Severe Weather Protocol and Camping

Welcome to springtime in Texas! In light of the recent weather, we thought it would be wise to reiterate our severe weather protocol for Pack 1910.

The safety of our Scouts and their families is paramount to any Scouting function be it a den meeting, a Pack meeting or even a campout. We have adults who have taken Hazardous Weather training and are prepared - at a moment's notice - to do what is necessary to keep everyone safe. That being said, we wanted to remind our families of the following:

• If KISD schools are canceled due to weather, Pack and Den functions are postponed until later notice.
• In the event of an evening or special event (Pack meeting, field trip, etc.) and there is an active severe weather WARNING, those items will be postponed until later notice.

To note -- there is a difference between a WATCH and a WARNING.  We are talking about WARNINGS only.  In the event anyone else is a weather nerd, see the National Weather Service's explanation here.

TORNADO WARNINGS means a tornado has been sighted or indicated by weather radar. There is imminent danger to life and property. Move to an interior room on the lowest floor of a sturdy building. Avoid windows. If in a mobile home, vehicle, or outdoors, move to the closest substantial shelter and protect yourself from flying debris. Warnings are issued by your local forecast office. Warnings typically encompass a much smaller area (around the size of a city or small county) that may be impacted by a tornado identified by a forecaster on Radar or by a trained spotter/law enforcement who is watching the storm.

SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNINGS mean that severe weather has been reported by spotters or indicated by radar. Warnings indicate imminent danger to life and property. Take shelter in a substantial building. Get out of mobile homes that can blow over in high winds. Warnings are issued by your local forecast office. Warnings typically encompass a much smaller area (around the size of a city or county) that may be impacted by an on-going severe thunderstorm.  

This... this is the prediction for this weekend.  This... will be no fun to camp in.  

Anyone familiar with the weather in North Texas knows that severe weather in Texas can take an immediate turn for the worse. During these times, we feel the safest place for our Pack families to be is together at home in your shelter. 

Please understand that we *never* want to cancel or postpone an event and will watch all weather reports to make the call at a time that is convenient for everyone to plan accordingly. We would rather make the right call late than the wrong call early. Canceling any plans is never something we will take lightly. However, we follow the idea of "safety first." Therefore, in the event of severe weather, please be checking your e-mail, the blog and with your den leader if you have any doubts as to the status of any event. 

We want to be sure everyone is on the same page. Thank you all for your understanding.

And yet, even though we would like to wait until the last minute to make the call, since there is a great deal of planning and preparation that goes into our weekend campouts, canceling them last minute can turn into a costly affair with food and such so we are rescheduling this weekend's campout to MAY 5.  We hope that everyone that was planning to can join us then and we hope that many more can make it!

Again, thank you for your understanding. We never want to miss an opportunity to get outside but we certainly don't want to risk the safety and livelihood of our Pack members and their families.  Please contact Chris Mahanna or April Driggers with any questions and be watching ScoutBook for updated information on the campout in May!