This is a fantastic case study and overview showing how businesses can prepare for the hazards around them to cut the scope of impacts - preventing a natural hazard from becoming an unnatural disaster. It centers on the experience and work of Parsons Manufacturing, a company that suffered a direct hit from an EF-4 tornado in 2004 but avoided any deaths. Learn more at the company website: https://www.parsonscompany.com/about/

1. Strategic Planning & Disaster
Protection for Business
Ed Shimon & Chris Miller
National Weather Service – Lincoln IL

2. Outline
• Response process for hazardous
events
–Why is this important?
• Effective planning
–What are the weather hazards?
–Human Resources
–Physical Resources
–Continuity of Operations

3. The Response Process

4. Parsons Co. – Roanoke, IL
Hazardous Weather Safety Plan

5. Parsons Co. – Roanoke, IL
Hazardous Weather Safety Plan
PLANNING
• Owner’s prior experience
with a tornado
• Concrete/steel reinforced
shelters (3) for 240,000 ft2
• Emergency Response Team
– Formal severe weather safety
plan was formed
– Semi-annual tornado drills

6. Parsons Co. – Roanoke, IL
Hazardous Weather Safety Plan
PRACTICE
• Tornado drills twice each
year
– Drills were timed and
evaluated
– “Sweeping” technique
practiced
• Company weather
spotters trained
• Communications tested

7. Parsons Co. – Roanoke, IL
Hazardous Weather Safety Plan
MONITOR
• Monitor NOAA Weather Radio
− Take next step upon receipt of
Severe Thunderstorm or
Tornado Warnings
• Notify ERT Coordinator
− Company weather spotters
activated

8. Parsons Co. – Roanoke, IL
Hazardous Weather Safety Plan
ACT
• If a threat is confirmed, an
announcement is made on company
PA system to move to shelters
• Employees go to designated
shelters immediately
− Supervisors “sweep” facility to verify
all people in and around building are
sheltered

9. Parsons Co. – Roanoke, IL
Hazardous Weather Safety Plan
– Employees go to designated shelters

10. Parsons Co. – Roanoke, IL
Hazardous Weather Safety Plan
ACT
• Supervisors are the last
to go to the shelters
• Stay in the shelter until
the “All Clear” is given
by the ERT Coordinator

11. July 13, 2004
“The Parsons Company
plan is put to the test…”

12. Timeline of 7/13/04
• 2:29 P.M. CDT – Lincoln, IL
NWS office issues a
Severe Thunderstorm
Warning
• 2:30 P.M. CDT – Parsons
accounting department
notifies the ERT

13. Timeline of 7/13/04
• 2:33 P.M. CDT –
Parsons spotters
see a funnel cloud
forming 5 miles
west-northwest of
the facility

14. Timeline of 7/13/04
• 2:34 P.M. CDT
–Parsons ERT notifies front office to
make the shelter announcement on
the PAsystem.
–NWS Lincoln issues a Tornado
Warning for Woodford county.
–A tornado develops.

15. 2:34 P.M. CDT
Photos by JasonMalson
2:35 P.M. CDT

16. Photo by Steve Smedley
2:36 P.M. CDT

17. Photo by ScottSmith
2:37 P.M. CDT

18. Timeline of 7/13/04
• 2:38 P.M. CDT
–Parsons supervisors finish
“sweeping” the facility. Everyone is
accounted for. Total number of people
present – 150.
• 2:40 P.M. CDT
–The last supervisor (ERT Coordinator)
goes to shelter.

19. Photo by SamBertschi
2:40 P.M. CDT

20. Picture courtesy of Scott Smith –
5 0 0 yards west of Parsons Co.
2:41 P.M. CDT

21. Parsons Company – Before the tornado

22. Parsons Company – after the F4 tornado
Photo by Peoria Journal-Star

23. Photo by Steve Smedley

24. ....
. .... .
,

29. Impact of tornado at Parsons
• Facility destroyed
–NWS damage assessment
• Tornado rated F4 at the Parsons Co.
Wind estimate: nearly 200 mph
• Center of ¼ mile wide tornado passed
through the “north building” of the
Parsons Co.
• NO Injuries
• NO Fatalities

30. What you can do to
protect your most
valuable asset – your
employees!!

31. Severe Weather Planning
–Know the high impact weather
threats that could affect your
area
• Focus on Tornado and High
Wind Events
–Make the plan part of new
employee orientation training

32. Severe Weather Planning
Don’t be influenced by
“storm myths”
Tornadic “supercell” thunderstorm
over Peoria, IL June 5, 2010
This storm produced 6 tornadoes – including one on the west side of Peoria

33. More tornadoes,
severe storms &
flash floods occur
in the U.S. than
ANY other country
in the world!
ATypical Year Brings:
6Hurricanes 1,270T
ornadoes 5,000Floods
10,000Violent
T
hunderstorm
s
Drought
Conditions
500Deaths
5,000Injuries
$14 BinLosses
Severe Weather Statistics…

34. Illinois Severe Weather Impacts
A Typical Year:
• 44 Tornadoes
• 513 Severe
T-storm Reports
• 165 Reports of
Flash Flooding

35. The Threat Area…
Top 5 States
for tornadoes
1. Florida
2. Oklahoma
3. Kansas
4. Iowa
5. Illinois
“Tornado
Alley”
# of tornadoes per
10,000 sq miles
Map: Average Annual T-storm Days

36. “Tornado
Alley”
in Illinois

37. Tornadoes: Monthly

38. Tornadoes: Time of Day
Peak Time: 6:00 PM

39. Illinois Tornado Intensity
F0
41.5%
F1
30.9%
F2
19.1%
F4
2.1%
F3
6.3%
F5
0.1%
F0
F1
F2
F3
F4
F5
Weak
Wind < 110 mph
Strong
Wind: 110–165mph
Violent
Wind: > 165 mph

40. Severe Thunderstorm Ingredients
1.Lift
• Fronts, heating of the
ground, jet stream, etc…
2.Moisture
• Gulf of Mexico & local
vegetation
3.Instability
• Cold, dry air in upper atmosphere – warm,
moist air near the ground
• Keeps storms strong for several hours

41. Supercell Thunderstorms
“High Threat to Life & Property”
• Severe Weather:
– High winds &
wind damage
– Large Hail
(bigger than a golf ball)
– Heavy Rain &
Flash Flooding
– Tornadoes
(higher potential for
strong or violent)
Photos by David Cashion, Steve Smedley, Kevin Osborne & John Smith

42. Tornado Formation
“Classic Supercell”
• Clues of Tornado
Formation:
1. Large, rounded
rain-free cloud
base
2. Persistent wall
cloud, with
increasing
rotation

43. Photo by Woodford Co. EMA
Tornado Formation
“Classic Supercell”
• Clues of Tornado
Formation:
3. Development of a
funnel cloud, in or
near the wall cloud
4. Rotation at the
ground under the
funnel cloud or
wall cloud

44. Tornadic Supercell Storm:
Tornado
Radar View
“Danger Zone”
6/5/10
Elmwood, IL
(Peoria Co.)

45. Severe T-storm Wind
Peak Time: 7:00 PM

46. Damaging Wind Types
• Straight-line wind
– Usually from a squall line
– Downdraft spreads out
ahead of a line of storms
• Downbursts
– Downdraft descends, making
impact with the ground
• Derechoes / Bow Echoes
– Long lived “bowing” line of
downburst clusters &
tornadoes
Photo courtesy Bill Bolton, WB0BBM

47. Watches – Tornado, Severe Thunderstorm
& Flooding
• Potential for
severe t-storms,
tornadoes, or
flooding to develop
• Watch for rapidly
changing conditions
• Typically 6 to 8
hours in length

48. Warnings
• Tornado Warning:
• Tornado reported or about to develop
• May also contain large hail and wind damage
• Severe Thunderstorm Warning:
• Wind damage or gusts 58 mph or higher
• Hail 1” or larger (size of a Quarter)
• Flash Flood Warning:
• Rapid flood of creeks, streams or small rivers
• Streets / roads with more than 6” flowing water

49. Severe Weather Safety Plan
• Human Resources
– Form an “Emergency ResponseTeam”
• Defines the details of the plan
• Delegates the roles played by team
members
• Establishes criteria for enacting the
plan and carries out the plan
– Based on an NWS warning, local emergency
management report, or your own storm spotters

50. Severe Weather Safety Plan
• Human Resources
– Designate “WeatherWatchers”
• Methods to accomplish this:
–Weather radio
– Internet weather and radarsites
–Message services
–Local TV and radio
– Your own stormspotters

51. Severe Weather Safety Plan
• Human Resources
– Clear, concisecommunications
• Methods for alerting everyone, and for
declaring an “all-clear”
• Use of two-way radios, loudspeakers,
intercom/public address system, cell
phone text messages

52. Severe Weather Safety Plan
• Human Resources
– Conductexercises
• In-house drills
– Evaluate the time it takes to reachshelter
(from the farthest point), and the
effectiveness of the leaders
»Severe Weather Awareness Week:
First Tuesday in March each year

53. Severe Weather Safety Plan
• Human Resources
– Conductexercises
• Full scale severe weather exercise
– Include entire ERT, management and as many
employees as possible
– Test communications,readiness/sheltering,
public information & COOP
– Have “evaluators” from offsite (e.g. localEMA)

54. Severe Weather Safety Plan
• Human Resources
– Conductexercises
• Full scale severe weather exercise…cont’d
– Have a candid discussion with ERTand
evaluators afterwards
– Analyze areas for improvement as wellas
“Best Practices”
–Adjust plan accordingly

55. Severe Weather Safety Plan
• Check “Physical Resources”
–Define/build safe shelters
• Interior of the building away from
windows
• Avoid large-span roofs
• High structural integrity
• Can be existing working space
–Conference room, break room,
restroom, storeroom

56. Severe Weather Safety Plan
–Safe Shelters…cont’d
• Capacity to meet the needs of
everyone!
– Employees
– Visitors
• Each shelter needs a “leader” who
can account for people and know the
plan

57. Severe Weather Safety Plan
• Check “Physical Resources”
–Inspect/evaluate the building
• Have an engineer check the building to
safeguard against potential hazards (wind):
– Roof condition
– Roof to wall connections
– Overhangs or canopies
– Exterior windows and doors
– Signs, vent stacks, and rooftop mechanical
systems

58. Severe Weather Safety Plan
• Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP)
–Helps to minimize the downtime and
impacts of a disaster
–Your business may be impacted, even
if there is no damage:
• Upstream loss – supplier/shipping
suffers loss
• Downstream loss – customers affected
by a disaster

59. Summary
• Based on numerous tornado event
successes (and failures) nationwide –
What works:
–Structurally sound tornado shelters
–A designated “Weather Watcher”
–A proactive approach to a safety plan
–Practice and drills

60. Final quote…
“Preparedness, when
properly pursued, is a way
of life – not a sudden,
spectacular program”
Spencer W. Kimball, 1976

61. Additional Information
–Institute for Business & Home Safety®
www.disastersafety.org/text.asp?id=ofb_basic
–Local Emergency Management Agency
–American Red Cross
–National Weather Service
• Chris Miller, Warning Coordination Meteorologist
e-mail: Chris.Miller@noaa.gov