Warnings: The True Story of How Science Tamed the Weather by Mike Smith

Warnings: The True Story of How Science Tamed the Weather Reviews

• 
  Chanele

  I picked this book up a decade ago when I was working on a journal piece dealing with storm shelter access in tornado-vulnerable regions of the country. While I used it for my research, I never sat down and just read it from cover to cover with no need. May 3, a date personal to me and my history with weather, came around, and I picked the book up to read in its entirety and in the order presented. All in all, I enjoyed the ride. While there are some moments in the middle where the science on data gets a little dry, but the emotions and storytelling connected to the major weather events selected by the author more than make up for those dips.
  
  Some of the criticisms of the book seem to ignore the intended audience for the book - a non-academic reader with an interest in meteorology. This is not designed to be an academic text for use on a college campus, and those individuals will already have the high-level knowledge of how radar works and how it has developed. Keeping in mind his audience, while this book could have been much longer, and more issues discussed could have been told with greater detail, Smith strikes a good balance of providing the necessary facts while holding the reader's attention. The sprinkling of human touches throughout the science makes the book intelligent and a bit emotional (but full disclosure: I am emotional at all tornado stories!).
  
  Smith has a huge arsenal of weather events to describe, and he chooses carefully. Some tornadoes are those that affected him personally, but some events, particularly the hurricanes, are life-changing events in the history of storm prediction. In particular, his account of the numerous failings around Hurricane Katrina, committed by everyone except the meteorologists, is well done. Obviously, he cannot get into the many layers of problems before, during, and after Katrina, but his job is not to address all of those. He simply has a few chapters to discuss the science and remind the reader that the best science in the world can't overcome horrible bureaucracy.
  
  The book ends beautifully by demonstrating how far we've come with forecasting and the ability to save lives, the foundation of all forecasting work. Smith chooses the ferocious, although relatively not well-known (outside meteorology communities), Greensburg tornado to show how the advances in science have saved many lives. While the 1999 Bridge Creek-Moore tornado was perhaps even more of a celebration when comparing population to death toll, Smith makes good use of the facts around Greensburg to perfectly compare it to the earlier, much deadlier, yet otherwise very similar Udall tornado.
  
  Smith has a lot to say in this area, and he says it well. I'd love to have a chat with him about the gaps we have in shelter access now that we've come so far in warnings, especially post-Joplin and the 2013 Moore tragedy.
  
  
• 
  Dr. Carl Ludwig Dorsch

  
  
  
  A description of the development of American severe weather warning systems focusing on tornados, but covering also the reception and integration of Fujita's downburst theories and including what reads as a fairly lengthy but not particularly informative aside on hurricane forecasting, relating specifically (and almost exclusively) to 1992's hurricane Andrew and the Katrina catastrophe of 2005.
  
  Smith's history seldom reaches farther back than 1948, but this is because the volume is also something of a professional memoir: the author as a storm spotter in 9th grade 1966 Kansas City, his career as a television meteorologist in Oklahoma City, St. Louis and Wichita, and eventually his founding of WeatherData Services, Inc. in 1981. (WeatherData Services is a provider of "weather-risk management consulting and state-of-the-art weather forecasting and services to utility, transportation, manufacturing, educational and governmental clients"* and is now a part of AccuWeather Inc., though Mr. Smith remains its CEO and regularly touts its services, record and software in this book.)
  
  Though expecting a broader history, two aspects of Mr. Smith's account stay with me. First is simply the record of discovery. It is a welcome but disconcerting experience to be reminded what, still beyond our ken, shares the planet with us. There are for instance, Smith informs us, huge djinn here, terrible creatures a dozen miles tall and a league wide, who, roaring with winds fiercer than a typhoon, suddenly appear and disappear across the land, often at night, indiscriminately destroying all they meet, only to, with no real notice, fold themselves up again into the air and vanish. What exactly are they? Our wise ones still try to understand, but only slowly and with much caution, as a djinni, even when encountered, is difficult to approach without suffering enormous violence: being fatally propelled through the air, having limbs ripped from one's body etc. It is easy at times to read Smith’s reports as records of the exploration of an unknown world.
  
  On the other hand, Mr. Smith’s incomplete and largely anecdotal description of the development of the severe weather warning systems in the U.S. (both private and public, though mostly of the public systems and, again, most coherently on tornadic weather) from the post WWII radars to the current dopplers, and of the institutional and technological challenges in constructing what wants to be a network of instantaneous observational and communications capability, is a very human tale. And though perhaps a report from a planet more familiar -- with its institutional and bureaucratic conflicts and inertias as well as its incremental technological advances and uneven deployments -- it is also a tale well worth being reminded of.
  
  "Warnings" unfortunately has no index, a disservice even in a work so slight.
  
  *from an American Meteorological Society description
  
  
• 
  Betty

  When I first requested this book for review, little did I know I would be reading it and beginning my review amidst forest fires, smoky air, and strong wind gusts! My interest in requesting the book is twofold: I recall Hurricane Frieda roaring through Vancouver, BC (my home) in 1962, extremely rare for that area; my Dad's cousin, TV weatherman in Portland, OR, first to recognize and forecast it, spent the night updating on air. Weather has always fascinated me, not only because "everybody talks about the weather"!
  
  "Warnings" is very easy to read for the layman. I was shocked to learn how lacking some of the basic things we now take for granted were, such as no tornado warnings as recently as the 1950s, in some areas of the U.S. even more recently. Not a hint! How many lives must have been lost needlessly in past years?
  Mike Smith has done his research, has lived his research, and knows how to deliver it. The book is historical, accurate, and personal. I was hooked on the Introduction which primes the reader for the main event, or in this case events, to come in this book.
  
  Smith gradually builds from its early beginnings the study and workings of tornadoes in terms anyone can understand. The subject is fascinating as he writes it. By two-thirds through his book I am amazed that the few trips I have taken by plane were successful strictly on the basis of weather! The growth of knowledge, and the way that growth comes about is exciting and tragic at the same time. When the investigations turn to storm-chasing, the reader learns just how important this scientific information-gathering becomes, not just another daredevil stunt among adventure seekers as we might see on TV.
  
  I found the information on Dr. Fujita's methods and discoveries to be well explained and the ignorance of the official weather prognosticators in their cocooned refusal to accept his discoveries almost inevitable, yet unacceptable and disastrous. Even when changes were made, neither pilots nor airport control staff were made aware of impending tornadoes, or "microbursts" (explained in the book) until very recently, a ruling referred to by Mike Smith as "bureaucratic myopia". This is non-fiction, but gave me the shivers in the same way as a thriller fiction would, especially with a very close call that was averted not by a weather warning, but because of a power outage at the airport just prior to a landing, causing the pilot to abort the landing.
  
  Did you ever wonder how the newspapers got their weathermaps so up-to-date? Did you ever wonder how Doppler Radar came into being and how it works? These are questions I'd asked myself through the years and they are covered in this impressive book. This is not a large book, nor do you have to be a meteorologist or savant to read it. Nor does it deal exclusively with tornadoes. It is all written in simple language. There are also a number of photos in the book. While this book deals mostly with the U.S., it is of global significance.
  
  Not surprisingly, the most critical event in the book is Hurricane Katrina. Among other things we learn what could go wrong with the forecast's timely releases, what did go wrong and why, and how they tried to get the evacuation process going while there was still time. The survivors were literally 'hung out to dry' as buck-passing and meals in high end restaurants took precedent over people. How many more could have survived if it weren't for the bureaucratic mumbo-jumbo and selfishness? The night of August 31, 2005 should be etched in their memories forever as deaths of survivors began to pile up. If bureaucracy hadn't fumbled the ball, the meteorological scientists would have netted it.
  
  This is a fascinating book, full of suspense, telling it like it is, and a great learning experience without realizing just how much of what you read will stay with you. I highly recommend this book, it opened my eyes to the difficulties people 'in the know' deal with not just occasionally, but on-going in their efforts to keep us all as safe as possible. We know that paramedics, firemen, rescue teams all do this as part of the job, but we rarely think of the background to catastrophe. Winds, flash flooding, and the deadliest for a city below sea level: a storm surge. All closely watched. One last tornado is included: Greensburg, a town that disappeared, but has risen again. As an added bonus, this book is interactive. There are symbols scattered throughout which direct readers to a website where they can find videos, related information, and more.
• 
  Book Shark

  Warnings: The True Story of How Science Tamed the Weather by Mike Smith
  
  " Warnings: The True Story of How Science Tamed the Weather " is a fantastic book that captures the evolution of meteorology through the personal accounts of Mike Smith. Like the perfect storm in which converging elements collide, this book is part memoir, part science and all real. This wonderful 304 page-book is composed of the following twenty-three chapters: 1. The Ruskin Heights Tornado, 2. No One Ever Knew it Was Coming, 3. "Nice People, But Odd", 4. The Government Gets in Gear, 5.The "Town That Died In Its Sleep", 6. The Paul Revere of Grandview Junior High, 7. The End of the Beginning, 8. Storm Chasers, 9. Tragedy, 10. Fujita, 11. The Day TV Weather Grew Up, 12. St. Louis and the Holiday Weather Hotline, 13. The Microburst Mystery, 14. Delta 191: Why Weren't They Warned, 15. The Delta Trial, 16. Weatherdata, 17. America Gets Dopplerized, 18. Hurricane Andrew, 19. Katrina: Part One, 20. Katrina: Part Two - Inaction In Action, 21. Katrina: Part Three - Murder By Bureaucracy, 22. Greensburg: Capstone of the Modern Warning System, and 23. Where There's Life, There's Hope.
  
  Positives:
  1. Written like a great engaging novel, but it's all real!
  2. Great science writing! Bravo!
  3. An educational treat.
  4. The history of meteorology in elegant, page-turning prose from a first person account.
  5. Meteorological terms well defined and illustrated.
  6. The evolution of the Weather Bureau culture, fascinating stuff.
  7. Mr. Smith knows his science and does a better job of conveying it to the masses.
  8. Supercell thunderstorms, truly enlightening.
  9. Tornadoes, tornadoes, tornadoes.
  10. Interesting facts throughout the book.
  11. How weather radars work.
  12. The most important storm chase ever and why it is so.
  13. Weather detective extraordinaire, Ted Fujita.
  14. Find out when the first tornado was broadcast live.
  15. Downbursts and microbursts!
  16. The crash of Delta 191 in detail and its impact.
  17. Doppler radars and its interesting history.
  18. So many splendid examples of the progression of meteorology. Excellent!
  19. The impact of Mr. Smith's Weatherdata business...
  20. The evolution of the creation of various weather agencies.
  21. A fascinating look at hurricanes. A better understanding of wind forces.
  22. Hurricane Katrina analyzed to complete satisfaction and what we hopefully learned from it.
  23. The terrible tornado that struck Greensburg, Kansas.
  24. The advantages of precise forecasting.
  25. Great use of illustrations!
  26. Enjoyable read from cover to cover!
  
  
  Negatives:
  1. No references to speak of.
  2. Having to buy extra copies for friends and family.
  3. Having to wait for Mr. Smith's next book!
  
  In summary, Mr. Smith "blew" me away with this book. A unique scientific book that reads like a great mystery novel and educates like an encyclopedia. This book was a real treat to read. It starts off with Mr. Smith's prodigious knowledge in meteorology, his passion for his work and his innate ability to convey such experiences in an engaging manner. Bravo! I can't recommend this book enough!
  
• 
  Marcie

  I don't think I would have found this as interesting if I hadn't moved from the mountain west (with its relatively mild weather) to the midwest (with frequent severe storms and tornado warnings). It helps that my daughter is fascinated by tornadoes/weather and includes storm chaser/meteorologist on her what-I-want-to-be list. I was fascinated by how the weather warning system, which I have taken for granted (and will no longer), developed over the last 65 years. The warnings and watches that are common to our spring and summer forecasts now carry more meaning, and I will react differently to them. It also gave me a different perspective on what it means to be prepared, and inspired me to truly prepare for the possibilities.
  That said, I recommend this book with two caveats:
  -The author has a very strong opinion amd the sharing of it seems to be one reason he wrote the book. His criticism on government bureaucracy and failed leadership, while valid, grew old by the end of the book.
  -The descriptions of some of the most destructive storms of the last half century, while illustrative, seem somewhat voyeuristic as they draw on our morbid fascination with death and destruction to keep us reading.
• 
  Ken Heard

  I was surprised to learn that the Weather Bureau (now the National Weather Service) refused to issue tornado warnings as late as the 1950s so as not to scare people unnecessarily. That seems ridiculous today with constant live reports from tv weathermen, upgraded polarization Dopplar radars, satellite imagery that can pinpoint a tornado's thought process and more.
  
  But that was the case, and Mike Smith was on the forefront of changing that practice. His book is an excellent history of tornadoes and hurricanes and the mindset that accompanied them in those days. The book is almost three-fold. First, he describes with excellent clarity the actual storms. He also throws in science behind the storms, what causes them, et al. And he includes his personal memoirs on them.
  
  Like most meteorologists, Smith got involved in weather forecasting because of a storm. He saw a devastating Kansas tornado that sparked his interest as a child and he writes of his career and that childhood wonder throughout the book.
  
  I'm the weather reporter for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette newspaper, so this book is particular interesting to me. But I think anyone who is interested in weather, storm watching, history of storms or nature would find this book an excellent and entertaining read.
  
• 
  Emily Domitrovic hamburg

  An enjoyable and fascinating book that details the evolution of meteorology and forecasting over the past 70 years. It truly gave me a new appreciation for the good work done behind the scenes and taken for granted in this field that has reduced the loss of life and property both on the ground and in the aviation world due to advances in technology and communication processes. Smith also showed how no amount of technology can compensate for the bureaucracy and incompetence of the government in some cases (e.g., Hurricane Katrina) and warned of another catastrophe if a serious hurricane hit heavily populated areas on the east or west coasts if lessons weren't learned from the star buffoons in New Orleans regarding communication, evacuation, and rescue procedures.
• 
  Beth Mason

  So good! Surprisingly, a page turner.
  
  I expected this book to be interesting. But I didn’t expect it to be such a page turner. I couldn’t put it down. The writing is excellent. It has a good pace and kept me coming back for more. I love reading about weather, but I can’t say too many meteorology books have had me up in the middle of the night saying “just one more chapter!” This one did. The specific storm stories weave together the topics perfectly. I want to deliver a free copy to anyone who snarks about the weatherman never getting it right. They just don’t understand. This book shines a light on the everyday heroics of storm forecasters that go unnoticed and unappreciated. And it’s a fun read!
• 
  Diana

  I love reading books about the weather, and there are several great books out there about grand-scale disasters that shape us. Warnings looks at these storms through the lens of a meteorologist dedicated to predicting storms. Mike Smith shows us how these major storms have shaped our understanding of the science of weather, as well as how our growing understanding of weather shaped our ability to warn citizens, plan for disaster, and ultimately save lives. It is also a history of the meteorologists who continued to study dangerous weather and a government that stymied them at almost every turn. It's a smart, fascinating, and highly accessible read.
• 
  Mike B

  A great read from cover to cover, brimming with Tornado knowledge and dispelling the myths born in Hollywood blockbusters (you know which one). Biggest disappointment and myth confirmation, is that the government forbid warning localities about severe weather (Tornados).. now every end of the world movie/novel where the population isn't told about an A/B/C extinction level event seems a little more real. As a Jackson County long-time resident, and having talked to Ruskin survivors I was enthralled even more so. Good Read
• 
  Alice

  I have a warning before you read Warnings: if you are not highly interested in severe weather--particularly tornadoes--this book is probably not for you! I will be teaching a unit we call Masters of Disaster next school year so I happen to be interested in all things drastic weather right now, so this was a fun start to my immersion in this topic.
• 
  pianogal

  This one was a good read. It got a little tiresome with the author tooting his own horn throughout the book. But other than that I thought it was a good balance of weather, science, and politics.
• 
  Jocelyn

  Disappointingly little science for what I was expecting, but interesting nonetheless.
• 
  Elaine Nelson

  Primarily the story of how the tornado warning system came to be, including the author's participation as a TV weather guy and then founder of a private weather service. And when he sticks to that, it's good stuff.
  
  Periodically, there's these sort of anti-government zingers that just hit me the wrong way, although I can see where they come from, given his experience. Also, the last quarter of the book (except for the last chapter) goes into great detail about hurricanes (specifically Andrew & Katrina), and a lot of that is about the political aspects. So...meh. Although that last chapter is a great wrap-up of the difference between the response to a recent tornado versus response to a tornado 50+ years ago.
  
  And one tiny quibble: the blurb gives the impression that he's talking about all the different kinds of weather events in the US, when really it's almost all tornadoes, with a detour into hurricanes. Coming from an area where tornadoes are vanishingly rare, I was a bit disappointed.
  
  I think this makes a good read in conjunction with other weather history books: Children's Blizzard, Isaac's Storm, Cliff Mass's book, etc.
• 
  Lorna

  Oh, I love a good weather book. The information was not new to me -- having read it Nancy Mathis' Storm Warning -- but it still stuns me to know that it was forbidden to warn of tornadoes pretty much until the 1960s. Especially with the hysteria some of the local news outlets whip up today! But I certainly appreciate the development of radar technology. When I was a kid, one of the tornadoes of the 1974 Super Outbreak passed within a few miles of our house. We had no clue. Going back and studying the history, it was the Monticello, IN, tornado -- an F4 with the longest track of any of the tornadoes of that day. It had been on the ground since 3:45 PM. They had just issued a *thunderstorm* warning at 6:20 PM as our power went out (for the next three days). How could they not have known? So I guess I will take a little hype as a trade-off for letting the public know that there is a possibility of danger.
• 
  Jon Christianson

  Mike Smith does an excellent job of walking the reader through the history (and progress) of the National Weather Service in Warnings: The True Story of How Science Tamed the Weather. Smith incorporates a number of first-hand severe weather accounts dating back to the mid-1950s, which allows the book to read more like a story than a series of weather reports. Based on Smith’s meteorological experience and accomplishments (sold his company AccuWeather in 2006), he does a fair amount of self-promotion throughout the book, which borders on obnoxious at times. All in all, Smith has assembled a very insightful “weather” book that makes an especially interesting read for anyone who is involved in a weather-related field.
• 
  Don

  I've looked forward to reading this for ages as I'm fascinated by severe weather and forecasting. The book was most interesting with its accounts of the Tinker Air Force base tornadoes and the gripping acount of the Greensburg EF5, but the author's prodigious ego inserted itself so often throughout the book that I just couldn't get beyond it. It seems extraordiarily biased towards for-profit weather forecasting and scornful of everyone else. The author appears to believe that he's the most eminent figure in the history of meteorology as evidenced by the subtitle of his website: "The Top Weather Expert in the US." Right. The tone is self-aggrandizing and bordering on obnoxious.
• 
  Deborah Johnson

  I thought this would be a good handbook to read because I had just moved to the midwest in the middle of tornado alley. It was so much better than I could have ever expected - it was exciting and took me right into the middle of some of the most extreme storms of recent years. I would say that everyone from New Orleans should be reading this book! The Katrina chapters were so emotional. It is not at all a science book it is a life saver and a must read for anyone who has ever experienced extreme weather in their lives.
• 
  Lori Britton-levack

  This is a very informational book on how meterology has changed over almost 60 years. The information provided on past storms, and how prediction of life and property loss storms has drastically changed, and the different hurtles that were and still are present in effective warnings systems in place. The burecratic side of weather warnings is amazing, as is the un-decisive nature of federal ownership of when or how to word a warning. If you love meterology, and knowledge of history, you will enjoy this book as much as I did.
• 
  Candy

  Talk about an amazing read. The book chronicles the history of our weather warning system, focusing mainly on tornadoes. From the days when the NWS couldn't even mention or think about issuing a tornado warning to our high tech warning systems that we have now, this book covers it all without being too geeky for the average reader. As someone who has been 3 tornadoes in person and living in the Midwest, I definitely came away with a greater appreciation for our warning system.
• 
  Hannah

  I LOVE books about weather. And if someone is looking for a fun yet informative story, this is a pretty decent one. I give it two stars however, because I strongly feel that if you go into the history (that isn't yours personally) there should be references on where you found the information. He states that he was good friends with Fujita (which is awesome!) but he could still cite his work as well as other historical information.
• 
  Penn State Brandywine Environmental Inquiry

  Book extras for those that have purchased the book:
  http://warningsbook.com/
  
  A video by the author that inspired him to write the book:
  http://www.accuweather.com/blogs/weathermatrix/story/32701/do-you-have-a-science-dad.asp
  
  
• 
  Fincalian

  I enjoyed learning about the history of weather warning systems in America. Some of the information presented was quite shocking, and overall, this was an excellent book. My only complaint is that you can tell the author is not a writer. I felt parts of the book were disorganized, and his writing became repetitive at times, but I'm still glad I took the time to read this book.
• 
  Shawn

  A history of weather forecasting which focuses on the advances of technology and politics that made it all possible. A wonderful modern tale of science history.
  Update: 4-14- Currently having my high school Freshman earth-space science class reading it and the students are enjoying it almost as much as I did.
• 
  Quinn Develde

  This is one of the best meteorology books I've read. Though at a couple points there were some dips in my interest, on a whole I was captivated by the beauty and intensity of the writing. I was moved to tears at some points and also thoroughly disgusted at others. It was a moving and informative book I would recommend to anyone.
• 
  Staci

  I'm fascinated by most things weather related. This book was no exception - with one drawback. The acronyms!
  
  I found myself lost in the letters and finally just had to skip over them in order to stay focused on the meat of the book.