EDITORIAL: Follow your safety plan when storms hit

Weather forecasts for Wednesday are ominous for a region that has had its share — and more — of natural disasters this year.

After twin January systems of violent storms and tornadoes that ravaged Albany and Southwest Georgia, even hints of heavy rain and high winds can be unnerving for area residents, many of whom were driven from their homes and went without power for weeks. Debris is still out there in many places and recovery work is far from finished.

Still, life was settling into something of a new normal and, just as things seemed to be on track, here comes more bad weather barreling at us.

Monday’s storms caused damage in the area, including more toppled and sheared trees. The event was not catastrophic for the area, but it certainly was for those whose homes were damaged this time around.

Unfortunately, discussion at the National Weather Service at the Tallahassee office that covers Southwest Georgia warns of an even more severe system that is expected to hit the area during the daylight hours Wednesday. This storm system is expected to bring the so-called “triple threat” — high winds, hail and possible tornadoes. “Current parameters suggest that all modes of severe weather will be possible. Strong, long-track tornadoes are not out of the question during the day Wednesday,” the forecast discussion said. The forecast says the storm threat is expected to increase after daybreak, with potent storms moving eastward through early evening before the weather starts to clear Wednesday night.

Given the recent disasters, it’s easy to get overwhelmed, but it’s also easy to take the path of denial, accepting the fallacy that “lightning doesn’t strike twice in the same place.”

It can.

While we’re all hoping that this won’t be a repeat of January, it’s important to maintain focus. The best defense against a disaster — whether widespread or localized to your home or business — is to be prepared, and to stay prepared. While disasters on January’s scale are, thankfully, uncommon, powerful storms are anything but rare in our area. This won’t be the only one we see this year.

Nature is a powerful force, one that sustains life but one that also can take it. All we can really do is take steps to mitigate the danger. Staying informed and having a plan in place for when to go to the most secure location in a structure — along with having necessities such as flashlights, water and a weather radio at hand — are critical to that end.

“People just need to stay vigilant and pay attention to what’s going on,” Mark Wool, a warning coordination meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Tallahassee, said. “Folks up there know by now after what that community’s been through. We’ve got a lot of people with weather radios now. … As long as people stick to their safety plans, they should be OK.”

We certainly hope that will be the case.