Wisconsin Tornado and Severe Weather Awareness Week is April 9-13

Governor Scott Walker has declared April 9-13, 2018, as Wisconsin’s Tornado & Severe Weather Awareness Week. Tanna McKeon, Director of Green County Emergency Management, urges schools, businesses, families, and individuals to take advantage of this time to test their emergency plans. The statewide tornado drills will be Thursday, April 12. A mock tornado watch will be issued at 1:00 p.m., followed by a mock tornado warning at 1:45 p.m. A mock tornado warning will also be conducted at 6:45 p.m., to give families and second shift workers a chance to test their emergency plans. Many area municipalities will be testing their warning sirens and many radio and TV stations across the state will issue the test tornado warnings. In addition, mock alerts will be issued on NOAA Weather Radios. Be sure your weather radio is turned on for this test. If the alarm on your weather radio does not go off for this test, check your weather radio’s programming and quality of reception.
Last year, there were 23 tornado touchdowns in the state, which is average for the state. While most were either EF0 or EF1, the state did record an EF3 on May 16, 2017. The tornado followed an 83-mile path across Polk, Barron, Rusk, and Price counties, killing one person and causing widespread damage. On June 28, 2017, two EF1 tornadoes caused extensive damage north of Monroe. By taking immediate cover after receiving the tornado warning on his cell phone, one couple narrowly missed being seriously injured when their home was extensively damaged by the tornado. According to the National Weather Service, that tornado had winds up to 105 mph, travelled for 2.1 miles and was 300-feet wide.
During storm season – follow this message: Listen, Act and Live. Don’t ignore watches and warnings. Listen and take action. Every second counts. Don’t wait…go to a safe place right away!
The tornado drill will take place even if the sky is cloudy, dark or rainy. If actual severe storms are expected in the state on Thursday, April 12th, the tornado drills will be postponed until Friday, April 13th, with the same times. If severe storms are possible Friday, the drills will be cancelled. Any changes will be issued to local media, as well as posted on the ReadyWisconsin website at http://readywisconsin.wi.gov. Updates will also be posted on Facebook (www.facebook.com/ReadyWisconsin).