Advances in technology are always wonderful and always make what came before it look like two tin cans and a piece of string. However, in the cycle of technology, everything eventually becomes obsolete. A new and better way is always around the corner. The speed with which upgrades are made depends on how important the technology is to our daily lives.
When it comes to the alert systems and the sharing of information, the National Weather Service needs to stay as updated as possible. There is no room for error when lives are on the line. After many freak weather incidents including winter tornados all over the country, and last month?s deadly twisters in Iowa, Congressional members are pushing for an upgrade.
The entire delegation is behind legislation, introduced by 4th District Representative Randy Feenstra, that calls for upgrades to the warning systems. After last month’s storms in Iowa, it became painfully apparent that a lag of a few minutes is unacceptable and deadly.
I had the chance to visit with Iowa 3rd District Congresswoman Cindy Axne, and she talked about the push from the entire delegation from Iowa to get needed upgrades.
For those who aren’t familiar, the ?NWS Chat? is a message board/chat room configuration that literally allows weather spotters, public safety officials, and the National Weather Service to communicate with each other to share storm and damage reports. It can be confusing enough when you are watching just one storm system. If you have more than one major system, things become even more complicated.
And what happens if things go down? Axne says we have to have better service and redundant controls for the technology.
Axne says nobody should have to wait for someone in another state to warn us of something only a few miles away.
