In the Loop: September 12, 2008 Archive

National Weather Service warns of..."certain death?"

Posted at 9:55 AM on September 12, 2008 by Jeff Horwich (3 Comments)

Yup. The weather bureaucrats are not mincing words talking about Hurricane Ike hitting Texas.

At first I thought the phrasing was a warning from Texas politicians trying to play it safe and cover their butts.

But no, the "certain death" line comes from the usually staid National Weather Service:

PERSONS NOT HEEDING EVACUATION ORDERS IN SINGLE FAMILY ONE OR TWO STORY HOMES WILL FACE CERTAIN DEATH. MANY RESIDENCES OF AVERAGE CONSTRUCTION DIRECTLY ON THE COAST WILL BE DESTROYED. WIDESPREAD
AND DEVASTATING PERSONAL PROPERTY DAMAGE IS LIKELY ELSEWHERE. VEHICLES LEFT BEHIND WILL LIKELY BE SWEPT AWAY. Read the whole NWS warning here.

I gather it's going to be quite a storm.

But to me, hearing that people who stay behind "will face certain death" suggests the National Weather Service will be making the rounds when the wind dies down, putting a bullet in your head if they find you in your house.

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