I just read an interesting statement on a forum.
The site is http://www.stormtrack.org/forum/showthread.php?p=138214
The quote is:
Warnings do not save lives.
People save their own lives, by taking shelter when a tornado or destructive storm approaches them. The warning is just a message that people should pay attention to what's going on around them and to take action to protect themselves, their loved ones, co-workers, etc.
That then means the main question is: What should the message say to prompt people to act?
I think that without the tornado warning statements, people will not know to act. Even though most of the warnings are false alarms and people know to get inside when a storm approaches, they will need specifics. Now, in 1999 the OK city tornado prompted a new type of tornado warning called "Tornado Emergency" (TE). This is issued in rare cases where there is a 100% chance of a destructive tornado hitting a populated area like in the Greensburg tornado on 5-4-07. That does get people moving. Scientifically, it's relatively easy to predict the path of those storms. Chasers converge and follow. High resolution doppler radar can work wonders for tracking. The statement does imply that people chose to head to shelter. TE can get the doubters moving.
