2016 Severe Weather Awareness Week Introduction

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RALEIGH NC
800 AM EST SUN MAR 6 2016

Severe Weather Preparedness Week in North Carolina is March 6-12, 2016
Statewide Tornado Drill scheduled for Wednesday, March 9 at 9:30 AM

This week is North Carolina’s annual Severe Weather Preparedness Week. This week the National Weather Service and the North Carolina Department of Public Safety are teaming up to bring this severe weather safety campaign to all of North Carolina’s residents. With warmer weather quickly approaching, now is the time to prepare for the severe weather season. If each North Carolina resident would take a few moments this week to learn about severe weather safety and implement a safety plan, then we would all be better off when severe thunderstorms and tornadoes inevitably strike our state and the likelihood of injury and fatalities caused by severe weather could be minimized.

Severe weather and severe weather preparedness takes many forms, so each day this week we will highlight a different preparedness topic. This week’s topics will include…

• Monday: Severe thunderstorms and tornadoes

• Tuesday: Ways to receive severe weather alerts, and information about the Statewide Tornado Drill

• Wednesday: Staying safe when high winds, hail, and tornadoes strike

• Thursday: Lightning safety

• Friday: Flash flood safety

• Saturday: Make a plan and encourage others to do the same

On Wednesday, March 9th at 9:30 AM, the National Weather Service in cooperation with local broadcasters will conduct a statewide tornado drill. The alarm test, which will come in the form of a Required Monthly Test, will activate the State Emergency Alert System and be carried by local radio broadcasters. Every school, business, and residence is encouraged to participate in this drill. It’s really easy: at 9:30 AM on Wednesday, take a few moments to practice your severe weather safety plan, and seek shelter for a few minutes as if a tornado was headed your way. Practicing this when the weather is good will allow you to react more quickly when the weather turns bad.

Finally, take a few moments this week to visit the North Carolina Department of Public Safety’s preparedness website…readync.org. On this web page you will find an abundance of information, and links to a free cell phone app, that will help you plan and prepare for the severe weather season. Once again, that’s readync.org.