TRI-STATES (AP) -- The National Weather Service is kicking off an experiment next week with a new kind of tornado warning that's aimed to scare people into seeking shelter.
Weather service officials say studies after deadly tornadoes in Joplin, Mo., and Tuscaloosa, Ala., last year found that most people didn't heed the initial warnings about the oncoming storms.
They also say people in tornado-prone areas have become desensitized by frequent false alarms and don't always pay attention to the first warnings.
And so, offices in Missouri and Kansas will start sending out "impact-based" warnings during severe weather that describe how much damage a storm could cause.
Among the messages in the new warnings: "COMPLETE DESTRUCTION OF ENTIRE NEIGHBORHOODS IS LIKELY" and "MASS DEVASTATION IS HIGHLY LIKELY MAKING THE AREA UNRECOGNIZABLE TO SURVIVORS."
(Copyright ©2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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