While severe weather warnings have always carried urgency, they've come an awfully long way. In one alert we carried on WFMJ back in 1988, forecasters warned that even routine Severe Thunderstorm Warnings should be taken seriously.

"Occasionally, severe thunderstorms can and will produce tornadoes with little or no advance warning," the advisory said.

Fast forward almost 40 years, and that warning language has evolved with the technology.
Wednesday night's Tornado Warning for Trumbull County included verbiage the National Weather Service only recently started using.

"They have the option of adding what we call tags to these warnings," says 21 News chief meteorologist Eric Wilhelm. "Whether it be a 'considerable' tag or a 'destructive' tag, it's a way for the Weather Service to say 'hey, this is really serious. This is more serious than a typical severe thunderstorm or tornado warning."

Trumbull County's warning Wednesday night went even further, calling the observed tornado a 'life-threatening situation'.
The NWS issued the warning at 6:45pm - the moment the Windham tornado struck.
Folks in Champion had about 15 minutes lead time, since that tornado struck at 7:01.
But no matter how much lead time you get for a tornado, it comes down to what you choose to do with that information.

"When you see a meteorologist on television or on an app or wherever you're getting your weather information telling you to seek shelter, we really want you to do so," Wilhelm stressed.