Latest news with #SevereWeatherAwarenessweek
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Severe Weather Awareness Week: Day 1
SIOUX CITY, Iowa (KCAU) — It's that time of the year again! Severe Weather Awareness week has begun in both Iowa and Nebraska. From Monday through Friday, March 28, each day spotlights a different aspect of severe weather. The first day of Severe Weather Awareness week focuses on lighting safety. According to the , lighting is hotter than the surface of the sun, reaching temperatures of around 50,000°F. Each year, across the United States, lightning strikes around 25 million times. That's over 68,000 times per day! And in 2024, lightning strikes resulted in 12 fatalities. So it's important to know what to do and how to stay safe around lightning. First and foremost, the best place to be when lightning strikes is inside. NASA to launch asteroid hunting spacecraft in 2027 You'll want to stay away from corded electrical equipment, such as computers, TVs or really anything plugged in or with an electric cord . For instance, you absolutely can still use your cell phone, BUT you don't want to have it plugged into a charging cord. In addition, you should stay away from windows and avoid plumbing, like doing dishes or showering during a lightning storm. You should also avoid balconies, porches, carports, and open garages, as these are not safe places when lightning strikes. If you're caught outside in lightning, if possible, get inside. If you can't get to a safe place, avoid open fields and tall objects like trees or light poles. And if you find yourself in a body of water during a storm, whether your swimming or boating, get out of the water immediately and to a safe place, if possible. As a good rule of thumb, wait AT LEAST half an hour (30 minutes) AFTER the last bolt of lightning/rumble of thunder to head back outside and/or resume activities. More lightning safety tips and information can be found on the National Weather Service Lightning Safety page . The rest of the schedule for the 2025 Severe Weather Awareness Week is as follows: Tuesday: Tornado Safety Wednesday: Thunderstorms & Preparedness Thursday: Hail & Wind Safety Friday: Flood Safety And for the latest weather any time in Siouxland, visit the . Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
17-03-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Local EMA stresses readiness for severe weather
LISBON, Ohio (WKBN) – As part of Severe Weather Awareness week, local emergency officials are preaching for residents to stay weather aware in the spring and summer storm season. County emergency management agencies have different sign-up systems to provide alerts during severe weather. Residents provide basic information such as location and contact information. In Columbiana County, the system is integrated with the National Weather Service. If the NWS issues a Severe Thunderstorm Warning or Tornado Warning, it automatically alerts residents via a phone call, text message or email. 'It gives you not only listening to the TV or radio, this can come right to your cell phone. So, if you are outside working in the yard, you don't know that there is something going on, you will get that alert so that you can keep you and your family safe,' said EMA Director Peggy Clark. You can sign up for the alerts in Columbiana County by going to the county EMA website. If you're not tech-savvy they say you can also give them a call to enroll. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
13-03-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Marion County to re-test tornado sirens after alarm system fails to activate during drill
Indianapolis will perform an additional full test of its tornado sirens Friday after the warning system failed to activate during a drill earlier this week, according to Jacob Spence, director of the Metropolitan Emergency Services Agency. Spence said he is not certain what went wrong during the annual test scheduled for Tuesday as part of Severe Weather Awareness week. At 11 a.m. Tuesday, county public safety officials turned on the sirens, expecting to hear a long wail. Instead, nothing happened. An error log showed the signal was sent successfully but was blocked before it reached the sirens. A representative for Federal Signal, the vendor that maintains the system, said the company investigated the glitch and has concluded its systems are in working order. No possibilities, including foul play, have been ruled out, Spence said. Indianapolis' tornado sirens are already tested weekly, but long, audible tests only occur on the first Friday of each month. On all other Fridays, officials run shorter tests that last only a second or two and which most people do not hear. Spence said that while a second short test just before 2 p.m. Tuesday was successful, officials will attempt to perform a long test for the second time this week on Friday morning. Because this Friday is the second in the month, typically the longer sirens would not sound. Spence said that while he's unaware of a comparable system failure during his 24-year career in Indianapolis emergency services, Tuesday's alarm glitch is an important reminder that people need to have multiple ways to learn about severe weather in their area. "The outdoor warning sirens are one piece of the puzzle, but they're only for outdoors," Spence said. Marion County residents can register for emergency alerts by texting MESAINDY to 67283. Those who prefer to receive notifications through voice calls or email can sign up at The National Weather Service and Metropolitan Emergency Services Agency both post severe weather advisories on social media pages. Radio and television broadcasts are interrupted to provide urgent weather warnings, too. "Obviously, we want a working siren system," Spence said. "This definitely is not something we want to occur." Ryan Murphy is the communities reporter at IndyStar. She can be reached at indystar@ This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indianapolis will run extra full test of tornado sirens after failure
