AccuWeather Enterprise Solutions: Protecting People, Property and Profits When Out-of-Season Tornadoes OccurProtecting your business or enterprise requires vigilance 24 hours a day, seven days a week. That’s our special expertise at AccuWeather Enterprise Solutions (AES) and we do it better than anyone else. Here are some examples from October 21 to 23, 2017, that demonstrate our Superior Accuracy™.

Saturday, October 21 Norman, Oklahoma: A Tornado in Darkness

Tornadoes that occur during darkness are 2.5 times more

likely to kill people than tornadoes that occur during the

day. That is why it is particularly important to ensure your

company’s protective systems never sleep.

At 8:36 pm on October 21, a tornado touched down in

southwest Norman, Oklahoma, on top of a casino. The

storm began moving east northeast causing significant

damage to several other businesses.

AES provided advance warning to BNSF Railway, allowing

them to keep trains out of the hazardous area. Our warning

was issued before the National Weather Service (NWS) issued

a tornado warning for the area. This extra notice allowed

the railroad to keep any trains out of the area. In addition,

our warning was immediately canceled once the threat

had passed, minimizing any delay in train traffic.

Sunday, October 22 Jackson County, Mississippi: Who Gets the Report? Tornado Strikes Oil Refinery

One unsheltered employee was injured by flying debris when

a tornado struck an oil refinery (see photo on next page). Based

on the warnings provided to our clients in the immediate

vicinity, had the refinery been an AES client, it would have had

twelve additional minutes (compared to the National Weather

Service’s warning) to shelter people and secure the facility.

In addition to the damage and injury, according to WLOX

TV news there was confusion as to which agency — the local

emergency manager or the National Weather Service,

should be the recipient of tornado reports while a storm

is in progress. In short, the emergency manager wants

the refinery to call in reports of waterspouts and tornadoes

when they become visible.

While reporting is important, when a tornado is bearing

down on your facility, your first action needs to be

protection of life and property.

The Norman Tornado caused a “power flash” shortly after it touched down near the University of Oklahoma (foreground). Power flashes occur when high winds cause short circuits along power lines. Photographer Brett Wright.

Approximate Path of the Norman, Oklahoma Tornado October 21, 2017, 8:36 to 8:42 PM

Working with AccuWeather alleviates confusion

and provides faster, more actionable information.

Our tornado warning for our clients in the immediate area

of the Jackson County refinery was issued 12 minutes prior

to the National Weather Service’s, providing extra time

for employees to get to safety.

We advise and provide similar warnings to emergency

managers across North America. Our SkyGuard service,

coupled with the local information the emergency managers

gather, is the best storm preparation available.

Monday, October 23 Corporate Headquarters: A Very Close Call

A corporate customer requests AES to issue a tornado

warning whenever we forecast a tornado to come within

3 miles of its facilities, including a location in Wilkesboro,

North Carolina, well outside of “tornado alley.” We issued

a tornado warning at 4:39 pm. The National Weather Service

did not issue a tornado warning for the area until twenty-

one minutes later, at 5:00 pm. The tornado passed 2.1 miles

east of the Wilkesboro location at 5:11 pm. Once again,

AccuWeather provided critical extra minutes (32 minutes)

to ensure people were safe from extreme weather.

It is not just tornadoes. Whenever severe weather threatens,

AccuWeather provides the finest storm warnings the state-

of-the-art will allow. Consider these unsolicited comments

from Tulane University:

Weather-Ready Nation Ambassador™ and the Weather-Ready Nation Ambassador™ logo are trademarks of the U.S. Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, used with permission. AES:OCTOBER2017TORNADOES ©2017 AccuWeather, LLC.

Contact us today at: 814.235.8600 or sales@accuweather.com.Visit us at: AccuWeather.com/EnterpriseSolutions.

I would like to take a minute to thank the

AccuWeather team for the excellent support and

guidance you folks provided with Hurricane Nate.

As you know there was quite a bit of uncertainty

coming out of public weather sources regarding

the strength and path of Nate in the 24 hours

leading up to landfall. AccuWeather’s forecast

remained consistent and on point. That consistency

aided the University in making the decision to

shelter in place vs. evacuate. Throughout the event

the meteorologists were instantly available and

provided accurate information delivered in a calm

reassuring manner during our numerous executive

conference calls.

Please share this thanks with the entire team

as you all are considered Tulane team members.

Once again on behalf of the Emergency

Preparedness and Response department and Tulane

University, thank you for your valuable partnership.

Norris D. Yarbrough, CEM, LEM Assistant Vice President

Tornado tearing through Chevron refinery.

Whether it is tornadoes, hurricanes, blizzards or any

kind of natural hazard, or extreme weather - knowing how

these events will impact your organization, is critical.

Lives and property can be saved. AccuWeather Enterprise

Solutions will work with you to protect your people,

your property, and your profits.