The warnings that come out of the National Weather Service
office in Wichita will be a little different this year. Trying
to combat the issue of complacency when dangerous weather
warnings are issued, the weather service is implementing what it
calls a tiered impact system. In the past all severe
thunderstorm warnings were worded much the same, no matter how
dangerous the thunderstorm might have been. For instance, a
warning for a storm that barely surpassed the threshold of
severity would be worded similarly to a warning for a storm that
was producing 100 mile-per-hour winds and softball sized hail.
"It's trying to paint a picture for the public as to what the
true impacts are from what we're expecting," explains NWS
Warning Coordination Meteorologist Chance Hayes. "Whereas in the
past, it really wasn't conveyed very well." So now, a typical
severe thunderstorm warning will specifically state that there
could be "minor damage to small tree branches, roofs and
windows." But if a deadly tornado is either on th