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The Mighty Mother Nature: A Children’s Guide to Weather Safety

Tag Words: weather; weather safety; kids; children; ethics; science; book

Authors: Jacob Carlin, Jenny Kafka, Giana Pietrafesa with Julie Fagan, Ph.D.

Summary

This project is made in an attempt to increase weather safety awareness. It begins with a short narration of the lack of weather safety education provided for kids. It provides an overview of a children’s book written to tackle this issue by providing children ages 8-11 with the safety tips they would need in case of a event. In addition, the book includes related definitions with fun and interesting facts about each weather phenomena, along with its link to change. The video showcases some of the pages of the book while demonstrating some of the safety procedures that should be acted upon for each weather event.

Video Link

Weather Safety: http://youtu.be/o_zEiZxtK_8

Weather Safety Education Is Lacking

(JK) We’ve probably all shared a similar nightmare; we wake up one night to find our home, our family, our life – torn apart by the voracious winds of a roaring . We are completely helpless, except in our ability to move ourselves and our children into the safety of a shelter or an interior bathroom, as the winds destroy everything. In that moment, we only pray that the whirling of wind and debris leaves our children alone. Dreams like these, although completely terrifying, usually end up with some sort of happy ending, but what about in real life?

What happens when that same scenario occurs during the day? When hard working parents or guardians are slaving away at their jobs until long after the sun sets and their children have come home from school? What happens when two completely different air masses collide, and a volatile environment erupts, creating a super cell ? And then what happens when that super cell thunderstorm births a deadly tornado, which is headed straight towards your house and your unaware children? They won’t know what to do or how to react without their parents’ help, especially if they have never been educated in a situation such as this one. The warning bells are nothing more than a musical tune; the flashing lights on the screen are nothing more than flashing lights because maybe they cannot read yet? Or maybe they don’t realize the impeding danger from a tornado warning? By the time the first window blows in, it’s probably too late. And this isn’t a dream; it’s real life. There’s no waking up.

In a society that has had a tendency to overstress cleanliness and safety, starting at a young age in a child’s educatory years, you would think that this education would also include safety relevant to weather, especially considering the current trend in the climate, but in many instances, this is not the case. While there are, in fact, some current measures in place to educate children about the importance of being safe and what to do in extreme weather events, these measures do not do a good job at encompassing the entire school district of the United States. It can be argued that educating some is better than educating none, but it is also true that educating more children is even better than just some children.

The problem is not that the data out there is bad; the problem is that the data out there does not reach a wide enough audience. One company can only do so much; one person can only cover so much territory. When one goes to the store to buy bread, there is not but one option, there are dozens. One bread company alone would not be able to fulfill the demand of the public. Similarly, one company with one distribution effort to educate today’s children on weather safety would not be able to reach out to all of the schools. Just like there are countless brands of bread to choose from at the store, there should also be countless different tools, booklets, brochures, and companies who devote their time to raising awareness in today’s children. It’s not a competition to decide who has the best booklet or the best means by which to educate about weather safety, it’s about making sure that there are enough means so that every single child has a chance to hear about the dangers of weather and what to do in a severe weather situation.

The (NWS) has done a fantastic job at crafting a weather safety coloring book called Watch Out… Ahead! for children, featuring their animalistic main character, Owlie Skywarn, who leads the way into each new discussion of a handful of severe weather events (1). This coloring book, which is not only entertaining for children, is also very educational, and has a lot of great information relevant to weather safety.

The About NOAA Education webpage applauds the National Weather Service for “providing weather, climate and water information to teachers and students, grades K-12” each year to 2,500 schools (2), but while this number might sound impressive, it is actually quite miniscule when placed in the same scale as the entire United States. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, there were a total of 98,706 elementary and secondary schools in the United States during the 2008-2009 school year (3). When compared to this number, 2,500 schools are only 2.53% of all the elementary and secondary schools in the United States. The other 97.47% of schools don’t get any visit from the National Weather Service.

As great of a product that Watch Out…Storms Ahead! is, the bottom line is that its distribution not enough. From a numbers point of view, 2,500 schools is a huge number for just one organization to cover, but from a statistics point of view, 2.53% is a poor grade. In order to visit 2,500 schools each year, this would be mean that the NWS visits over 13 different schools a day for every day, based upon a 180 day school year. This alone requires a huge amount of resources for the NWS, and yet they still only cover 2.53% of all schools. Therefore, this is not a problem about quality of education, it’s a problem about quantity. There needs to be more organizations and more companies who stress weather safety education and who make it one of their goals to educate today’s children. The National Weather Service cannot do it alone.

So why is it so important to provide weather safety education in the classroom? There are two main reasons as to why modern day children need to be educated in weather safety. First, there is an alarming abundance of latch key children, who return home from school to an empty house, and second, the current warming trend of the Northern Hemisphere has been linked to an increased number of extreme weather events per year, putting children, and everyone else, at a higher risk of experiencing one of those events.

One could argue that it is the parent’s job to teach their children what to do in the event of a weather related crisis, but what about for those children who don’t have the luxury of having a stay-at-home parent and who often come home from school to an empty house or apartment? These are the latch key children. The term, latch key children, first came about during the Second World War, when women were forced to go work at the factories while the men were overseas, fighting the battles. Since the hours at the factories were long, children often got home before their mothers, and so mothers would tie house keys around their children’s neck, coining the term, “latch key” children (4).

While that war might be over, there are still many mothers (and fathers) who work full time jobs in order to support their household, and so once again, children are being left home alone at very young ages. “According to the U.S. census, one third of all school age children in the United States are, for some part of the week, latch key kids; that is, they go home to an empty house or apartment” (4). This number can also be as high as 40% (5), and includes children between the ages of 5 and 13 (6), ages during which children should be supervised. In many cases, the parents are struggling so much to make ends meet that these children are left completely unsupervised all afternoon long, because the cost of childcare is either too high or there is none available (6).

In these homes, there are no parents present or able to provide weather safety education. Since there is not a large emphasis on the importance of weather safety information to begin with, and because the parents are so tired when they finally do come home, these children are left clueless in the event of a weather disaster. Therefore, this education must be done in schools in order to guarantee that all children receive the same information and have equal opportunities and chances to survive a weather disaster.

An even more alarming statistic is that roughly half of the children aged between 12 and 14 are left home alone for a period of at least 7 hours a week (4). While 7 hours may seem like such an inconsequential amount, it can actually be the difference between life and death in a child’s life. The touchdown of a tornado can take just minutes; death from can occur in less than an hour, a fatal strike from a bolt of can take just a second. Without proper weather safety education, these children are left at risk, even for those 7 hours.

Besides the issue of latch key children, there is also the issue that planet earth is currently undergoing some significant changes to its climate. For the past 50 years, average temperatures have been rising at the fastest rate in recorded history, with the 10 hottest years on record occurring since 1990 (7). This general warming isn’t just giving beach goers more days to go surfing and sun bathe, but it is also having some serious effects on the climate and the weather. has already caused serious damage in the United States. In 2002, States like Colorado, Arizona, and Oregon had their worst ever, and during that same year, states like Texas, Montana, and North Dakota had some of their worst floods (7).

With all of these extreme events occurring more frequently and at record-breaking levels, it’s even more important that school children are taught about weather safety. This increase in extreme weather events means that more and more children are at risk every day, and thus there is even more reason to improve the implementation of weather safety education in elementary and secondary schools.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, there will be more heat spells and fatal heat waves, more heavy events (which will be correlated to more flooding), more droughts, more intense hurricanes, and some of the highest sea level readings recorded (which will also be correlated to more flooding) in the United States over the next decade because of global climate change (8). With nearly unanimous consensus that the planet’s climate is in fact changing drastically, it is becoming increasingly more important that we prepare our children for the worst, which includes how to react to severe weather events.

Extreme weather may soon become more of a regular occurrence and less of an extreme one. It’s imperative that weather safety education begins to reach a broader audience, and this cannot be done by one or two organizations alone. The demand is too high, and only through teamwork and a large network can full national coverage be achieved. Our children are at risk, and we need to prepare them for what happens outside; we need to prepare them for the weather.

Extreme Weather Hazards

(JC) Extreme heat is the number one weather-related killer in the United States, killing more people than all other weather hazards combined (9). Approximately 175 deaths a year, on average, are attributed to heat (13), although particular heat episodes have been responsible for much higher fatality counts. In 2003, Europe experienced its warmest since at least 1540 A.D. (10), and while official death tolls are unknown, estimates range from 40,000-70,000 casualties, with France being hit particularly hard (11). The United States is more acquainted with extreme heat than Europe, but devastating heat waves still occur. In 1980, more than 1,300 lives were claimed across the Midwestern United States in a that caused more than $16 billion in damage, primarily to crops and livestock (12 - Posey 1980). A 1995 heatwave that struck the Northern Plains area claimed more than 1,000 lives, with 465 deaths in Chicago alone between July 11th and 27th (13). There is evidence that along with extreme day time temperatures, high overnight low temperatures exacerbate the stress on the human body as there is no overnight relief from temperatures. This is worsened within urban areas, where the effect prevents overnight low temperatures from dropping as low as their rural counterparts (??).

Because different regions of the United States have different climatologies, there is no nationwide definition for what constitutes ‘extreme heat’. The American Meteorological Society glossary defines a heat wave as “a period of abnormally an uncomfortably hot and usually humid weather”, though in some regions of the country, including the Northeast, a heat wave must have three consecutive days with temperatures reaching or exceeding 90F (14). Criteria may be lower in regions where extreme heat is less frequent. Excessive Heat Watches are issued when an excessive heat event is likely within the next 12 to 48 hours (9), and Excessive Heat Warnings and Advisories are issued “when an excessive heat event is occurring, is imminent, or has a very high probability of occurring” (9). These products take into account the , a measure of how hot the air feels to a human due to relative . In addition, the air temperature is taken in shady conditions; full sunshine can increase heat index values by up to 15F (9).

As (13) states, extreme heat, when compared with localized severe weather events like tornadoes, is relatively easy to predict in advance. This has led the National Weather Service to conclude that “many, if not all, of the heat-related deaths associated with [the 1995 Chicago heatwave] were preventable” and that “despite timely NWS warnings, forecasts, advisories, and statements and effective media coverage of the event, this information either failed to reach the public or was not used effectively[.]” (13). The general public’s complacency when it comes to responding to extreme heat is due to their general view that extreme heat is an inconvenience rather than a public health emergency (13). This causes the public to not take warnings, however well placed and predicted, seriously enough, leading to an unfortunately high level of casualties. Reducing extreme heat casualties will require a paradigm shift by the general public from one of apathy to one of awareness of extreme heat and its attendant concerns.

Extreme heat safety procedures are as follows (9): never leave children unattended in cars for any period of time, even with the windows down, as temperatures can reach over 120F in short order; restrict outdoor activities to the coolest time of the day and try to remain in air- conditioned locations; wear light-colored clothing to help reflect sunlight; and most importantly, drink plenty of non-alcoholic, non-caffeinated fluids to prevent dehydration. If experiencing heat cramps, heat exhaustion (heavy sweating, weakness, dehydration, and vomiting) or (extremely high body temperature, possible unconsciousness), seek medical attention immediately.

Floods Flash floods are one of nature’s deadliest phenomena. On average for the last 30 years, 92 people were killed annually by flash floods (12), almost half of which occurred in vehicles (27). 6 inches of water can sweep a person off their feet, and just 1 to 2 feet of water can lift a vehicle off the road. Areas near streams and other waterways are most at risk for flash flooding (27), but floods can be caused by rainfall at an upstream point that then washes downstream. In addition, mountainous areas are at risk due to enhanced runoff. Floods are often worsened by the failures of dams and levees. In 1972, the Buffalo Creek Dam in West Virginia collapsed, killing more than 100 people and leaving homeless more than 4,000 (27). Flash floods can be caused by tropical (even well inland), stationary or ‘training’ , ice jams, or rapid snowmelt. Tropical cyclones can, in some cases, drop 20-40 inches of , causing deadly flooding.

The most important thing to remember is to never drive through flooded areas no matter how shallow the water looks. The force of flowing water is much stronger than most people realize. Heed all watches and warnings and have an escape route planned ahead of time. Know which roads in your area flood. Keep prescriptions and first-aid medication on hand as well as a full tank of gas (27). Heed all evacuation orders.

Tornadoes Tornadoes are some of nature’s most violent weather phenomena. These rapidly rotating columns of air can have wind speeds that exceed 250 mph (16). In an average year, tornadoes cause 80 fatalities and over 1,500 injuries, though this is highly variable from year to year (16). Although tornado fatalities have been declining due to better warnings in recent years, they do still occur. 2011 presented a stark reminder of the damage tornadoes can cause: 522 fatalities occurred, an amount comparable to the previous ten years combined (17). This is the second most fatalities for a given year in history, behind 1925. The sobering events in the Joplin, Missouri tornado remind us that despite our technological advances, safety is not guaranteed.

Most tornadoes are weak, with winds of less than 110 mph and account for less than 5% of deaths (17). While only 2% of all tornadoes are considered violent, with winds in excess of 205 mph, these are the tornadoes that are responsible for over 70% of all tornado fatalities. However, tornado strength cannot be estimated by its appearance, as damage surveys are used to estimate a tornado’s strength, so it is important to treat every tornado as a serious threat. Many myths persist amongst the public about tornadoes and tornado safety, such as the idea that overpasses are safe shelters and that tornadoes avoid rivers, cities, and are attracted to mobile homes. Another myth is that tornadoes only occur in the Great Plains; tornadoes have been observed in every state (18). Despite the popular public image of a tornado, some tornadoes are invisible until debris is lofted and some tornadoes are rain-wrapped, making identifying them difficult (17). The climatological peak for tornadoes is between 4 and 9PM (18), a time when children are often home alone while their parents are at work. For example, the Joplin, MO tornado hit at approximately 5:30PM CDT. Our book would seek to address these issues to hopefully clear up misconceptions as well as increase tornado safety knowledge amongst children who may be home alone in the late afternoon during peak tornado time.

Tornado safety procedures are as follows (15): immediately seek shelter in an underground room or basement; if a basement is not available, a central, interior, windowless room is the next best option; residents of mobile homes should seek shelter in a sturdy building; if caught outside and interior shelter cannot be sought, attempt to drive to a sturdy shelter. If this is not possible, buckle the seatbelt and lower your head as far below window level as is possible. In the event that none of the above is possible, lay flat with your head covered in a roadway ditch below the road level to attempt to avoid flying debris. Under no circumstance should one wait for visual confirmation of a tornado. Never use a highway overpass as shelter from a tornado – winds can be funneled under the overpass and be even worse than they otherwise would have been.

Lightning Lightning fatalities, while not the most common weather-related casualties, are some of the most preventable. While overall lightning fatalities have been on a downward trend, the most recent 10-year average indicates that 39 people are killed annually by lightning (20), although hundreds are injured (21). In 2010, 48% of lightning fatalities occurred in outdoor, open areas, 80% of lightning fatalities were males (24), and children aged 10-19 were the most likely to be struck by lightning (19). Florida features the most lightning strikes per square mile (14), although it occurs nationwide with approximately 25 million lightning strikes in the United States each year (21). In general, if you are close enough to hear thunder, you are at risk for being hit by lightning. However, lightning has been known to exit out of the top of thunderstorms and strike miles from its origin, known as a “bolt from the blue”. Thunder is caused by the rapid expansion of air due to a lightning strike, which is approximately 50,000F, five times hotter than the surface of the sun (21). Because of this, all thunderstorms, by definition, contain lightning. Lightning will tend to strike the tallest object within a given range, so it is no surprise that large open areas are most responsible for lightning fatalities.

Although the National Weather Service does not issue alerts specifically for lightning, there are generally statements issued for thunderstorm activity which, by definition, include lightning. The National Weather Service attributes many of the casualties and injuries caused by lightning in the United States to taking too long to take action, as many victims are in the process of seeking shelter when they are struck. There is absolutely no safe place outdoors during a thunderstorm (24). Lightning safety procedures suggest going indoors when there is a risk of being struck by lightning (21). Once inside a building, avoid using electronic devices and stay away from sinks and water sources. If a building is not available, a metal-topped car will provide protection. Do not use electronic devices while inside a vehicle. Any vehicle that is not covered by a metal roof will not provide protection. Rubber-soled shoes do not provide protection from lightning. If someone is struck by lightning, they do not carry a charge; call 911 immediately for help (24). If absolutely no indoor shelter is available, crouch down, placing the head between the knees, trying to avoid being the tallest object in the vicinity. Stay away from metal objects.

Thunderstorms Although tornadoes, flash flooding and lightning are associated with thunderstorms, thunderstorms also present risks from straight line winds and . Hail refers to conglomerated or layered balls of ice that result from thunderstorms. These can exceed the size of grapefruits and every year cause more than $1 billion in crop and property damage (24). Hail can fall at over 100 mph, proving to be dangerous for anyone caught outdoors during a hailstorm. In June 2003, the largest hailstone ever recorded was found in Aurora, Nebraska, measuring 7 inches in diameter – almost the size of a soccer ball! (24) Straight-line winds are responsible for most thunderstorm wind damage and can exceed 125 mph (24). As with other thunderstorm hazards, stay indoors and away from windows until the storm passes to minimize the risk from blowing debris.

Hurricanes Tropical cyclones pose a multi-faceted threat to those they are impacting, including severe wind, freshwater flooding from rainfall, tornadoes, and . A hurricane is defined as a tropical with winds in excess of 74 mph, with major hurricanes having winds in excess of 111 mph. On average, the United States is struck by 1-2 hurricanes a year, with 1 major hurricane every 2 years (25). Since hurricanes rapidly weaken once they make landfall, the major threat for hurricanes is along the immediate , although the risk from freshwater flooding continues well inland. Storm surge is, by far, the greatest threat to coastal communities during a hurricane. Due to the hurricane’s winds and pressure, water can rise more than 20 feet and sweep steadily inland, destroying everything in its path (25). This can often compound with astronomical tide, exacerbating the effects of the storm surge. was found to produce a 27-foot storm surge in Mississippi in 2005 (25). The 30-year average fatality rate is 47 fatalities per year, but this is highly variable: many years feature no fatalities, while 2005 featured 1016 fatalities (20). According to Ed Rappaport at the National Hurricane Center, “50% of deaths associated with tropical cyclones are a result of inland flooding over the last 30 years” (27).

When evaluating hurricane forecasts, it is vital to focus on the cone of uncertainty, rather than the center line of the cone, as everywhere within the cone is at risk from the hurricane. Because hurricanes occur on longer timescales than other hazardous weather threats, there is generally time to prepare for them. It is vital that evacuation orders are followed; failing to do so can put oneself in a life-threatening situation. If not ordered to evacuate, board up windows with plywood and have flashlights, batteries, medications, first aid supplies, bottled water (1 gallon per person per day) and non-perishable items, as electricity may not be restored for weeks afterwards. Locations that are frequently ordered to evacuate include mobile homes, low lying coastal areas, and high rise buildings, as winds are much stronger aloft than they are at the surface. Maintain a radio with you during your sheltering to stay abreast of the latest updates. Do not venture out of your shelter during the calm “eye” of the storm, as the backside will move back in very rapidly and potentially catch you off guard. Ride out the storm in a small interior room away from windows. After the storm, use flashlights (not open flames) to inspect damage, stay away from downed power lines, stay away from any areas with any water on them, do not use tap water until it has been deemed safe, and only re-enter areas once they have officially been deemed safe.

Blizzards In an average year, nearly 50 people are killed by exposure to cold or weather (20). 70% of fatalities are due to attempted travel during and/or ice (26), and another 25% are due to people caught outside during the storm. are defined as snowstorms with winds of at least 35 mph and visibilities below ¼ miles for at least 3 consecutive hours (26). However, a storm need not be defined as a to present a hazard. In addition, and sleet present ice hazards that can make traveling deadly. Extreme cold presents a hazard as well, with frostbite able to occur in just 30 minutes when windchills reach -20F. Similar to the heat index, the windchill is a measure of how cold the air feels to exposed skin. Hypothermia can result when the body temperature drops below 95F and, if not fatal, often leaves long lasting health consequences. 50% of cold-related fatalities occur to those 60 years or older and 20% of these fatalities occur inside the home.

When treating a person who has experienced severe cold, warm the body’s core first, as warming the extremities can cause cold blood to head back to the heart and cause heart failure. Do not offer a person hot food or beverages right away. Similar to other events, a watch is issued when winter weather conditions are possible in the next 36-48 hours, and an advisory or warning, depending on severity, is issued when the event is occurring or imminent. Avoid traveling during the storm and have emergency supplies, including first aid, food, and water, on hand both in your vehicle and at home.

Mighty Mother Nature: A Children’s Guide to Weather Safety

(GP) At age 10 would you know what to do if you were home alone during a severe thunderstorm, or even worse if a tornado were headed your way? It is unfortunate that so many children are uneducated about the weather, and consequently many opportunities to remain safe are not acted upon. Our present society reflects this idea in that many adults are also naïve about weather knowledge and its safety. As a result, many deaths continue to occur year after year from tornadoes, floods, and thunderstorms that could have been avoided had the victims knew more about some safety precautions. It is important to realize that to learn any subject in general is typically more effective when the learning is done at a young age. The National Weather Service’s attempt to educate children about the weather has not gone very far in that the coloring books they have constructed are not circulated very well and many people do not even realize they exist. Our approach to better educating the public on weather safety is a unique solution that will teach the kids while still engaging them with fun.

Our solution to greatly improving weather safety knowledge begins with the creation of a children’s book titled The Mighty Mother Nature: A Children’s Guide to Weather Safety. The age group which the book is aiming for is within the 8 to 12 year old range, and is geared towards children who already have some curiosity about the weather, or who simply enjoy reading about little known, yet interesting, facts. With many different weather events to cover such as heat, thunderstorms, snow, and tornadoes, to name a few, we go through each event and have assigned three sections to each of them. These three sections encompass the introduction, facts, and safety information. In total, the book is approximately 20 pages.

Each weather event portion begins with an introductory scenario that will set the stage for the factual information. For example, with the book opening up into two halves, the left side contains a few sentences of a story in which a cartoon character is in a situation where the event is occurring. This will make many of the weather hazards relatable to children so that they can put themselves in the shoes of the character. In turn, this relatable experience may make the information they receive more memorable in the case of an actual hazardous or tragic event. A color picture will also be provided on this page, illustrating the scenario that the character is in. Next, on the right hand side of the page, information is split into a factual area and a safety area. The factual portion includes unique bits of information about the spoken event that any kid interested in nature would find intriguing. This is done in an easy-to-read format, listing each fact as a bullet point. Then, within the safety section of the page, safety tips are provided in detail in a similar manner than that of the facts. This section will be the most important of each event in that the main objective of the entire book is to save as many lives as possible.

For the video portion of our service project, we have started with a narrative summary on the issue of lack of meteorological education. We incorporated statistics on annual deaths related to weather, and even addressed some common myths and misconceptions about the , weather phenomena, and safety precautions. For instance, upon researching, it has been discovered that for the year 2010, 490 deaths were attributed to weather events, along with over 2,000 injuries and illnesses. Extreme heat and flooding contributed to the most deaths, while tornadoes caused the most injury. The number of total death has increased from 373 in 2009. Even though only about 14% of the deaths occurred between the ages of 0 and 19, it must be realized that the adults need an education on weather just as much as children do (noaa.gov). As previously stated, the learning of any subject is typically more successful at a younger age. Hence, if we educate our kids better in the present time, they will grow up to be even more wise adults. Some common misconceptions about weather are; one should stand under a tree to keep dry in a thunderstorm, that thunder occurs when two air masses collide, that a mobile home is safe during tornadoes, that frost is frozen dew, that the “H” on weather maps stands for high temperatures, and that meteorologists study meteors and outer-space. All of these facts and issues can be presented in the introductory portion of our video, and can serve as a way to shock the audience on just how much society does not know about the importance of .

In the following part of our video, we have focused on the content of The Mighty Mother Nature. We have gone through the storyline of the book with the cartoon character and then we emphasized the most important points of the facts page along with the safety tips. We conclude the video by informing the viewers on how to obtain our book. By reading through the book on video, we can place emphasis on the main points of each section and add excitement to the facts that are particularly little-known or interesting.

Most children enjoy having something physical to hold onto to explore deeper into an object’s characteristics and concepts. With this idea in mind, instead of simply producing an ebook that can only be viewed online, we’ve decided to design print copies with the help of the office supply retailer, Staples. Using accessible 8x11 inch pieces of paper, we have typed up the content of the book; the storyline, facts, safety tips, and experiment procedures. The pictures are hand drawn and colored, and the cover page is laminated. Finally, the pages are spiral bound to keep the cost of production low.

In order to “advertise” our book and distribute it well to the public, we will work together with Rutgers University. Every year, the college hosts an Agricultural Field Day, also known as AG Field Day which supports the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences. At this field day, different academic programs and majors at the university have their own areas or tables in which they present the program or different clubs associated with the major. Across the campus there are also performances and exhibits suitable for any age. Coincidently, the meteorology club has a table reserved that they use every year to promote the program and the WeatherWatcher activity that enables students to go on-air on Rutgers Television to broadcast the weather. As a demonstration, they also have weather experiments set up at the table to attract future student scientists and weather enthusiasts. In order to promote not only the meteorology club but our book as well, we plan to sell The Mighty Mother Nature at this table. We estimate that approximately 30 copies of the book will be printed and will sell for about two or three dollars. This idea will be beneficial to us in the sense that the appropriate audience will be targeted. Since the event is mostly attended by high school seniors, college students, and families with small children, our book will be advertised in a prime environment to sell. Not only will there be students looking to gather different information on programs to choose a major, there will also be weather-interested adults and children looking for fun souvenirs to take home from the event. It is easy to see that the AG Field Day at Rutgers would be our best bet in educating young people on weather facts and safety.

Overall, kids are constantly looking for something new to read, explore, or play with. It seems obvious that the best way to educate them while still giving them this opportunity would be most effective. Our book, The Mighty Mother Nature will surely fulfill this sought out objective. In addition our book will be a primary tool to solving our problem of the lack of meteorology knowledge in society and will hopefully save lives in the long run.

References

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(20) - http://www.nws.noaa.gov/om/hazstats/images/71-years.pdf - No longer active?

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Vaisala's National Lightning Detection Network. Digital image. Vaisala, 2011. Web. .

"Thunderstorms, Tornadoes, Lightning..." A Preparedness Guide. U. S. Department of Commerce, 2010. Web. .

"Tropical Cyclones." A Preparedness Guide. U. S. Department of Commerce, Mar. 2012. Web. .

"Winter Storms: The Deceptive Killers." A Preparedness Guide. U. S. Department of Commerce, Dec. 2001. Web. .

"Floods: The Awesome Power." Floods: The Awesome Power. U. S. Department of Commerce, Mar. 2005. Web. .

Letters to the Editor

To whom it may concern,

Hello! My name is Jenny Kafka and I am a senior at Rutgers University in New Jersey, studying meteorology. In one of my classes, I am working on a group project where we have decided to write and illustrate a children's book about weather safety in extreme weather conditions (i.e. tornadoes, floods, extreme heat, etc). Our reasoning as to why we decided to do this is because there are not that many publications out there that address weather safety in a child friendly way.

In our research, we came across your children's coloring book entitled "Watch Out...Storm's Ahead! Owlie Skywarn's Weather Book". The National Weather Service has done a fantastic job on this publication and it is definitely child friendly and I'm sure many children enjoy coloring in the pages as they read about the weather. For our children's book, we decided to it differently, so that it wouldn't directly compete with your book and so that it would hopefully capture a different sort of child audience. Our book is not a coloring book, rather it is broken down into segments for each type of severe weather event, and then we have an illustrated picture of each weather scenario, featuring our main character, Sarah. After the picture, we have two pages of interesting weather facts regarding that severe weather event, following by a safety blurb, which tells children what to do in each situation.

Our research also showed the large number of latch key children (children who are left home alone for certain parts of the day as their parents work) that exist in the United States. Our goal is that children will read this for the interesting facts (what child doesn't like fun facts?), and in doing so, they will also read about the weather safety bullet points. Then, if they are ever in a situation without their parents when a storm hits, they will be able to do something productive and helpful.

The reason why I am writing the National Weather Service is because I think it would be really great if you could add this publication to your website as well. The addition of another type of children's publication can only help, not harm. The more children who learn about important weather safety tactics, the better. Of course, if you are interested, I would send you a copy of the book for you to look over, and then you can decide whether or not you would like to upload a pdf version onto the site, next to your Owlie Skywarn book.

Thank you so much for your time, and please let me know if you have any questions. I would be happy to answer them for you.

Sincerely, Jenny Kafka School of Environment and Biological Sciences Meteorology & French Rutgers University, Class of 2012

Sent To: The National Weather Service ([email protected])

I am writing to express my concern about the lack of weather safety education in the Jersey City Public School system. As a graduate of the Jersey City Public School system, a system of which I was a part of from Kindergarten through high school, I enjoyed a wide range of experiences that prepared me well for adult life. However, to my knowledge I was never made aware of weather safety procedures. I believe excluding this knowledge from the curriculum is a grave mistake.

Despite common belief, Jersey City is not immune from extreme weather events. A tornado swept through Downtown neighborhoods on August 24th, 1901, which according to the New York Times destroyed over 200 homes and caused an estimated $3.2 million in damages. In recent years, extreme weather has been even more common, with a series of damaging blizzards in the past few and storm systems like Hurricane Irene impacting the area. Just last summer, Newark Airport (Jersey City’s local weather reporting station) recorded its hottest temperature ever, reaching 108°F. Every year, many children are killed by lightning. These deaths are preventable. As the world continues to warm due to carbon dioxide emissions, the world’s leading scientists believe extreme weather will become more and more common, especially extreme heat and precipitation events.

Perhaps even more importantly, the number of “latchkey children” – children who come home from school to an empty house due to working parents – is increasing. Census data has shown that approximately one out of every three children return home to an empty house at some point during the week. Unfortunately, late afternoon is when severe weather is most likely to strike. This point was made all too clear as I watched an on-air meteorologist last in Tuscaloosa, Alabama desperately plead to children that were home-alone to take shelter, assuring them they would “get through it together”.

The National Weather Service does do outreach to schoolchildren, visiting approximately 2,500 schools each year. However, with nearly 100,000 primary and secondary schools nationwide, only a small fraction of schools benefit from these outreach efforts. I still remember safety lessons I received in Kindergarten about avoiding strangers, and the D.A.R.E. program I participated in sought to protect Jersey City’s young adults from drugs. A brief lesson in weather safety procedures for the wide variety of weather New Jersey can experience could go a long way in protecting our children from preventable harm.

Jacob Carlin

Sent To: The Jersey Journal (published on April 9th - attached!)

April 2, 2012

Keith Bowles Director, Customer Care Scholastic Inc. 557 Broadway New York, NY 10012

Dear Mr. Bowles,

My name is Giana Pietrafesa and I am a senior at Rutgers University. For a group project in an Ethics in Science class, we are required to create a solution to a problem in society. Every member of my group is majoring in meteorology, so the issue we decided to focus on was the idea that so many children lack weather education and weather safety information. After researching, we have discovered that one third of school-aged children come home to an empty house every week, since many parents are busy working in the tough economy. We know that most severe weather events tend to occur at this late afternoon part of the day, and have also found that the National Weather Service is only able to reach out to a little over two percent of schools in the United States per year. With that said, we have worked together to create a children’s book on weather safety.

Our book works to provide kids (ages 8-12) with the knowledge they would need to stay safe if they were home alone during a severe weather event. It also incorporates unique weather facts, definitions, and correlations to climate change to keep children engaged and to shed some light on the curiosity they may have about the world around them. Pictures will be hand-drawn to add a kid-friendly touch and some color to the pages. After laminating the pages, we plan to bind the book and make copies available at Rutgers Day, an annual family fair that introduces many university programs to the public. In addition, we feel it may be helpful to the Scholastic company to use our idea as a teaching tool on a larger scale. This would certainly help to broaden our horizon on the amount of children we educate and will help save lives throughout the entire country if more children receive meteorological education in a related manner. We hope our idea will helpful to further publications. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to contact me at [email protected]. Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

Giana Pietrafesa

Sent To: Scholastic Inc.