Skip to main content

Be a Force of Nature....

......during National Severe Weather Preparedness Week!

FEMA and NOAA partnered to designate March 3-9, 2013, as National Severe Weather Preparedness Week, and is calling upon all Americans to Be a Force of Nature.
I'm a firm believer and am committed to Being a Force of Nature and pledge to do so by: knowing our risk, taking action, and being an example for our families and community by sharing the steps we took to be prepared. Because we live in an area prone to tornadoes, flash floods, severe thunderstorms, and high winds the last year's winter EF4 Harrisburg tornado reminded us that this weather can strike anywhere and at any time.


Harrisburg, IL Leap Day 2012 - EF4 Damage


Just this past year, there were more than 450 weather-related fatalities and nearly 2,600 injuries. Each time severe weather threatens we hear stories of ordinary Americans who do the extraordinary to save loved ones – a mother protecting her children by shielding them from flying debris, a homeowner opening up his storm shelter to neighbors, neighbors helping a senior in a wheelchair get to a safe shelter, individuals ensuring friends are aware of the current watch or warning in their area.




Harrisburg, IL Leap Day 2012 - EF4 Damage
Tornadoes struck approximately 46 states, caused over $1.6 billion in damage and nearly 70 fatalities. There were more than 935 tornadoes in 2012, with 206 in April alone. While April and May are peak months, tornadoes happen all year round.
Building a Weather-Ready Nation requires that every individual and community take action because severe weather knows no boundaries and affects us all. Be a Force of Nature by making a public pledge to be prepared at ready.gov/severe-weather.

What can you do to Prepare?
Knowing your risk, taking action and being an example by sharing your knowledge and actions through your social network are just a few steps you can take to be better prepared and assist in saving lives.

Know Your Risk:
The first step to becoming weather-ready is to understand the type of hazardous weather that can affect where you live and work, and how the weather could impact you and your family. Every state in the United States has experienced tornadoes and severe weather, so everyone is exposed to some degree of risk. Severe storms, tornadoes, flooding, and . Check with WPSD Local 6, The Weather Authority forecast regularly and visit ready.gov/severe-weather to learn more about how to be better prepared and how you can protect your family during emergencies.

Pledge and Take Action:
Be Force of Nature by taking the Pledge to Prepare at ready.gov/severe-weather. When you pledge to prepare, you will take the first step to making sure that you and your family are prepared for severe weather. This includes filling out your family communications plan that you can email to yourself, putting an emergency kit together, keeping important papers and valuables in a safe place, and getting involved.
Obtain a NOAA Weather Radio, and check to see if your cell phone is equipped to receive Wireless Emergency Alerts and sign up for localized alerts from emergency management officials. Beginning March 1st, Local 6 area Walgreen's stores will be offering Midland Weather Radios for home and travel at a discounted price.
 
Be an Example:
Once you have taken action and pledged to Be a Force of Nature, share your story with your family and friends. Create a video and post on a video sharing site; post your story on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, comment on a blog, or share through any other social media site. Technology today makes it easier than ever to be a good example and share the steps you took to help us achieve the vision of a Weather-Ready Nation.
 

Join us today and pledge to prepare for the severe weather in our area.
Information on the different types of severe weather such as tornadoes, severe thunderstorms and flooding is available at www.weather.gov and ready.gov/severe-weather or the Spanish-language web site www.listo.gov.

Information provided by NOAA and Weather Ready Nation

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Planting Zones Heading North

As our global climate changes, so does our planting zones, helping us determine which flowers/shrubs/trees are hardy in specific areas. The Local 6 area has always been split by 2-3 growing zones so placement becomes very important to those in the agricultural community. The image below represents the average over the past 30 years. Climate Central published the following information:  "What kinds of flowers, shrubs and trees you’ll find at your local nursery depends on your climate — how warm it tends to get in summer, and how cold in winter. A plant that’s happy in Wisconsin might be miserable in Alabama, and vice versa. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has formalized these differences into " hardiness zones " — strips of similar climate that run more or less east-to-west (except in the high mountains), where particular plants should do especially well. But as the planet warms under its thickening blanket of greenhouse gases, those zones are shifting northward. Th...

Tri-State Tornado Double Take

Credit: Chris Conley, Spotter  A well-forecast severe weather event unfolded Tuesday night starting in Southeast Missouri then blowing east into Southern Illinois, The Paducah National Weather Service along with local media gave people in Perryville, MO the early alarm that a large tornado was barreling their way. Storm spotter Chris Conley captured power flashes (right) from the violent tornado hitting power lines as the storm traveled from Perryville across the Mississippi River into Rockwood, IL after claiming one man's life on Interstate 55 and injuring 12 in Perryville. Credit: John Humphress, Spotter The supercell thunderstorm parent to this tornado was only getting started. Confirmation of a tornado and a trail of damage was reported in Rockwood, Ava, Elkville, Christopher, Buckner, Enfield and Crossfield, IL. Storm spotter John Humphress captured the wedge tornado (left) that struck Crossville where a man was killed trying to take shelter. Humphress recal...

Round 3 on deck and wrap-up of snow depth thus far

Snow Depth as of December 30, 2012 with additional snow expected New Years Eve night. (Reports from viewers) It is becoming quite clear where the jet stream has set up for the start of winter. People in Southern Illinois and neighboring MO counties along the Mississippi River can barely keep the roads clear while everyone south of the Ohio River is wondering if we'll ever see snow this winter! :) New Year's Eve night is when we are expecting another (although light) snow event across the same areas where you see higher snow depths above. A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY begins Monday at Noon and continues through Tuesday at 6AM for most of Southern Illinois and SEMO. The latest advisory map is below.  Winter Weather Advisory - Paducah/St. Louis National Weather Service Snow totals are not expected to be significant but with icy snow pack across much of the advisory area, any additional snow/sleet may make for hazardous conditions again for New Year's Eve night and New...