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March 14, 2010

Tornado drills are set as Severe Weather Awareness week begins

By Mike Fletcher

Local officials want to ensure the disaster that hit Evansville in November 2005 never happens here.

The tornado that struck at 2 a.m. was the state’s deadliest in more than 30 years, said Dave Tucek, meteorologist from the National Weather Service.

The tornado killed 25 people and caused an estimated $85 million in damages.

“Many people were killed because they were unaware of the threat,” Tucek said. “We need to be prepared at all times.”

With that in mind, the National Weather Service, in cooperation with the Indiana Department of Homeland Security and local officials, will conduct a severe weather awareness campaign this week.

Severe Weather Preparedness Week is a cooperative effort between the National Weather Service; Departments of Homeland Security, Transportation and Education; Indiana State Police; American Red Cross, Indiana Broadcasters Association and the amateur radio community.

“Every family, every school and every business should take time now to review or create a weather safety action plan,” Tucek said.

Along with sending out awareness information, the state will conduct a test tornado drill between 10:15 and 10:30 a.m. Wednesday. A second drill will be 7:30 to 7:45 p.m. A make-up drill is set for Thursday in case of bad weather.

The weather service initiates the drill, which in turn triggers alarms on NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) all-hazards radio and other programmed electronic devices. Tucek encourages everyone to participate and test their tornado plans.

The Howard County/Kokomo Emergency Management Agency also will help keep people in the loop when it comes to bad weather by hosting a SkyWarn class. It will be 1 p.m. March 27 at the EMA office, located in the government building on North Union Street in downtown Kokomo.

SkyWarn is a volunteer program with nearly 290,000 trained severe-weather spotters. These volunteers help keep their local communities safe by providing timely and accurate reports of severe weather to the National Weather Service, said Larry Smith, director of the Howard County EMA.

EMA officials annually sponsor a local SkyWarn.

“Each family and individual should have an emergency plan in place,” Smith advised.

Families should also develop an emergency plan ahead of time, so everyone will know how to respond during a severe weather event. This plan should address issues such as how to contact each other during or after an emergency, and where to meet if an evacuation is necessary.

Smith said the EMA will have an open house April 10 to let people see what goes on behind the scenes during weather events.

Though spotters provide essential information for all types of weather hazards, the main responsibility of a SkyWarn spotter is to identify and describe severe local storms. In the average year, 10,000 severe thunderstorms, 5,000 floods and more than 1,000 tornadoes occur across the U.S.

Since the program started in the 1970s, the information provided by SkyWarn spotters, coupled with Doppler radar technology and improved satellite and other data, has enabled the weather service to issue more timely and accurate warnings for tornados, severe thunderstorms and flash floods.

Volunteers include police and fire personnel, dispatchers, EMS workers, public utility workers and other private citizens. Individuals affiliated with hospitals, schools, churches, nursing homes or who have a responsibility for protecting others also are encouraged to become spotters.

• Mike Fletcher is a Kokomo Tribune reporter. He can be reached at 765-454-8565 or mike.fletcher@kokomotribune.com.

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