Don't Let Wind Turbines Ruin Your Weather Report

Don't let a wind turbine fool you into thinking a tornado's headed your way.
There's been a strange phenomenon occurring lately--weathermen have been predicting violent storms and tornadoes in the Midwest with increasing frequency. In some cases, they put out the storm warning, and residents in the allegedly at-danger areas head for the basements and brace themselves.

And then . . . nothing. No storm. The alert gets quickly called off.

You see, with more concentrated wind farms springing up around the country, all those spinning blades are creating the impression of storms on weather software and detection instruments. And the problem is still growing, as more wind turbines take root--it's already afflicted states across the central corridor of the US. AP reports:

"The phenomenon has affected several National Weather Service radar sites in different parts the country, even leading to a false tornado alert near Dodge City, Kansas, in the heart of Tornado Alley. In Des Moines, Iowa, the weather service received a frantic warning from an emergency worker who had access to Doppler radar images."

So far, all alerts have been called off swiftly, and have created no major complications. Adding to the problem is the fact that an ideal site for a wind farm is the same as an ideal spot for weather measuring instruments--so there's naturally a conflict.

So what can you do? Simple--find out if and where the wind farms in your area are located, and take that into account next time a severe storm is reported in your area. It's always better to be safe than sorry, of course, so if the storm is predicted to be nearby, best not take any chances. -planetgreen.discovery