Enterprise, Alabama High School Hit by Tornado

On Thursday, March 1, 2007, severe weather broke out across the deep south. The storm system was forecast the entire week with blizzard conditions for the midwest and tornadic activity in the south.

In Alabama, schools will let school out early or cancel school all together if the Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma predicts a very high probability of such tornadic activity and in conjunction with local weather forecasters. It's similar to a snow day in other states but it's for storms. They don't happen very often but when they do, it's a serious situation.

Unfortunately, one school system in Enterprise, Alabama did not let school out early enough and the high school took a direct hit from an F-4 tornado where 8 students lost their lives. Much of the town itself was destroyed. The debate on what the school system did wrong is raging on both sides. In a sue-happy society, somebody has to be held accountable afterall, right?

The criteria for school closings are at the discretion of each school principal and/or superintendent. Many wonder if there should be a state wide criteria taking that responsibility out of the hands of local schools. The side proposing that feels that the State would know better about weather warnings and potential disaster than local schools. The side against such measures feel as if taking that decision making process out of the hands of the local schools would also leave them out of other decision making processes and probably wouldn't have saved those 8 children's lives anyway. If the school system in Enterprise, Alabama were to have let the kids out sooner, those kids would have been at home. If the ariel pictures are any indication, many more lives may have been lost.

Hindsight is always 20/20. Tornado paths are not predictable. The next tornado will not take that same path. Unlike hurricanes that hit the Alabama coast where people can evacuate with suitable warning, it is impossible to predict exactly where or how bad a tornado will be. Technology just isn't able to do that yet although maybe some day it might.