I am posting this with the hope that some may find it of value. Speaking for myself, I find the concept of self-defense to be far-reaching. It covers a wide variety of topics that are perhaps not considered but to me, anything that keeps your body and soul together is a form of self-defense. Given the recent weather disasters we've experienced here in the USA and around the world, I wanted to post some information about some of the resources available to US citizens that may be of interest. I'm sure that other nations have similar training available, and feel free to post that if you have it.
In the USA, the government agency responsible for weather prediction and analysis is the NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration):
http://www.noaa.gov/
The NOAA is part of the US Department of Commerce.
The NOAA includes the US National Weather Service. They make information available to the public in a variety of ways:
http://www.nws.noaa.gov/com/weatherreadynation/
They make tools available for the public:
http://www.nws.noaa.gov/com/weatherreadynation/public.html
They also provide free in-person training at a variety of locations throughout the year:
http://www.nws.noaa.gov/training/wxspot.php
You can take this training online as well. I recommend it for teachers, it's a great supplement to teach to your kids, send it home to the parents, and so on. You can become a citizen reporter, a spotter, or you can just learn to have the information for your own self-preservation.
http://skywarn.org/skywarn-training/
One of the many things I learned in the training I attended was how to read and interpret the radar maps seen here:
http://www.weather.gov/
These are the same maps often displayed on The Weather Channel and other commercial sources of weather information, but this is direct from the government and can be interpreted if you have the training to do so. I'm somewhat limited in being color-blind, but most of us don't have that problem, and fortunately for me, my wife is not color-blind.
In conclusion, I'd like to urge everyone to seek out and take advantage of the training and resources available to you through your government. It's a form of self-defense to know when it is time to batten down the hatches, right? Bad weather is something that people can survive, but if they are unprepared, unwarned, or uncaring, it may not end well for them.
In the USA, the government agency responsible for weather prediction and analysis is the NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration):
http://www.noaa.gov/
The NOAA is part of the US Department of Commerce.
The NOAA includes the US National Weather Service. They make information available to the public in a variety of ways:
http://www.nws.noaa.gov/com/weatherreadynation/
They make tools available for the public:
http://www.nws.noaa.gov/com/weatherreadynation/public.html
They also provide free in-person training at a variety of locations throughout the year:
http://www.nws.noaa.gov/training/wxspot.php
You can take this training online as well. I recommend it for teachers, it's a great supplement to teach to your kids, send it home to the parents, and so on. You can become a citizen reporter, a spotter, or you can just learn to have the information for your own self-preservation.
http://skywarn.org/skywarn-training/
One of the many things I learned in the training I attended was how to read and interpret the radar maps seen here:
http://www.weather.gov/
These are the same maps often displayed on The Weather Channel and other commercial sources of weather information, but this is direct from the government and can be interpreted if you have the training to do so. I'm somewhat limited in being color-blind, but most of us don't have that problem, and fortunately for me, my wife is not color-blind.
In conclusion, I'd like to urge everyone to seek out and take advantage of the training and resources available to you through your government. It's a form of self-defense to know when it is time to batten down the hatches, right? Bad weather is something that people can survive, but if they are unprepared, unwarned, or uncaring, it may not end well for them.
