"Yet another approach might be to introduce the concept of situation awareness into a general program of severe storm safety preparation - sort of a "Personal Insurance Policy." The concept of situation awareness is not new, and has been used in training by the military and aviation industries for many years. Situation awareness can most simply be defined as being aware of the surroundings (environment) AND THE DIFFERENT POSSIBILITIES IN THAT PARTICULAR ENVIRONMENT, and then making appropriate decisions based on the perception of what is happening (or has the potential to happen). In the case of someone driving through central Oklahoma on May 3, 1999, situation awareness would work something like this:1. I checked the forecast for central Oklahoma this morning before I left home to drive from location x to location y. The possibility of severe thunderstorms was mentioned.
2. I am in Oklahoma.
3. It is springtime (severe weather season in the southern Great Plains).
4. It is a warm and very humid day.
5. There is a strong southerly wind blowing.
6. There is static from time to time on my radio.
7. There is a big dark cloud in the southwest sky.Actions based on this assessment of the environment:
1. I should turn on my radio and check what is going on with the weather.
2. I should not drive blindly into a storm if I don't know what's going on.
3. If I see a tornado, I need to find out how it's moving, so I don't drive into its path."
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