I never knew I was afraid of tornadoes until I was in Alabama one night, and the tornado

radio started making noises.

The tornado radio hanna was this produced by Michael Crichton.

They're called weather alert radios, which is the sort of thing that you have in your

possession if you live in a place where weather could otherwise interrupt all communication,

and also your power could go out so it comes with a hand crank, but the point is that

I lay there on a perfectly still night listening to the occasional, and frankly to me, terrifying

sound.

Now for our listeners who are curious out there, we will not be playing that sound here,

despite the audio medium because it is in fact prohibited.

That is right.

People think that that applies only to the emergency alert sound, but actually it is any

sound that mimics or even sounds similar to that sound, and you know, we don't need

to find.

We are listeners of Ported Public Radio.

Anyway, through that sleepless, Alabama night, I realized, okay, one thing I am totally

terrified of tornadoes who knew, and simultaneously, isn't it weird and special that I live in a

time and place where this free alert happens to let me know that I could be whisked away

to Oz at any moment.

So how did this time and place come to be the sort where a terrifying noise pierces the radio

waves when troubles come in?

It's time to talk about every news outlets favorite excuse for hyperbole, weather.

...