When massive tornadoes tore through Oklahoma this spring, they devastated neighborhoods, schools and businesses, and killed more than 20 people. The aftermath will take months to clean up, but it will be much longer before the pain will ease for the families who live, work and are now rebuilding there.

More lives might have been lost had it not been for advanced weather systems that predicted landfall as much as a half hour before the tornadoes ripped the area apart. The advance warning gave many residents time to get to a safe shelter.

Science and technology have come a long way in determining the area a severe storm might impact, and fortunately Publix is taking advantage of some of those innovations.

This year, Publix is rolling out a new severe weather notification system called WeatherCall that provides store- and facility-specific notifications to managers when a tornado is anticipated to be within five miles of their location.

“It’s important to remember tornadoes can happen anywhere in Publix’s operating area, even in those more prone to hurricane activity,” said Director of Loss Prevention and Safety Dennis Wamsley. “That’s why it’s vital our management teams are aware of severe weather when it happens close to them. While it’s been quiet in some areas since 2011, it’s best to be prepared in case this year brings more activity.”

How WeatherCall works

When severe weather threatens a specific area, WeatherCall sends alerts in three ways — a call is made to the store’s customer service department, an email is sent to the store inbox, and a text message is sent to managers. The text message includes a link to a live radar of the storm and the area being monitored. Once the tornado is no longer a threat to the facility, an all-clear notification is sent.

“We’ve had several opportunities to try WeatherCall this storm season, and it’s been very well-received,” said Assistant Store Manager Lisa Hockin, #1031, Franklin, Tenn. “Where we used to scramble to try to find information about severe weather in our area, now we get the alerts immediately, which gives us time to prepare the store, our associates and our customers.”

WeatherCall is currently live in some districts in the Atlanta Division, and companywide rollout is expected to be completed in early October.