we don't get the NWS emergency broadcasts over cable channels unless they are the local broadcast channels (ABC, CBS, PBS, etc.).
And since we rarely watch TV, we're always in the dark.
If I recall, the NWS local weather page did have a "severe weather warning" but we get those all the time this time of year because of thunderstorms. Maybe they should have a classification "Really severe weather, and yes, we mean really severe!"
I don't know if the NWS recognized this system as being any different from the systems we commonly get . . . cold front advancing from the west into hot, humid air. Gotta say, though, that cold fronts don't usually pack that kind of oomph at this time of year.
By the way, has anyone around here ever thought about, maybe, burying a few electricity cables so they don't all have to be restrung every time the wind blows? I bet they don't have this problem where the rainforest used to be in Brazil.