‘Windsnitch’ Tornado Warning System Announces Adoption Of First Deserving Community

PR Log (Press Release) – May 14, 2009 – As the 2009 tornado season heats up, WindSnitch (www.windsnitch.com ), a new tornado alert service and warning system designed to deliver tornado warnings to consumers, is proud to announce the adoption of its first deserving community – Parkersburg, Iowa, located approximately 100 miles northeast of Des Moines.  On May 25, 2008, Parkersburg was struck by an EF5 tornado, which killed seven people, injured 70, demolished 300 homes and turned the south end of town into rubble.  WindSnitch will now sponsor this community – providing its targeted tornado warnings for the entire town free of charge – thus ensuring that Parkersburg residents will never again be caught unaware by an impending tornado.  WindSnitch delivers targeted tornado warnings by telephone, e-mail and SMS text message 24 hours a day, helping individuals, schools and communities stay protected from these violent -- and too often deadly -- storms.  Parkersburg residents may register for their free WindSnitch alerts by visiting www.windsnitch.com/parkersburg .

“Although Parkersburg was devastated by a tornado, the community refused to allow this single, tragic event to be the final chapter in the town’s story.  This community has demonstrated sheer determination to rebuild, recover and emerge stronger than ever, making Parkersburg a better place to live and do business,” said Gregg Lewis, founder of WindSnitch.  “We were inspired by this community, and we wanted to do everything we could to ensure that going forward Parkersburg receives advance notification of approaching tornadoes.”

“We are excited to partner with WindSnitch,” says Virgil Goodrich, director of Parkersburg Economic Development.  “This is a positive and proactive step that our community can take.  We believe that WindSnitch will help ensure that we aren’t caught unaware, preventing a disaster of this magnitude ever occurring in Parkersburg again.  I would think that anyone’s community, schools and residents would want as much warning as possible prior to the arrival of a tornadic event.”  

In 2008 alone, 125 people were killed by tornadoes, making it the 10th deadliest year for related deaths.   WindSnitch is committed to helping ensure our nation’s communities are prepared and will soon announce its sponsorship of another deserving community.  Additionally, WindSnitch continues to provide free tornado alerts to schools and offers a database of 70,000 schools in 37 states across the nation.  When people subscribe to WindSnitch, they can then select a school of their choice, which will immediately begin receiving the WindSnitch tornado alerts for free.  If a school of choice is not yet listed in the WindSnitch system, subscribers will just need to provide contact information for the school.

WindSnitch utilizes the most trusted source in weather -- the National Weather Service (NWS) – and relies on the NWS’s latest storm-based warning technology to ensure that subscribers are only notified if a tornado is approaching their specific, geographic area.  This new storm-based method differs from the county-based tornado alerts previously issued by the NWS.  The county-based alerts were not highly targeted and resulted in the unnecessary alerting of residents not in the path of the tornado.  The WindSnitch alerts are designed to reach subscribers within 90 seconds of a tornado warning being issued.    

“If a subscriber receives a call from WindSnitch, it is time to head to the basement,” adds Lewis.  “WindSnitch does not issue a blanket alert that covers an entire county.  If someone receives an alert from WindSnitch, this means a tornado is headed directly toward the subscriber’s home.”

To receive WindSnitch’s affordable service for only $0.99/month, please visit www.windsnitch.com.  WindSnitch believes that subscription fees should never be a reason to be unprotected in times of severe weather.  “As a parent, I want my children to be and to feel safe at school.  We feel that children who have already suffered great loss due to severe weather need reassurance that next time there will be additional warning.  We think that it is our duty to provide our services for free to schools, which are entrusted with the safety of our kids for at least 30 hours a week during the school year,” added Lewis.  

For additional information on the WindSnitch alert service visit www.windsnitch.com or to speak with a representative from WindSnitch, please contact Angela Fisher at 404-819-4917 or e-mail: media@windsnitch.com.  To learn more about Parkersburg’s recovery efforts, visit www.parkersburgiowa.info .