Strange Severe Weather Warning...

[Lord Jim]

I have The Weatherbug on my computer, and for those unfamiliar with it, one of the features it has is for "severe weather" alerts. In this area, this usually involves things like coastal flooding, high winds, severe rain....

But a few minutes ago, this popped up:

ALERT 1 - Child Abduction Emergency
THE NWS HAS ISSUED A CHILD ABDUCTION EMERGENCY UNTIL 7:30AM PDT
Issue Time: 6:30AM PDT, Wednesday Sep 23, 2015
Valid Until: 7:30AM PDT, Wednesday Sep 23, 2015

WTF

What does that mean? that the National Weather Service has determined that there is a high risk of child abductions in the Bay Area until 7:30 tonight?

If the Weatherbug wants to participate in the Amber Alert system that's fine, but that notice isn't very informative...or informative at all...

Plus I've had the TV on for over an hour and there's been no Amber Alert coming across the EBS (which is what usually happens.)

[Big RR]

Looks like an Amber Alert. I din't know the NWS did these:

http://alerts.weather.gov/cap/wwacapget ... bb6911552b

[Lord Jim]

It just came across the TV....

(Looks like a custody dispute issue, which is what the vast majority of child abductions are...)

I just noticed that underneath what I posted in the OP there is a
details" link to get more information.

I think it's great that the NWS is participating in this, even though it's outside their area of focus. (It must be something they just recently started doing, since I've never seen it before) When a child is abducted, you want to get the word out in the region where it happened as quickly as you can, using as many platforms as you can. In addition to using the EBS, there are text notices now that go out to mobile phones, (I see I got one, even though I don't even have a smart phone) and the alerts also go up on electronic highway signs.

[rubato]

I got the amber alert on my iphone and I don't have any software I've downloaded that should have done that.


yrs,
rubato

[Crackpot]

Jim AM means morning.

[Lord Jim]

Thanks for clearing that up for me Meade Jr...

[wesw]

I got an alert across the tv last week...

it just said that it was for Maryland,

no details, no info that would have possibly allowed me to assist with, or even identify the problem.

they could have been right out front and I would not have had any way to tell....., and no reason to call anyone.

[Joe Guy]

It turned out to be pretty serious....

Amber Alert suspect arrested on suspicion of attempted murder
By Evan Sernoffsky
Updated 3:24 pm, Wednesday, September 23, 2015

Michael Steele, 34, was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder...

A father accused of kidnapping his 5-year-old son from San Mateo early Wednesday, prompting an Amber Alert, had severely beaten two people during the abduction before fleeing with the child to Sacramento County, authorities said.

Michael Steele, 34, was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder in unincorporated Sacramento County, 2½ hours after he fled the Bay Area with his 5-year-old son, triggering the emergency alert, San Mateo County sheriff’s officials said.

The ordeal began around 4:30 a.m. when deputies responded to a domestic violence call at a home on the 1800 block of Parrot Drive in San Mateo and found two victims badly beaten there, officials said.

One of the victims, a woman in her 40s who was not identified, had “significant visible injuries to her face,” and the other person, a man in his 60s, also had injuries to his face, deputies said.

The victims were taken to a hospital for treatment. Their conditions were not available.

Steele, who was immediately identified as the alleged attacker, fled the area with his 5-year-old son in a 2015 Toyota Tacoma pickup truck, deputies said.

Just before 7 a.m., authorities in Sacramento County spotted Steele driving the truck in Rosemont. Deputies pulled him over, arrested him without incident and recovered his son, who was wearing pajama pants and no shirt. The child was taken to a hospital with an injured hand.

Steele was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, domestic violence and child abduction.

source