Watches v. Warnings

Weather watches mean that "conditions are favorable" for that particular weather event. Warnings mean that it's actually happening. Here are the warnings we've had since yesterday: Hurricane, Tropical Storm, Thunderstorm, Flash Flood, and now Tornado. This is our NOAA Weather Alert Radio. We have it programmed for our county so it provides up-to-date, valuable weather information for our area. The makers of this radio must believe that we as users are completely deaf. The alarm tone is the loudest, most raucous noise........ especially when it wakes you from a deep sleep. Since 3:00 this morning, our radio alarm has gone off 11 times. I gave up sleeping around 4:00. The outer rain bands from Gustav are spinning through our area and there has been a new tornado warning issued about every 15 minutes. This is supposed to continue until later this afternoon. We may not be getting a direct hit from the hurricane, but we are apparently in the line of fire for the spin-off tornadoes. The kids are all waking up now (way too early) because of the heavy winds and rains. I'm thinking there should be a "Cranky Kids" Watch. Conditions are definitely favorable.