This Is It!!!

Well...school is officially OVER for the semester, and I couldn't be more excited! I had a pretty good semester this year shockingly. After a brief "vacation" from school this past spring, I made a promise to come back and do my absolute best. I ended up finishing with a 3.6 GPA, receiving a grant for my academic success (not going to disclose how much the grant was), received an opportunity to work on The Southeastern Channel next semester, and have earned a place on the President's List for the first time in my college career. On December 3, I even received my Southeastern college ring as a physical reminder of how hard I've worked throughout school.

I don't think I could've done it without God first and foremost because without Him, I wouldn't be where I am today. I also thank my family, my true friends, my wonderful boyfriend, and all of the wonderful teachers that allowed me to absorb their materials and sharing their knowledge with me.Lastly, I'd like to thank the ones that I've lost that are with me in spirit always. Aunt Doris: thank you for helping me to learn my weather symbols as well as give forecasts to you. Grandpa: Thanks for all of the fishing trips and all of the summers I spent watching The Weather Channel. Aunt Theresa: Thank you for all of the love and support you gave to me as I grew up and for the great time I had in California. The list is long for the ones I've lost, but I miss them and love them always, and I know they're smiling down and are proud as ever of me.

Looks like the next step is graduation, and I'm pretty nervous about it. While it is definitely a milestone for me, the thesis paper scares me the most of all. I want to go where no Communication major has gone before with research as well as the paper topic itself. I know for sure that I will make the best of it and succeed, and with God and everyone else on my side, I absolutely can't fail. For now, I'm going to enjoy my semester break, and hopefully I'll have something new and exciting for you guys in the upcoming semester. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

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Posted by: Amber Narro

Putting it All Together

As this semester progressed, I had no idea what my Writing for Public Interest class would bring. I am glad to say that I learned a great deal by taking the course, and I also felt that I was able to have a chance to show my creativity with each and every one of my stories. I was never really good at writing news-type stories, but once I took this, I learned a general idea of the structure of how the stories should be done. I even had to sign up for a great deal of things such as Blogger, Flickr, Twitter (which I already had since the summer), and an online chat in which our entire class participated in.

For the most part, it took a great deal of ideas in order for me to keep the stories interesting and flowing together every time I wrote one. I also wanted to bring in the emotional appeal of the stories as well as educate my audience for a better understanding of our climate which varies every day. The wording also had to make a lot of sense because if I was to throw a term out there that no one knew, it would confuse several people.

In order to put these blogs together, I had to get used to the idea of even using one for the class. While sometimes technology was a pain and very strenuous to use, it was definitely worth learning it to educate students to expand their horizons and learn to use different ways of communication and showing off their finished products in terms of stories. I made several attempts to chat with professional meteorologists on the local and national level, but due to their busy work schedules, they were unable to get back with me on my stories. However, I was able to speak with real-life storm spotters and storm chasers who work alongside the National Weather Service for a great deal of information and their experiences with severe weather.

If I was to do the media package a different way, I probably would get a head start on most of my stories. I had a time trying to get a hold of reliable sources for each and every one. Also, I would've probably joined these blog websites a lot sooner than this semester so that I would have some exposure on how to use it. I would also have a larger variety of photos to use being that I am a photographer in my spare time. I could even try expanding my topic from more of an informative standpoint rather than just from aspects of experiences and then some.

Observing the Aftermath

By Jana Foggan

[HAMMOND]-As howling winds calm down and silence fills the moist,
southern air, adrenaline runs through peoples’ veins as their hearts nearly
beat out of their chests once the storm has passed. Slowly, they come out
of their safe places only to discover the damage that has been done around them 
which suddenly sends a feeling of shock and sadness through them. When
 something as tragic as a tornado takes place, these feelings and so much more
 can be described as being a part of one thing: the tornado aftermath.

Within the past year, tornadoes have
 been quite frequent not only in Tornado Alley but throughout the United
 States. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration,
a total of 2,192 tornadoes were reported which is almost double the ten-year
 average of storms. During the beginning of 2008, 87 tornadoes occurred
 within the Super Tuesday primary elections. During the Super Tuesday
 Outbreak, Louisiana had its fair share tornadoes, especially the one in the 
freshest memory in the minds of several people in Independence.

On February 13, 2008, strong
 thunderstorms moved through the Hammond area and a few miles down the road,
action was catching the attention of residents of Independence. Mike
Lane, an eyewitness who happened to be visiting family, had a gut feeling as
the skies grew darker and began changing colors. “All I could do was hope 
that nothing was going to drop out of the sky as I was on the highway because
it was like a scene from a movie,” Lane said. Lane was not too far away
from the Lallie Kemp Regional Medical Center as the dark clouds began to swirl 
and extend downwards.

“The second the tornado touched the
 ground, it was heading straight towards the hospital, and I couldn’t help but
 think if everyone was alright. It didn’t look good at all,” Lane said. 
While the tornado was weak, the damage that it left behind was one for the 
record books. Lane said, “After it passed, I was a bit shaken up, but 
when I passed the hospital, it looked like a war zone. There were police 
sirens, medical teams and glass just about everywhere you looked.”

As a result of the storm, one person lost her life after being caught up into the funnel and then slammed into a 
vehicle nearby. The tornado also created minor structural damage and toppled
 a few trees. Even though it was a minor storm, the unfortunate loss of 
life was major enough to catch the attention of locals as well as the country.

The increase in tornadoes continued
 this year with violent storms breaking out sporadically in Dixie Alley and
 Tornado Alley. On June 21, Extreme Weather Storm Chasing storm chaser Forrest 
Lambert and his team were caught in a few minutes of fury 60 miles from Grand
 Rapids, Iowa. “My first thoughts were, ‘are we going to see 
strong tornadoes and damaging winds from the storm?’” Lambert said.

Although the tornado was on the ground
 a few minutes, Lambert reported a shed with damage done to a side wall and a few trees were down but there was no loss of life in the area. “Emotions
 run higher after the storm because you never know if anyone has died in the
 storm after it strikes, and storm chasers are normally first to arrive after a
 storm has hit a town,” Lambert stated.

Tornadoes are very frightening to
 experience but what people see after the storms strike is the scariest scene of
 all. Trees can be snapped in two, houses can be completely moved from 
their foundations and due to not taking safety measures, loss of life can
occur. “Before finding out about the woman at the hospital, I felt this
sense of worry because I had no idea what happened, but at the same time, I was
 glad I was in a safe enough distance to be alright,” Lane says of his
 experience.

Story on NOLA.com

Tell-Tale Signs

[HAMMOND]-As awkward silence occurs, people generally get a gut feeling in regard to the worst that could happen or take place. As severe weather creates this feeling, people cannot help but look at what is going on around them in the atmosphere. The minute the skies grow dark and nothing can be heard for miles, it is then time to watch for more signals in the sky and along the ground, especially when a tornado is in progress.

Incoming Spring Storm

Tornadoes are already viewed as one of nature’s most violent forms of weather, and aside from tornadoes themselves, the signs indicating they are about to touch down in a general area could be far worse than the second they touch the ground. During severe thunderstorms, tornadoes are generally accompanied by pouring rain, low, howling winds, violent lightning and hailstones.



While most signs are obvious, the main one that people should have their eye on is the one that happens in a clear line of view within a thunderstorm. Extreme Weather coordinator and storm chaser Forrest Lambert says, “The most prominent sign to look for is lots of rotation and a funnel cloud that comes down.” People tend to let the blinds be pulled over their eyes when rotation is in progress, but the minute a funnel gets started, they are quick to grab a camera and head outside rather than taking shelter.

As a tornado approaches, they can be hidden within rain and may blindside residents in an instant. Other times, a tornado can be standing alone when there is no rain at all. Skywarn storm spotter Autumn Hartman said, “The rotation is found usually by looking at the base of the storm where there is no rain. Most storms usually have low, hanging wall clouds in the precipitation-free area of the storm in which tornadoes usually develop.”

Rotation within a thunderstorm can be weak at times, generating smaller and less damaging tornadoes. At other times, rotation can be powerful, creating the most violent tornadoes on record. “Rotation develops from wind shear inside of the storm. You gotta have wind shear in order for tornadoes to form,” Lambert said. Hartman said, “Rotation happens throughout the storm. You have rotating updrafts, mesocyclones and in a whole, tornadoes are just a tiny part of rotation in thunderstorms.”

Hail, lightning and howling winds can be pretty fierce when it comes to tornado development, but in the end, the rotation wins the competition by a landslide. “Because most people don’t keep their eye out for it, when they see something that resembles a tornado, they get excited and put in a false report which can cause panic in the general public,” Hartman stated. Rotation can happen so fast that storm chasers, storm spotters and meteorologists have to be on guard at all times watching signs where a tornado is in progress or on the ground.

The general public can put themselves in danger attempting to get a closer look at an approaching severe storm, but when it is all said and done, those getting the information on the storms are at the highest risk. Lambert said, “Chasers and spotters are most likely to see the most damage because while everyone else is taking shelter, they’re out there to warn people and the National Weather Service about what they see in the field.” In this case, storm spotters and storm chasers are the informants of the field, and even in the worst of times, they still stand strong as a unit for the general public.

Location is also a factor in terms of who sees the most damage before a tornado touches down. “In the field, if it’s a highly populated area, vehicles and homes will see the most damage. However, if the storm is out in the middle of nowhere surrounded by chasers and spotters, they will see the most damage from hail and potentially be struck by lightning. It all depends on the location of the storm,” Hartman says.

Tornadoes can definitely bark a lot worse than they can bite, but evaluating the concept of severe storms in general, all of the signs that point to their arrival are just as dangerous. Anyone is open to be struck by lightning if they are in the wrong place or even pelted by hail hard enough to leave dents and small cuts and bruises behind. Once the calm before the storm arrives, people should keep open eyes and ears out for all tell-tale signs of tornadoes before it is too late to take necessary precautions.

Hail Damage

Tornado Signs Story on NOLA.com

A Mind Blowing Experience

By Jana Foggan; Edited by Angela Fontenot

As the dark storm clouds began to fill the skies, everything suddenly became quiet. People began to see clouds spiral out of the sky into a funnel and makes its way towards the ground. At that moment people become worried and prepared to take immediate action once the tornado started on its treacherous path.

Tornadic Storm in Hammond

NOTE: This video was filmed for experience purposes ONLY! DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME!

One of the key steps in the event of a tornado is taking shelter. Much of Louisiana is known for being under sea level and it is nearly impossible to have basements unless people lived close to Mount Driskill in the north central portion of the state. Otherwise, the best idea to be protected from the storm is to get into the lowest level of a structure such as a closet or the interior of a bathroom, and cover up to protect from debris.

Tornadoes, like hurricanes, are a form of nature’s most destructive phenomenon known to man. While tornadoes are not frequent, it is still good to know enough about them, including the necessary preparations.

Tornadoes tend to scare most people, but at the same time, they can be quite exciting for thrill seekers.
Skywarn storm spotter Autumn Hartman says, “My first thoughts are I go grab the camera and get outside to spot and take pictures.” Tornadoes amaze some people; however, if they get too close the experience can be quite frightening.

When storm chasers are viewed on television, they are viewed as asking to be killed in the most serious of situations. Although they show no fear on the camera, the anxiety is definitely bottled up inside. “I think the scariest moment is when it gets very quiet and calm," said Hartman. "You stand there looking around, and then from out of nowhere you begin to hear the winds pick up and the rain begins to pour.”

Tornadoes are quite unpredictable. The storms can cause people to have a sense of panic and worry.
Kansas resident Ashley Wilson stated, “Prior to, you feel concerned about the weather as you are anticipating the worst at the same time."

Tornadoes are known to stay on the ground anywhere from a few minutes up to hours depending on the severity of the storm. People look for the light at the end of the tunnel once the storm has passed.
Hartman stated, “I feel calm because that means most times I can finish what I was doing earlier or go to bed.”

As we gain a better understanding of how tornadoes behave, it is also good to know the psychological factors that come with experiencing storms.
People may experience several different things during tornadoes and severe storms, but what matters the most is that they are prepared and aware of the factors before, during and after the storm.

It's Not Just Kansas Anymore

By Jana Foggan and edited by Alexandra Hedrick and Terri Taylor

Everyone knows the catchy tune of “Dixieland” as a song of pride of the South. When skies begin to thicken with strong storms, hail and bubbling, dark green clouds, anyone can bet that once the few sirens or severe weather alerts ring, they definitely would not wish they were "away down south in Dixie.” The reason that people feel this way about incoming severe weather in the southern part of the country can be described in two words: Dixie Alley, located in the southeastern United States.

Dixie Alley, located in the southeast, appears to be the latest target for tornadoes in the United States. The name Dixie Alley derived from a devastating tornado outbreak that occured in 1971 in the Mississippi Delta, which caused several tornadoes to rip through the Southeast.

Dixie Alley is relatively smaller in size compared to Tornado Alley and is located in the heart of the Southeast. The area includes Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas and the upper Tennessee valley in northern Alabama, all of which comprise Dixie Alley's "hot spot."

Another quality of Dixie Alley is that on average, more tornadoes touch down in this region than anywhere else in the country. According to ABC 33 meteorologist James Spann, Dixie Alley has twice as many killer tornadoes in the region which may be based on the inhabitants of the area.

Dixie Alley also sees more tornadoes year-round. However, these tornadoes are mainly in the fall and winter months due to intense frontal systems that pass through the area, causing a great deal of damage and cooler temperatures.

A vast majority of the country hears about tornadoes touching down or being spawned off of supercell thunderstorms in Dixie Alley more frequently than those that occur in the plains of Tornado Alley. In the Southeast alone, there were more reports of EF-5 tornadoes, the strongest and most violent on record from a scale of zero to five, between January 1950 and October 2006.

Forrest Lambert from Extreme Weather Storm Chasing said, “There’s three, not four ingredients. The thunderstorm is the so-called mom to the tornado. That would be called the thunderstorm offspring. The three ingredients are moisture, instability and lift.”

When it all comes down to it, Dixie Alley really is not all that different from the midwestern Tornado Alley. The main differences are the locations of the two, their population barriers and time of year that tornadoes are apparent.

Spann said the number of the most violent tornadoes ranging from EF-3 to EF-5 is about the same in both regions. Both have frequent tornadoes during November and December and strong tornadoes that occur at any time, especially during the evening and overnight.

“Dixie Alley sees more powerful tornadoes in the fall and wintertime than Tornado Alley sees in the spring and summertime,” Lambert said.

One of the most important factors that come with severe storms and tornadoes is the devastation left behind. Most tornadoes strike in Dixie Alley during the late night hours and catch several people off guard. Tornadoes are most likely to strike where there are manufactured homes in densely populated areas, leading to higher fatalities with little or no warning.

Even though Louisiana is not known for tornadoes and severe weather besides hurricanes, it is still important for the public to learn more about the atmosphere as well as the area they live in, especially down in Dixie Alley. Tornadoes are also likely to strike even when there is a slight chance for them to occur in the area.

Whether the time of year is at the dead heat of the summer or with the ever -- changing fall weather, people in Dixie Alley can really afford to let their guard down. Once residents of Dixie Alley become more aware and make the proper preparations for these dangerous storms, they will enjoy life “living in the land of cotton."





Dixie Alley Story on NOLA.com

Tangipahoa: The Tornado Target

By Jana Foggan; Edited by Amanda Lee and Kali Johnson



HAMMOND-Strong, violent thunderstorms passing through the area make a path for dark green skies, which is unusual for several people. All is quiet, except for the emergency alerts heard on car radios and television sets. For miles, nothing is in sight until a medium-sized funnel cloud appears and starts twisting and rotating to the earth below.

Jana Foggan-Cumulonimbus clouds, or thunderheads (shown here), is the start of most tornadoes.

This image is one generally seen in the event of the most violent natural disaster known to the human race: the tornado. Tornadoes are violently rotating columns of air that extend to the ground from the most severe thunderstorms on our planet: the supercell thunderstorm. While Louisiana is not located in the Great Plains region, the state has seen its fair share of violent thunderstorms as well as tornadoes.

During the regular tornado season, storms tend to form during the spring and summer months. In Louisiana, storms can form anywhere at any given time. The hottest spot in the state tends to be Tangipahoa Parish located in southeastern Louisiana.

Natives of Louisiana can say that they have never seen or heard a tornado up close and personal, but Paula Brooks, 2007 Southeastern Louisiana University alum, has had her fair share of experiencing the wrath of Hammond's weather during her time at Southeastern. "I often hear of tornadoes in areas near water such as Orleans, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, and Lake Charles," Brooks said about the tornado hot spot regions.

While tornadoes are not as common in the Southeast as they would be in Oklahoma, Texas, or Kansas, it is still very important for the people of Hammond and surrounding areas to know about these vicious storms and the necessary precautions needed in the event of a storm. People who live in the Great Plains could tell all of the warning signs, but very few could tell you warning sights and sounds other than from the television alerts. Brooks stated, "The sky is often strange looking, dark, and funny colored when there is a danger of tornadoes. Large hail can often be an indicator as well. Low swirling clouds are definitely a tornado in the making."

From Brooks' experiences with commuting to and from Southeastern's campus from Gonzales and Baton Rouge, the sights and sounds of a tornado in progress can be amazing yet frightening. Tornadoes often leave people wondering what they should do or where to go since no one in the state, especially in and around Hammond, have basements they can run to for safety. "Tornado awareness is very important because it can save someone's life. It is important in the Hammond area because Tangipahoa is often affected by severe weather and tornadoes, and there are thousands of students on Southeastern's campus. Tornadoes usually occur with little or no warning so it is important for people to know what to do and where to go when one is approaching," said Brooks.

The advice given by Brooks should not be taken for granted, especially if students, faculty, and life long residents are in the Hammond area. Louisiana does not have warning systems such as sirens as several people would find in the Midwest, but Brooks suggested excellent methods that could save more lives not just for people in Tangipahoa but for those living elsewhere in the Southeast and throughout the country where tornadoes are not as frequent. "Towns should have an alarm system that sounds when a tornado is approaching. The emergency broadcast system is a good method of warning the public through television and radio. People should stay indoors and avoid going outside and seek shelter behind walls and avoid rooms with glass," Brooks said.

It may be easy for natives to take notice to the tornado warning signs, but for some individuals, it may not be as easy. There will always be a group of people in particular who may not be able to get out or know where to go in case a tornado strikes. In that group of people, Brooks states that the elderly, those who live in mobile homes and trailers, and the physically impaired are at the greatest risk during these storms.

Several people never knew that Tangipahoa in particular was a magnet for tornadoes in Louisiana. However, everyone living in the entire state should take heed to the warnings and signs in order for them to be safe and know exactly what to look for. Tornadoes may not be as common here, but as time moves forward, the storms will be more frequent, and more eyes should watch the skies and be prepared as Tangipahoa Parish continues to be a tornado target.


NOLA.com story