Is it true about tornadoes?

Question

Is it true that a couple of years ago, they used to do this thing on the TV, that when there was a tornado warning, they would switch all the TV channels to a blue screen with the words "CD" on them (I might be mistaken with the CD thing)?
How did they give tornado warnings about 17 years ago?

Answer 1

Yes it is true that the old EBS System would blank out the tv screens this is for the fact that the old EBS and CONELRAD system would bring a live feed in from the White House the new generation is the EAS and in some situations the EAS can still blank out your TV.

When ever there is an emergency that the government needs to warn the puplic they use what is called the EAS (Emergency Alert System)

The EAS replaces the old EBS (Emergency Broadcast System)



to learn more on the EAS see this link http://www.fcc.gov/pshs/eas/



A little history first. The first national broadcast warning system was established by U.S. President Harry Truman in 1951 and was called Control of Electromagnetic Radiation (or CONELRAD). It was an invention of the cold war. It involved radio, both AM and FM, and television stations, and was solely used for national defense purposes.



CONELRAD was replaced by the Emergency Broadcast System in 1963. Its use was expanded to the National Weather Service, FCC, national wire services, and for local and regional use. It was used in over 20,000 weather events until its retirement in 1996. (Remember your grandparent’s emergency weather radio?)



EBS was replaced by a significantly more comprehensive Emergency Alert System in 1994. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) joined the FCC, National Weather Service, and the President of the United States as overseers. EAS covers dozens of radio and television frequencies, including AM, FM, VHF, UHF, satellite radio and TV, digital radio, cable television, music sources, video broadcasters, and other media sources. Those sources are required to participate by the end of 2007.



The Emergency Alert System (EAS) is a national public warning system that requires broadcasters, cable television systems, wireless cable systems, satellite digital audio radio service (SDARS) providers and, effective in May 2007, direct broadcast satellite (DBS) service providers to provide the communications capability to the President to address the American public during a National emergency. The system also may be used by state and local authorities to deliver important emergency information such as AMBER alerts and weather information targeted to a specific area.



The FCC, in conjunction with Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA http://www.fema.gov/ )and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Weather Service (NWS http://www.nws.gov/ ), implement EAS at the federal level. The President has sole responsibility for determining when the EAS will be activated at the national level, and has delegated this authority to the director of FEMA. FEMA is responsible for implementation of the national-level activation of EAS, tests, and exercises. The NWS develops emergency weather information to alert the public of imminent dangerous weather conditions.



The FCC´s role includes prescribing rules that establish technical standards for EAS, procedures for EAS participants to follow in the event EAS is activated, and EAS testing protocols. Additionally, the FCC ensures that EAS state and local plans developed by industry conform to the FCC EAS rules and regulations.



Other links to learn about the EAS, EBS & CONELRAD

EAS

http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/eas.html



http://www.fcc.gov/eb/easfact.html



National Weather Service & The EAS

www.nws.noaa.gov/os/NWS_EAS.htm



http://www.nws.noaa.gov/nwr/resources/NWS_EAS_chg_impl.pdf

EBS

http://www.akdart.com/ebs.html

CONELRAD

http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/usa/c3i/conelrad.htm

Answer 2

It depends where you live and warnings haven't changed much since then but predictions became more accurate.



In the Great Plains and the Mid-West they had and still have tornado sirens that would sound when a tornado warning is issued. Also the National Weather Service would issue them through the NOAA Weather Radios and through television and radio stations.



In the Southeast they would change the screens to a blue screen that would be on every channel except for the Weather Channel and it would give information about a tornado warning but just for the area that it was issued in. Also they issue them through NOAA Weather Radios.



In the Northeast they would issue them through the bottom of the television screen on local channels and the Weather Channel. They would still show the program that was on the channel while they issue the warning. Also the issued it through NOAA Weather Radio.



The West is at NO RISK for a tornado warning so therefore the have no methods for issuing a warning.

Answer 3

a million. fake: It takes particularly much an hour for a tornado to type. 2. genuine: maximum tornadoes take place interior the spring and summer season months. 3. genuine: Tornadoes in many situations take place the place the land is flat. 4. fake: it is impossible to degree the strangth of a tornado. 5. fake: Tornadoes are actually not the main effectual storms.(that is using fact they might tell the ppl to prepare for a typhoon and such yet a tornado in simple terms happens and there truly isn't any preporation) 6. genuine: Tornadoes can sound like a dashing prepare. 7. fake: Radar won't be able to detect or music tornadoes. 8. fake: Scientists understand a thank you to stop tornadoes from forming. 9. genuine: the colour of a tornadoe be counted on the dirt it selections up. 10. genuine: With new methods, including desktops and satellities, scientists could make extra reliabloe predictions.

Answer 4

I grew up in tornado alley and have never seen that. 17 years ago it was very similar to today. Sirens sound and the TV and radio announce it. It is possible where you live they do that and the CD might stand for civil defence.

Answer 5

I'm not familiar with that. We'd listen to the radio if we though bad weather was on the way, or dial up the "Weather" on the phone to get the latest info. In some places, if a tornado was on the way, the civil defense sirens would wail, usually too late.

Answer 6

They used to have more sirens and the sirens in town would go off. But they weren't as good at predicting tornados, either, so most times the damage was done before tv could announce it.

Answer 7

Well, you're kind of right on the CD thing...but it wasn't a blue screen. Most channels back then just did a ticker thing at the bottom or just interrupted the shows with breaking news.

Answer 8

No. They only switch all the TV chennels to a screen in a national emergancy like 9/11.

Answer 9

They used air raid sirens. My town still has one (only it was not installed for tornadoes - it was installed during hte war).



We still use ours, but it is used for the fire station instead. It definitely freaks people out when they first hear it and they haven't been here and haven't heard it before.

Answer 10

in my town in the 1970's they would wail these "air raid" sirens as a tornado warning

Answer 11

I don't remember that...it has always been that really loud blaring noise with the scroll of the counties affected for me. Sometimes, they might have cut into programming with the blaring noise, but there was always the scrolling message.

Answer 12

sirens.....