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Tyndall enacts national standard for weather

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Ty-Rico Lea
  • 325th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  The 325th Fighter Wing implemented the national standard for activating the base siren during weather warnings April 14. The implementation was followed by inclement weather April 20 with strong winds, heavy rain and lightning.

During the storm, the bases' trees and other greenery suffered damage with branches and leaves scattered across sidewalks and roadways.

The base Command Center, 325th Civil Engineer Squadron and 325th Operations Support Squadron's weather center all play roles in providing the necessary information to the base populace when faced with hazardous weather.

"Preparation is our best tool." said Spikes. "We will never prevent a weather disaster from happening, so educating base personnel on ways to prepare for, and recover from, a disaster is the best tool we have."

Spikes' role in a natural disaster situation is that of emergency operations center manager. His duties include ensuring all EOC personnel are available for whatever incident has occurred.

"The Command Center uses the Giant Voice System to play a variety of warning scenarios," said Allen Kelly, AFNORTH-Tyndall Command Center chief. "Severe thunderstorms, winds over 57 mph and lightning within five nautical miles are all factors that we can use to initiate the weather sirens."

Hurricane condition alerts have an intro tone and a voice announcement stating the nature of the weather alert, while tornado warnings have an intro tone, a voice announcement and also include a three to five minute steady tone. The Command Center is in charge of activating any alerts, should a weather watch or warning be declared.

Once the weather conditions prompting the warning have left the area, an 'All Clear' signal is given which includes an intro tone and a voice message.

"The Command Center uses a set of Quick Reaction Checklists that have pre-defined actions to take in the event of an emergency to ensure that all warnings are disseminated to the base populace, as well as up-channeled to higher headquarters as needed," said Kelly. "Whenever people hear the sirens, they should immediately seek appropriate shelter. However, both FEMA and the Air Force allow for the signals to be played more than once per event as needed."

Airmen and dependents on base are advised to always have family preparedness kits readily accessible in addition to a working weather radio and the Air Force Be Ready app on an app compatible electronic device.

For more information on weather sirens and the national standard for its use on Air Force installations visit www.beready.af.mil.