Science center visitors experience hurricane simulator; organizations collect donations to help those affected

3 months ago 2

NEWS. AND A SIMULATOR RIGHT HERE IN BIRMINGHAM SHOWS JUST HOW DANGEROUS A HURRICANE CAN BE. WVTM13’S ERIN WHELAN SHOWS US HOW IT CAN SHOW THE STRENGTH OF HURRICANE WINDS. SO WE’RE HERE AT THE MCWANE SCIENCE CENTER, AND YOU CAN SEE BEHIND ME THAT THIS IS A HURRICANE BOOTH, AND IT SIMULATES WHAT A CATEGORY ONE HURRICANE WOULD BE LIKE. SO I’M GOING TO GET INSIDE AND GIVE YOU AN INSIDE LOOK AT WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE. SO WE’RE GOING TO CLOSE THIS DOOR AND WE’RE GOING TO WAIT FOR THE WIND TO START UP. NOW AS YOU CAN SEE, THE WIND IS GOING TO GRADUALLY PICK UP AS THIS STARTS. SO WE ARE GOING TO REACH SPEEDS UP TO 80MPH HERE. INSIDE. AND LIKE I SAID, THAT DOES SIMULATE A CATEGORY ONE HURRICANE. BUT MILTON IS EXPECTED TO BE A CATEGORY FOUR HURRICANE, WHICH COULD REACH SPEEDS UP TO 150 MILES AN HOUR. NOW, LIKE I SAID, THIS IS EXPECTED TO REACH WIND SPEEDS OF 180 MILES AN HOUR, WHICH IS ALMOST DOUBLE WHAT WE ARE GOING TO EXPERIENCE IN HERE. NOW, STAFF HERE AT THE MCWANE SCIENCE CENTER SAY THAT THIS IS SUPPOSED TO BE A FUN EXPERIENCE FOR KIDS AND FAMILIES, BUT IT’S ALSO SUPPOSED TO BE AN EDUCATIONAL TOOL TO REALLY LET YOU KNOW HOW DAMAGING THESE WINDS COULD BE FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE EXPERIENCING HURRICANES AS WELL. SO AGAIN, YOU CAN SEE THAT WE ARE GRADUALLY LOWERING OUR WIND SPEEDS HERE INSIDE, AND THIS IS WHAT IT WOULD BE LIKE TO BE IN A CATEGORY ONE HURRICANE. BUT FO

Hours before landfall, there have been nearly 100 tornado warnings from the National Weather Service. The debris still lining the streets from Hurricane Helene could be turned into projectiles for high winds.Staff at the McWane Science Center feel weather affects everyone—even if they’re not in the path of a weather event. That’s why the center has a hurricane simulator to give visitors an inside look at what being caught in the eye of a hurricane would be like. Inside the simulator, winds reach up to 80 miles an hour. Staff said they’ve noticed more people experiencing the hurricane booth over the past few weeks, which is sparking more interest. They feel it’s not just a fun experience for kids and families, but it’s educational, too.“I’m really interested in how people connect this with the hurricanes and how that impacts their understanding of what people in Georgia, Florida, the Carolinas are going through,” Annie Strong with the McWane Science Center said.Hurricane Milton is expected to make landfall late Wednesday night. It’s expected to be a category-four hurricane. That could mean those winds could reach up to 150 miles an hour.Organizations across Central Alabama are helping out with relief efforts after the damage caused by Helene, and they’re not slowing down any time soon, with Milton expected to make landfall soon.The Birmingham Metro Baptist Association is filling up a trailer with buckets that are going to head to South Carolina to help victims of Helene. Some of those buckets are full of cleaning supplies, and others have toiletries in them.The organization also sent 150 people to help out with relief efforts across Georgia, South Carolina and Florida. They’re giving people hot meals. So far, they’ve fed nearly 18,000 people every day. That’s a total of 50,000 people in South Georgia they’ve fed so far. With Milton expected to make landfall late Wednesday night, the organization is worried there won’t be enough resources to help everyone in need.“Because of their financial donations and their volunteerism,” Chris Cane, executive director of the Birmingham Metro Baptist Association, said, “we’re able to sustain right now. We are concerned about Milton, so we definitely need people to respond and be ready because we are planning right now to get in as soon as we can to bring hope, health and healing to people in Florida.”Anyone interested in helping those victims in South Carolina who were affected by Helene has one more day to help fill up the trailer. Donations are being collected at the Birmingham Metro Baptist Association office from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Thursday. The office is located at 1449 Medical Park Drive, Birmingham, Ala. 35213. Donations for those affected by Milton will start being collected next week. Stay tuned to the organization’s social media pages for more information.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. —

Staff at the McWane Science Center feel weather affects everyone—even if they’re not in the path of a weather event. That’s why the center has a hurricane simulator to give visitors an inside look at what being caught in the eye of a hurricane would be like. Inside the simulator, winds reach up to 80 miles an hour. Staff said they’ve noticed more people experiencing the hurricane booth over the past few weeks, which is sparking more interest. They feel it’s not just a fun experience for kids and families, but it’s educational, too.

“I’m really interested in how people connect this with the hurricanes and how that impacts their understanding of what people in Georgia, Florida, the Carolinas are going through,” Annie Strong with the McWane Science Center said.

Hurricane Milton is expected to make landfall late Wednesday night. It’s expected to be a category-four hurricane. That could mean those winds could reach up to 150 miles an hour.

Organizations across Central Alabama are helping out with relief efforts after the damage caused by Helene, and they’re not slowing down any time soon, with Milton expected to make landfall soon.

The Birmingham Metro Baptist Association is filling up a trailer with buckets that are going to head to South Carolina to help victims of Helene. Some of those buckets are full of cleaning supplies, and others have toiletries in them.

The organization also sent 150 people to help out with relief efforts across Georgia, South Carolina and Florida. They’re giving people hot meals. So far, they’ve fed nearly 18,000 people every day. That’s a total of 50,000 people in South Georgia they’ve fed so far. With Milton expected to make landfall late Wednesday night, the organization is worried there won’t be enough resources to help everyone in need.

“Because of their financial donations and their volunteerism,” Chris Cane, executive director of the Birmingham Metro Baptist Association, said, “we’re able to sustain right now. We are concerned about Milton, so we definitely need people to respond and be ready because we are planning right now to get in as soon as we can to bring hope, health and healing to people in Florida.”

Anyone interested in helping those victims in South Carolina who were affected by Helene has one more day to help fill up the trailer. Donations are being collected at the Birmingham Metro Baptist Association office from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Thursday. The office is located at 1449 Medical Park Drive, Birmingham, Ala. 35213. Donations for those affected by Milton will start being collected next week. Stay tuned to the organization’s social media pages for more information.

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