Severe Weather Situations

[kimber]

What does a LEO do in the case of an emergency weather situation, such as a tornado, or a flash flood warning where water is blocking a highway? Is it their job to clear the streets from an approaching tornado, or do they seek shelter themselves and serve the citizens afterwards? I live out in the country, a place with winding roads, and hay feilds as far as the eye can see, so I have no idea what LEO's do in the cities and the heavier populated areas. What would you do?

[TPDHellhound]

We're the one's who have to stop people from entering the eye of the hurricane who are too stupid to figure it out themselves! In Arizona, we actually have a law called, "the Stupid Motorist Law." This says that if a driver enters a running wash (aka a desert creek that only runs during storms) and gets stuck, which subsequently leads to his/her needing to be rescued, it is a Class 1 misdemeanor. The driver will need to pay for the cost of the rescue plus a fine.

It's amazing how many people need rescuing each year!!!

[Old Trooper]

I can't relate to tornadoes or floods, but I remember during blizzards.....going out on the interstates and bringing stranded motorists back to the barracks. Sometimes they would have to stay there for a day or so. We couldn't leave either because the weather was so bad. We would make food runs to the local diners to feed families...LOTS of fun!

[Nuklhed]

Dont have too much "Severe Weather" out here in San Diego, but I like that Stupid Motorist Law. Can we extend that to include more than just driving into a washed out road? lol

[Bearcat06]

What does a LEO do in the case of an emergency weather situation, such as a tornado

I have some wonderful pictures of the tornado's that struck here last year. :eek:
At least here, if a tornado warning goes into effect, we make sure the sirens are turned on, get in contact with the National Weather Service and stay in contact until everything has calmed down, and watch for them......and make reports as needed if we see them. Last year I slide my car into the firehouse and watched them blow over.....got some pretty good pictures as I got pounded by hail....
After they two blew over we helped with clean-up (noted where down trees and power lines were at) and made sure to keep everyone out of the areas that got wacked. We had a bunch of knuckleheads come up from Kansas City to look at the damage..... :rolleyes: I spent half the night keeping them out of the area.....

[Nuklhed]

We had a bunch of knuckleheads come up from Kansas City to look at the damage..... :rolleyes: .....

Hey, I was never in Kansas City.. lol :D

[mcsap]

We do our best to put out flares, barrier tape , call out the fire dept or fire police and or the DOT to barricade it off. If we can't due to calls ( we get a TON of burglar alarms during storms) , the citizens are venturing out at their own peril.

[DeltaV]

We get lots of severe weather down here in the summer months. Strong to severe thunderstorms are usually things that pop up almost daily. In the case of extremely heavy rain or winds, I usually like to pull off of the road and wait the storm out in a parking lot or garage. There's no sense in driving around and getting into a traffic crash. If I get a priority call though, I'll obviously respond. In the case of a tornado, I'd be quick to get out of the car and seek cover if it was heading my way. But as a rule, everyone won't get off the street and seek shelter simply because there is a tornado warning for the county.

Things are different when it comes to hurricanes. Once the sustained winds reach a certain speed (I believe it's 45mph), we head to a safe location and wait the storm out there. If anyone is stupid enough to go outside and need our help (or that of EMS or the FD), they're on thier own. After the worst part of the storm passes, we go back out.

[MOCOP]

After they two blew over we helped with clean-up (noted where down trees and power lines were at) and made sure to keep everyone out of the areas that got wacked. We had a bunch of knuckleheads come up from Kansas City to look at the damage..... :rolleyes: I spent half the night keeping them out of the area.....

Don't ya love rubberneckers? Ohhhh look honey damage! :rolleyes:

[jarobins]

Working for a State Police Agency we have to work during all the storms and keep the Interstates open. We get assigned to stand by at closed roads until detours can be set up, then we usually have to direct traffic around the detour.

Where I'm at now we usually get roads closed due to icestorms and fog, but I used to work in the Va. Beach area and had to put up with hurricanes. Hurricanes are not as bad as Florida, and icestorms aren't too bad but we did have a 114 car pile-up in the fog. :eek: We also get bad wind storms in the winter on the mountain, sometimes the winds get strong enough to blow over tractor trailers (in excess of 65-100 mph). Then we have to direct traffic in the cold with a wind chill around -15 to -25. :(

[kels]

First of all, we go out with the weather spotters
when the tornados are forecast.
(Just a hint, always park close to a bridge or big culvert.
They are a whole lot better to be in,
than being in your patrol vehicle if a tornado shows up unexpected.) :eek:

IF YOU WANT TO GO SIGHT SEEING FOR A TORNADO, PLEASE
GO TO SOMEONE ELSES COUNTY. THESE GUIDED TORNADO TOURS
ARE REALLY STUPID AND POSSIBLY LIFE THREATENING. :mad:

We also patrol highways during snow looking for stranded motorists.
(4x4 pickups work much better than crown vics)

We provide weather information to the national weather service about
current conditions.

We remove debris from the highway during high winds.

etc

[kimber]

I find it coincidental that I posted this a couple of days ago and now, the county in which I reside is experiencing major flash flooding. Thank god I live on a ridge, or I'd be washed away by now.