Severe Weather Awareness Week in Alabama

I know with all the winter weather we’ve been experiencing, it’s difficult to think about preparing for our Spring severe weather season, but it getting to be that time. In a tradition begun after the 1974 tornado outbreak, the National Weather Service (NWS) draws attention to the need for severe weather preparation with a week each February or early March focusing on the dangers we see during March, April, and May, our primary severe weather season. The week ahead has been declared Severe Weather Awareness Week by Governor Robert Bentley, and the NWS will focus on a different topic each day of the week. The statement below explains what the week is and what you can do to be ready for whatever the Spring might bring.

For a complete list of all awareness events planned by the NWS, click here.

-Brian-

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PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
659 AM CST SUN FEB 16 2014

...THIS WEEK IS SEVERE WEATHER AWARENESS WEEK IN ALABAMA...

THIS WEEK HAS BEEN PROCLAIMED SEVERE WEATHER AWARENESS WEEK IN
ALABAMA BY GOVERNOR ROBERT BENTLEY.  DURING THIS SPECIAL WEEK,
ALABAMIANS ARE ENCOURAGED TO LEARN AND OR REVIEW THE PROPER SAFETY
PRECAUTIONS NECESSARY FOR PROTECTING THEIR LIVES DURING SEVERE
WEATHER. ADVANCE PLANNING AND INCREASED AWARENESS WILL HELP
ALABAMA RESIDENTS SURVIVE THESE POTENTIALLY DEADLY STORMS.

SEVERE WEATHER HAS OCCURRED IN ALABAMA EVERY MONTH OF THE YEAR AND
AT ALL TIMES OF THE DAY OR NIGHT. BUT THE SPRING SEVERE WEATHER
SEASON TYPICALLY IS THE MOST ACTIVE OF THE YEAR. THE SPRING SEVERE
WEATHER SEASON RUNS FROM MARCH THROUGH MAY. WE ALSO ENDURE A FALL
SEVERE WEATHER SEASON WHERE ANOTHER PEAK IN ACTIVITY OCCURS. THIS
SEASON TYPICALLY RUNS FROM NOVEMBER THROUGH MID DECEMBER.

MONDAY WILL BE DEVOTED TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORM AWARENESS. WE WILL
HIGHLIGHT SEVERAL DEFINITIONS RELATED TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS AND
PROVIDE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM SAFETY RULES.

TUESDAY WILL BE DEVOTED TOWARD LIGHTNING AWARENESS. LIGHTNING SAFETY
RULES WILL BE REVIEWED TO INFORM YOU ON WHAT TO DO IF YOU HAPPEN TO
BE CAUGHT IN A LIGHTNING STORM WHILE OUTDOORS.

WEDNESDAY WILL FOCUS ON TORNADO AWARENESS AND WILL FEATURE A SPECIAL
WEEKLY NOAA WEATHER RADIO TEST AT 9 AM. THE DEFINITION OF A
TORNADO WILL BE COVERED, ALONG WITH THE DEFINITION OF A TORNADO
WATCH, AND A TORNADO WARNING. IMPORTANT TORNADO SAFETY RULES WILL
BE PRESENTED AND WILL FOCUS ON SEVERAL DIFFERENT CIRCUMSTANCES YOU
MIGHT FIND YOURSELF IN WHEN A TORNADO WARNING IS ISSUED FOR YOUR
AREA.

THURSDAY WILL FOCUS ON THE MOST DEADLY SEVERE WEATHER THREAT OF ALL,
FLASH FLOODING. FLASH FLOOD SAFETY RULES WILL BE COVERED, AND WHAT
TO DO WHEN YOU FIND YOURSELF IN A FLASH FLOOD SITUATION, WHETHER YOU
ARE IN YOUR HOME, OR IN A VEHICLE. WATER IS A VERY POWERFUL FORCE
AND SHOULD NEVER BE UNDERESTIMATED.

FRIDAY WILL CONCLUDE SEVERE WEATHER AWARENESS WEEK BY LOOKING AT
THE VOICE OF THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE, NOAA ALL HAZARDS
WEATHER RADIO AND THE EMERGENCY ALERT SYSTEM. HOW TO RECEIVE
BROADCASTS FROM NOAA WEATHER RADIO WILL BE COVERED, AND WHAT
RADIOS ARE CAPABLE OF RECEIVING WEATHER RADIO SIGNALS. INFORMATION
ON HOW NOAA WEATHER RADIO STATIONS TRANSMIT INFORMATION AND ENABLE
ALARMS WILL BE COVERED IN DETAIL. THE EMERGENCY ALERT SYSTEM WILL
ALSO BE DISCUSSED, WITH EXPLANATION OF HOW THE EAS LINKS THE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE, EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT, AND BROADCAST
MEDIA TOGETHER.

FOR ADDITIONAL DETAILS, VISIT OUR WEB SITE AT WWW.WEATHER.GOV AND
THEN CLICK ON CENTRAL ALABAMA, OR CONTACT JIM STEFKOVICH,
METEOROLOGIST-IN-CHARGE, NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM,
AT 205-664-3010, EXTENSION 222, OR JOHN DE BLOCK, WARNING
COORDINATION METEOROLOGIST, AT EXTENSION 223.

$$

Category: Alabama's Weather, Severe Weather