TO THE EDITOR:
The second Sept. 6 tornado warning undermined safety by eroding respect for Alert Carolina. It was sent only because the NWS mentioned “Orange County.” Chapel Hill is only 3 miles into a county that is 25 miles high.
A glance at the NWS text indicated that we were not endangered: only towns over 15 miles north of Chapel Hill such as Schley, Bahama and Rougemont were mentioned while there was a northerly flow.
At 1:50 Doppler Radar indicated nothing was happening around here.
We’re supposed to be teaching students to collect information and to make thoughtful decisions. The most important time to think clearly is when danger threatens. Invading Iraq after terrorists fled to Pakistan did not work!
Robert Proctor
Professor, Mathematics
