Meteorology: Change in the Weather

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As the sun rose over Rockford, Ill., last week, residents could not believe their ears. "At 4:35 a.m.," a local radio station reported, "a tornado hit the Rockford, Ill., weather office. The entire town of Rockford has been demolished. If you are in the path, go to a basement shelter." Gazing out their windows, the town's citizens discovered a placid dawn scene. Not even a tree branch was down.

Rockford (pop. 140,000) was the victim not of a lethal twister but of glitches in new computer software used by the National Weather Service. The tornado alert was one of five test alarms that were incorrectly sent out to local radio stations last week. Few Rockford residents believed the warning anyway. They know their weather, and early-morning tornadoes are rare indeed. Says Rockford Mayor John McNamara: "We don't take tornadoes lightly here."