Illinois Severe Weather Preparedness Week 2014

November 17, 2013 seemed just like your typical morning in Fall.  Little did the general public know that the previous day at 1:30 pm there were conference calls with the National Weather Service and Emergency Management Agencies and news meteorologists concerning the outbreak of severe weather and extremely violent tornadoes for this day.  This was the day of the Washington, IL tornado and numerous other tornadoes that affected the region throughout the day.  Tornadoes are not just a springtime through summer event.  They can happen at any month.  Six years ago there was a tornado that occurred on January 7th, 2008.  Not many people expect a strong tornado to hit in Illinois just days after New Years.

The first full week of March (March 2 - March 8 in 2014) is known as Severe Weather Preparedness Week in Illinois.  The Chicago National Weather Service Forecast Office presents a variety of information to help the general public get informed on severe weather and the differences between watches and warnings.  It is suggested that those with families take the time to go over their severe weather response plan to make sure to know what to do in the event a tornado warning is issued for your area, what to do during a severe thunderstorm, and what to do if caught driving when the storm itself hits.

This Tuesday morning at 10am, Illinois will conduct a statewide tornado drill that all schools and other organizations are encouraged to participate in.  Most schools are required by law to participate.  If you are working in a business and not participating, at least take the time to discuss with coworkers where the shelter is located at your business and how you will account for the people taking shelter.  Those of you with children should take the moment to discuss about not panicking when the tornado sirens go off and to follow the lead of their teachers and other school personnel.  Tornadoes are not the only severe weather phenomena.  Hail and thunderstorm winds are other criteria that define a severe thunderstorm.  Thunderstorms can occasionally produce flash flooding that can be a threat to human life.

There is also the opportunity to learn how to be a spotter and know how to properly report in severe weather events in your area that you witness.  These classes are presented by the National Weather Service or agents designated by them during the months of spring.  These classes are free to the public and generally last 2-3 hours depending on the number of questions that are presented to the speaker.  For those with any interest in meteorology, I would highly suggest attendance, and those who just are curious or want to learn it is very helpful.  Amateur Radio operators are highly encouraged as they can participate in helping to rapidly communicate severe weather criteria to the National Weather Service Offices to have warnings issued for towns in the path of the severe storm.

Please follow my blog here during the week, as I will present more information pertaining to severe weather and safety during storms.  Some links of interest follow below.

Severe Weather Preparedness Week information

http://www.crh.noaa.gov/lot/?n=ilsevereprepare

Basic Spotter Training

http://www.crh.noaa.gov/lot/?n=spotter_talks

Chicago National Weather Service Forecast Office

http://www.weather.gov/chicago

Illinois Emeregency Management Agency severe weather information

https://www.state.il.us/iema/disaster/pdf/severeweatherpreparedness.pdf