By Emily Schoch | Staff Writer
As tornado activity rises across Texas this spring, Baylor students and staff are being urged to take storm safety seriously, especially with Waco lying in a region increasingly vulnerable to severe weather.
With multiple tornado warnings issued in Central Texas over the past month alone, university officials and emergency management teams are working to ensure the Baylor community knows how to prepare, respond and stay safe when sirens sound.
Jennifer Dunn, warning coordination meteorologist from the National Weather Service of DFW, said as temperatures warm up and spring settles in, North and Central Texas brace for what is often the most unpredictable time of year.
“We are moving into peak severe weather season here in North and Central Texas. It runs from about mid March through early June, so this is the time when we typically have our most summer and volatile weather,” Dunn said.
Dunn explains why the spring season in Texas is more prone to having tornadoes than other times of the year.
“Tornadic storms look for four key ingredients: moisture, instability or the kind of energy that the atmosphere uses to lift something to force the air upwards, and then also how the winds change as you go higher up in the atmosphere, which we call wind shear,” Dunn said.
Springtime in Texas brings a mix of beauty and danger, as warmer temperatures often signal the start of severe weather season, she said. This period is known for producing the right combination of atmospheric conditions that can lead to powerful storms and tornadoes.
“The spring is kind of our prime time when, as temperatures start warming up, all these ingredients start coming together in levels that we need to get severe thunderstorms and tornadoes in this part of the country,” Dunn said.
There are many different factors that increase tornado frequency, and a few examples are the El Niño and La Niña influence.
The El Niño is a weather pattern that forms when sea surface temperatures are warmer than average within the central and eastern Pacific Ocean, affecting weather in Texas as well as other Gulf States, causing wetter and cooler weather to occur.
The La Niña weather pattern forms when sea surface temperatures are cooler than average, causing weather within Texas to become significantly warmer and drier.
“The La Niña conditions impact the jet stream that can lead to a greater prevalence warm humid air in the region, thus increasing the chances of tornado formation,” Dr. Andrew Stainback, lecturer of environmental science at Baylor.
Stainback said the El Niño years and the La Niña years have a direct impact on the humidity of the air with increasing and decreasing storm frequency, allowing the spring to have a greater expectation for storm charges and tornadoes to occur.
As tornado season approaches in Texas, it is important to become aware of the safety measures put in place to avoid any damage or destruction that potential tornadoes could cause. George Nuñez, director of emergency management, explained how to become weather aware.
Being aware of the weather on days that it’s gloomy is extremely important, Nunez said, because those days can turn into severe weather extremely quickly and being unaware can cause irreversible damage.
Second, Nuñez said to pay attention to Baylor alerts.
“Here on campus, we use Baylor alert, so when we do have a tornado watch, we partner with marketing communications to send out a tornado watch email to the entire campus,” Nuñez said.
Baylor Emergency Management is persistent in making sure that students are well informed when there is severe weather, he said. Not only does Baylor send out text and email alerts, but they also have the campus-wide sirens that sound when there is a tornado warning.
“The third is the actual tornado warning, and when there is a tornado warning, that means that a tornado has been cited or is indicated on radar,” Nuñez said. “So that’s where we need people to take shelter immediately.”
Students from outside of Texas who do not experience the intensity of Texas weather frequently might be unaware of the definition behind a tornado watch versus a tornado warning, Nuñez said.
“During a tornado watch, the ingredients are there for possible tornado activity, but the tornado warning means that it’s already been cited either by a person or by a radar,” Nuñez said.
Nunez emphasizes the importance of being weather aware and having access to all of the Baylor Emergency Management safety features which keep students safe on and off campus.
