^[1] It is interesting, but futile, to speculate about how the native Americans experienced tornadoes ... without written records and now without the long oral histories that the tribes maintained, whatever knowledge and experience the native peoples had are largely lost and irrecoverable.

^[2] A warning can, in many ways, be considered a very short-range forecast (on the order of 30 min) that whatever is perceived to be occurring will continue for the period of the warning.

^[3] Comparative verification is usually done improperly, so that the comparisons are basically unfair. This is discussed in some detail in Murphy 1991.

^[4] It appears that even the devastating outbreak of tornadoes on 01 March 1997 will not have a decent aerial survey. Apparently, there is no way to get this done within the present budget climate.

^[5] Based on current figures, this is a not-unreasonable figure, subject to the usual interannual variability. However, the actual number of tornadoes is likely to be 2 or 3 times this figure.

^[6] Living in a mobile home increases the chances of serious injury or death by a factor of anywhere from 5-20 times, compared to living in a reasonably well-built frame home. A colleague has provided some factual information regarding the risks of living in a mobile home. Also, see the AMS policy statement regarding mobile homes.

^[7] You are willing to spend $15-20 to invest in one of these, aren't you? By the way ... it's a classic bureaucratic arrogance that this is called the "NOAA Weather Radio" when the National Weather Service is the real source. I have yet to figure out how this misnomer got shoved down our throats!

^[8] There is a story, probably apocryphal, about a woman who was continually angered when "false alarm" tornado warnings were issued. She invariably called the NWS to gripe about the false alarms. Finally, a tornado hit her home dead-on and leveled it. The woman survived more or less unhurt and when she got a chance, she called the NWS and told them "Now that's more like it!" Even if this story is untrue, it certainly captures some of the reality of public reactions to warnings.

^[9] After a 1989 flash flood occurred in Melbourne, Australia, some surviving victims were interviewed by a newspaper. In their interview, they said "We've lived here for nine years, and we've never seen anything like this!" As if nine years sufficed to show them all possible weather situations!

^[10] Perhaps those governments are not doing everything they can do, but of course the citizens are also wanting their governments to be budget-conscious these days!