has one of the highest rates of tornadoes. In fact, according to WLOX.com, tornado season is more dangerous and causes more damage than hurricane season. According to NEMS360.com, Mississippi is the number one expected place on the planet for tornadoes to occur. Many students of the University of Mississippi were shocked to find this out. California native Meghan Reid, 19, thinks, “The University should really warn us about these kind of things. It is very unsettling, especially for students like me that are from the other side of the country and have never experienced anything like a tornado before.”

Many meteorologists blame the high chance of tornadoes on the very cold winter that Mississippi had. The worst tornado seasons have always happened after the coldest winters.

Along with tornadoes Mississippians can expect flash flooding (which is the number one killer), hail, severe thunderstorms, and maybe even earthquakes. Yes, earthquakes. Last Sunday a 4.7 earthquake shook the little town of Greenbriar, Arkansas. The effects were felt all the way in Memphis. Scientists expect the quakes to only get worse which means that Oxford could start feeling quakes in five years.

To add to risk of earthquakes, the New Madrid fault line runs right through Memphis which only 75 miles from Oxford. Some students like Michael Bernard, 20, thinks “the risk if an earthquake in Oxford is very possible and very scary. More students should be aware of this risk.”

However, the most dangerous factor might be an unprepared student body. While the administration might assume that students know how to react in severe weather, Reid and many out of state students do not know what to do in a tornado. “I would be absolutely terrified,” said Reid.

While the RebAlert texts are a great tool, I believe the University needs to take severe weather safety a step further by teaching all students how to react in emergency weather situations and running more drills. This could easily be done at freshman orientation or in EDHE classes.

Till the University decides to make some changes in severe weather education, students can learn more about these storms and how to survive at www.redcross.org.

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