Severe Weather Awareness Week Starts Today
All information from NWS Birmingham
Knowledge is power, a power that could SAVE YOUR LIFE!!
Introduction
Governor Kay Ivey has declared February 18-23rd, 2018, as Severe Weather Awareness Week in Alabama. The National Weather Service, the Alabama Emergency Management Agency, and other supporting organizations ask for your help in providing the public with information about severe weather safety. Advance planning and increased awareness will help residents of Alabama survive these deadly storms.
Important Information
There are many aspects to being prepared for severe weather, but first and foremost, KNOW WHERE YOU LIVE!! No matter what you have in your severe weather plan, it will never be complete until you can pinpoint your location on a map. Take a few moments NOW to learn some local geography so you can be more prepared when severe weather strikes. Don’t just stop at your home location, learn surrounding counties and communities. This extra bit of knowledge will help you determine if storms in other areas are heading your way.
To help you with this, NWS Birmingham has put together a Story Map that highlights some information about each of the 39 counties in Central Alabama. It can be found here.
Daily Topics
Here are the general topics that will be covered each day of the week.
• Monday, Feb. 19: Severe Thunderstorms
• Tuesday, Feb. 20: Flooding & Flash Flooding
• Wednesday, Feb. 21: Tornadoes
• Thursday, Feb. 22: Lightning
• Friday, Feb. 23: Receiving Weather Alerts
“Tornado Safety Drill” – Wednesday, February 21
In Alabama, we do not conduct a statewide tornado drill. However, the NWS encourages everyone to conduct their own safety drill on Wednesday, Feb 21st. This “tornado safety drill” will be accomplished in conjunction with the weekly NOAA All-Hazards Radio Test that will be run at a special time of 9:00 AM CST. An actual tornado warning WILL NOT sound, but this is an excellent opportunity for schools, civic organizations and businesses around Central Alabama to practice what they would do in the event of a tornado warning.
Please note that some NOAA Weather Radio models do not have an audible sound for the Routine Weekly Test (they only show a flashing light). If you are conducting a drill, please go ahead and conduct the drill even if your weather radio does not audibly alert.
Please continue to check back on AlabamaWx.com each day this week for a new severe weather topic.
About the Author (Author Profile)
Scott Martin is an operational meteorologist, professional graphic artist, musician, husband, and father. Not only is Scott a member of the National Weather Association, but he is also the Central Alabama Chapter of the NWA president. Scott is also the co-founder of Racecast Weather, which provides forecasts for many racing series across the USA. He also supplies forecasts for the BassMaster Elite Series events including the BassMaster Classic.Subscribe
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