High school seniors present severe weather program to Rotarians

Published 12:00 am Thursday, February 14, 2008

DEMOPOLIS &045; Two Demopolis High School seniors, Katie Brooker and Meaghan James, spent their lunch hour yesterday presenting an informative presentation on how to be prepared for severe weather to the Demopolis Rotary Club.

In preparation for Alabama Severe Weather Week and in conjunction with the 21st Century Extended Day program, the girls put together two sets of informational pamphlets discussing important Alabama severe weather topics.

One pamphlet is geared toward elementary school students and came complete with a storm word search puzzle on the back. The other pamphlet, which holds a wealth of information, is meant for middle and high school students.

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Just a few of the topics included knowing the difference between a severe weather &8220;watch&8221; and a severe weather &8220;warning,&8221; and the differences between tornadoes and hurricanes.

During their presentation, James explained the importance of having a severe weather safety plan for your family.

The project came about when the two seniors were asked to do a presentation for their involvement with extended day. When coming up with a topic, Brooker said she knew exactly what she wanted to work on.

While visiting the ABC 33/40 studios in Birmingham over Christmas break, Brooker met meteorologist James Spann. She watched a live broadcast of the show and also got to see them in preparation for their

severe weather tour that they do each February.

When asked what she thought about the process of a show being made, Brooker said, &8220;It’s nothing like I thought it would be.&8221;

Their presentation to the club came just in time for Alabama’s Severe Weather Week, which is from Feb. 17-23.