Wyoming Severe Weather Awareness Week April 18-22
Promotes severe weather preparedness and safety
by National Weather Service
April 12, 2011
Soon the sounds of thunder will rumble across the wide-open plains and majestic mountains of Wyoming, and the National Weather Service (NWS) is encouraging residents to prepare now for the severe weather season that lies ahead. NWS offices are using Wyoming Severe Weather Awareness Week, April 18 through 22, to promote weather safety, preparedness plans, and to test statewide emergency communications systems.
"Severe weather awareness week is a good time for families to discuss how best to obtain weather alerts and what actions they would take in the event of hazardous weather, such as a tornado or flash flood," said Chris Jones, warning coordination meteorologist at the Riverton NWS office. "An All Hazards NOAA Weather Radio receiver is a very effective way to receive weather alerts and other emergency messages. Local media outlets and our weather.gov/riverton website are two additional ways to monitor forecast weather conditions and important weather watches and warnings."
In a test of statewide alerting capabilities, a test Tornado Warning will be issued on Wednesday, April 20 at 1030 am for the entire state of Wyoming. The NWS and local emergency officials encourage schools, health care facilities, and other large venues to use the drill as an opportunity to test internal emergency procedures for when severe weather threatens. Appropriate shelters and possible evacuation routes should be determined. Jones added, "Cities and counties should consider a test of community outdoor warning sirens and internal communication networks as part of the tornado drill." The test will also allow media outlets serving as emergency alert system relay points to test their ability to broadcast severe weather warnings and messages.
The NWS uses outlooks, watches, and warnings to convey the threat posed by severe weather from 7 days in advance to a storm expected to hit in a few minutes – it’s as easy as "Ready, Set, Go."
Ready - Monitor NWS Hazardous Weather Outlooks 7 days in advance. The potential for hazardous weather will be outlined along with any uncertainty in the forecast.
Set - As confidence increases, watches will be issued to give you a heads up that you need to be prepared for the possibility of severe weather within the next 8 hours.
Go - Warnings will be issued when the NWS is confident that a storm is producing severe weather. Seek shelter now if you are in the path of the storm.
For more information about Wyoming Severe Weather Awareness week, visit the National Weather Service website at http://www.crh.noaa.gov/cys/severeweekWY.php?wfo=riw
Related Links:
NOAA
NOAA’s National Weather Service
NOAA’s National Weather Service in Riverton
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