Tornado Climatology—Developing a Safety Plan

Steve Simpson, Robson Ranch Tech Club Officer

The Tech Club meets the second Monday evening of each month from 7 to 8 p.m. in Room 104 at the Creative Arts Technology Center. We have no dues, and attendance is open for any Robson resident who is interested in anything that is high tech, regardless of what they own or understand, but have a desire to learn more about. As an enhancement to our Tech Club members, we are now offering presenter video recordings that can be accessed through membership in Groups.io (formerly Yahoo Groups) at rrtxtech.groups.io/g/main and our new website robsontech.club.

Our April 11 meeting was hosted by Jim Purpura (certified consulting meteorologist). Jim’s main topic was “Tornado Climatology of Denton County—Developing a Personal Safety Plan. Jim offered an in-depth presentation on all aspects of tornado weather conditions, including: “Where is the best safe room in my home?” “What protective gear should I be taking into my safe room?” “Why a weather radio is important to own,” “What are the most important weather alert apps for my home computing and/or mobile device?” “Who is ultimately responsible for preparing for severe weather?” and “When to move into the safe room.”

There was much open dialog and interactive discussion during the meeting, including questions regarding the following: “How likely is Robson Ranch to have a tornado versus Dallas and Fort Worth?” “Who can advise me of the best location for my safe room?” “How effective would a personal weather station be in forecasting tornado activity?” and “Who and under what conditions trigger the Severe Weather Alert siren at Robson Ranch?”

Our last general meeting was on May 9 at the Creative Arts Technology Center, Room 104, where we heard from our very own Paul Marriott (Tech Club officer) on “How to Build Your Website.”