May 1, 2023
Dear Governor Tate Reeves, Lt. Governor Delbert Hosemann, Honorable Senators Lydia Chassaniol, Barbara Blackmon, Hob Ryan, and Chris McDaniel,
My name is Stan Dorroh and I am a storm chaser with North Mississippi Storm Chasers and Spotters (NMSCAS). I would like to ask for a few moments of your time to read and consider this letter. I know the tornadoes that devastated part of Mississippi on the night of March 24 are still etched into your memories and mine. The tragic scenes with loss of life and injuries that occurred in Rolling Fork, Silver City, Winona, Amory, and other locations will never be forgotten. This is especially true for me as I was at Silver City shortly after the tornado passed and saw firsthand the devastation it caused to that small community. I was assisting in the unfortunate futile efforts to save the life of two year old Aubree Green. The scenes of that night will haunt me forever.
That is why I am writing to you in hopes of seeking legislation to implement an idea from another one of our members (Ashton Lemley) and fine-tuned by Ashton, team VP, James Bishop, and myself. It is an idea we believe could provide invaluable lifesaving information at the fingertips of the National Weather Service and local news agencies to better upgrade warning information. We have all watched tower cams on local news channels during times of severe weather as they watch the sky from an elevated vantage point trying to see if a tornado is, or has already, developed. What we propose is to install cameras like those on cell phone towers across the state with access being granted to the National Weather Service offices and local news agencies. This would allow those in charge of creating and disseminating warning information to have the means to see if a tornado is on the ground well before it threatens a population center giving people time to take shelter.
As storm chasers for NMSCAS, we do our best to position ourselves to be able to provide this information to the relevant entities, but, as you are all too aware, the heavily forested terrain of MS often times makes that difficult or impossible to do. We still do our best even when that involves putting ourselves in positions to try to gain a view that is not always the safest option because of our desire to try to be able to provide that bit of life saving information. You also may have seen while watching weather reports the meteorologists using an option on radar that tracks debris being lofted to help in determining whether or not a tornado has touched down. While that is a great benefit of the new dual-pol radar capabilities, it also has its limitations. The radar beam is set at an angle with the lowest angle usually being 0.5o in elevation. (Then, every pass it raises in elevation slightly to get as complete a view of the storm as possible.) However, even at that low of a starting angle when combined with the curvature of the earth, the radar beam quickly gains altitude so that by the time you are approximately 70 miles from the radar site, the beam is over 6,000 ft off the ground. The attached image at the bottom of this letter shows the parts of the state where the beam is at a minimum that height off the ground. In some places it is closer to 10,000 ft. EF-0 and EF-1 tornadoes usually will not loft debris above this 6,000 ft. threshold. That means a tornado could be on the ground causing damage, and radar is unable to confirm its existence. While not the devastating tornadoes like we saw on the night of March 24, those are still more than capable of knocking over trees onto houses and flipping mobile homes causing serious injuries or fatalities. Research has shown people are over 75% more likely to take shelter when they know a tornado is on the ground; therefore, being able to provide concrete evidence that a touchdown has occurred will save lives.
For these reasons I am requesting that legislation be drafted and submitted for consideration to implement placing these cameras on cellphone towers throughout the state, starting in the areas with the least reliable radar coverage outside the red circles in the attached image. With the cameras located on the towers, they would always have a reliable signal to broadcast their images. These cameras could be a monumental step forward in helping to make the citizens of this state as safe as possible during times of severe weather. While I do not have concrete numbers at the time of writing, a pilot program of 100 cameras located in the worst served areas of the state would cost approximately $75,000.00 for the first year broken down as follows below with an annual recurring cost of $50,000.00. This price does not include costs to install the cameras as I don’t have any way of knowing what that would be, but even with that cost added in, I believe this to be an extremely economical and cost effective way to help keep people safe. I have spoken to a member of our National Weather Service and this individual saw the benefit such a camera system would provide.
Governor, Lt. Governor, Senators – I am not a lobbyist. I don’t even know how the process works. But I am a citizen of this great state with a passion for severe weather and a desire to try to keep my fellow citizens as safe as possible during severe weather events. What I saw that night in Silver City absolutely broke my heart. It was things I never hope I see again. But as hard as it was for me while I was there, I know my experiences don’t even begin to come up to the level of those that were affected. Those that losft all their belongings and in the worst of cases…loved ones from their family, I know are still suffering far more than I ever will and will continue to suffer for many months and years to come. That is why I am writing to you today in hopes that you will agree that this idea has merit, and you will use the power and influence to help take this from an idea to a reality not only from a legislation standpoint, but also convincing the cell phone companies to allow their towers to be used for such an endeavor, although I can’t imagine they would refuse at having their towers also used to help save lives. I sincerely thank you for your time and consideration of this proposal.
