Tornado Touches Western NY

It is not common, but a EF-1 Tornado touched down for about 5 minutes in Hilton, NY. This is about 10 miles west of where I live. We don't see a lot of this type of weather...but when it happens it makes a big impression. You can read the story as reported by the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle here.

Now, that brings me to the point of this post. It's not simply enough to consider the severe storms or tornado the happen from time to time. The real lesson here is for the "it can't happen here" crowd. Those in this camp have been growing in numbers amid all the false alarms, bad predictions, repeated strikes on the panic button. The fact remains that we have to consider preparation for the remote threats as well as the common ones. The point is all-hazards planning and the Rule of Outcomes training are keys. Acknowledging the hazard exists is the starting point.

Full story:
http://www.democratandchronicle.com/article/20090726/NEWS01/907260349/1002/RSS01