Memphis news station WMC Action News 5 brought its Weather Roadshow to the Overby Center Thursday.
The traveling weather-safety fair offered students lectures on how to stay safe during dangerous weather and how to better prepare for incoming weather by studying satellite images of the skies.
Oxford marked the Roadshow’s final stop of its spring tour, after touching down in Arlington, Tennessee, Dyersburg, Tennessee, and in state at Olive Branch.
Ron Childers, chief meteorologist, showed audience members an example of what to pack in an emergency backpack in addition to a first-aid kit.
Childers said some of the most important and life-saving items to have can be as cheap as 99 cents.
Ponchos, thermal blankets, rope, orange spray paint and small flashlights can mean the difference between perishing and surviving.
WMC Action News 5 had its weather command center on display to show students and professors alike just how its system functions. The American Red Cross’ Safe Home and Channel 5’s Storm Tracker vehicle were parked outside the Overby Center, as well. Visitors toured through the equipment and safety-training home where the station’s storm tracking team demonstrated how to use the technology.
Childers pulled out a bag of nonperishable energy bars that cost around $1 each.
“These are not the greatest tasting things in the world,” Childers said. “However … they’ve got 35 grams of sugar, 8 grams of protein and 45 grams of carbohydrates. You have to keep your blood sugar up. You have to eat something.”
Other equipment included a toothbrush, chapstick and a permanent marker in case he has to make a sign because pens are not always reliable.
The last thing Childers pulled out of his emergency backpack was a deck of playing cards.
Childers said he started packing cards after a storm had ripped through Walnut. He saw people just sitting around looking hopeless.
“They had nothing. They were just passing time,” Childers said.
Childers said he looked up and saw two men playing a card game that distracted them from the storm’s damage.
He said part of surviving is physical safety, but it’s also about mental safety and having something to occupy time like a card game can keep morale from bottoming out.
After the outside demonstrations of the weather equipment wrapped up, the National Weather Service gave a presentation on its Skywarn Weather Storm Spotter Class in the Overby Auditorium.
Jenny Smith, the station’s marketing director, said sessions like Thursday’s are necessary because of the threat presented by “Dixie Alley,” the Mississippi region where storms are constantly brewing.
Oxford High School graduate Quayshawn Hervey, 17, attended the event with his sister.
Hervey said that through watching the demonstration, he learned new ways to survive.
Originally from Tupelo, Hervey still remembers enduring severe weather with his mother and stepfather. Confined in their home, they watched strong winds threaten to blow trees down next to their house.
“It was scary at the time,” Hervey said.
Hervey said if bad weather were to happen soon, he feels more prepared and plans to assemble an emergency kit of his own.
“It’s definitely important to survive,” Hervey said.
