From the desk of Mike Kochasic, Warning Coordination Meteorologist, NOAA/National Weather Service, Louisville, KY
Louisville, KY Weather Forecast Office
News Release
CONTACT:
Mike Kochasic
Warning Coordination Meteorologist
NOAA/National Weather Service, Louisville, KY
502-968-5195
michael.kochasic@noaa.gov
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Wednesday, February 16, 2022
March 1-7 is Severe Weather Awareness Week in Kentucky
Statewide Tornado Safety Drill to be Held on Wednesday March 2 – 10:07 am EST
(Louisville, Kentucky) – Wednesday March 2, 2022 will mark the 10 year anniversary since the deadly West Liberty, KY tornado, and other deadly tornadoes near the region. On that day, 41 people lost their lives due to tornadoes, almost all of which occurred in Kentucky, Indiana, and Ohio. The somber anniversary will undoubtedly renew memories of the destruction that severe weather hazards in the Ohio River Valley can cause. In addition, Kentucky is still recovering after the recent December 10-11, 2021 and January 1, 2022 tornado outbreaks. The scars left on many communities from the deadliest tornado outbreak in Kentucky history will be felt for years to come.
Severe weather knows no boundaries and impacts every individual in every region of the Commonwealth. Because of this, everyone needs to BE AWARE – BE PREPARED – HAVE A PLAN!
A Statewide Tornado Safety Drill will be conducted at 10:07 am EST, Wednesday, March 2nd. During the drill, the National Weather Service (NWS), in partnership with Kentucky Emergency Management (KYEM), the Kentucky Weather Preparedness Committee (KWPC), and Kentucky Broadcasters Association, will issue a test tornado message that will activate weather alert radios. All Kentuckians are encouraged to practice their tornado safety actions at home, school, or work. Local Emergency Management Agencies may activate outdoor sirens, and many television and radio stations may interrupt programming to cover the tornado drill. This year, alerts will not activate the Emergency Alert System (EAS) or cable overrides, and test messages do not activate Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA). If inclement weather is forecast for March 2nd, the Statewide Tornado Drill will be postponed to Thursday, March 3rd or canceled.
“Whether it’s the April 3, 1974 Super Outbreak, the West Liberty and Saylersville March 2, 2012 long track tornadoes, or the Dec 10-11 2021 Quad State Tornadoes, Kentuckians must be weather prepared. Please have a plan of what you would do for your family, when warnings are issued, whether you are at home, at a youth sporting event, or at the grocery store. Make sure you have multiple ways of receiving life saving warnings from your local NWS office” said John Gordon, Meteorologist-in-Charge at the National Weather Service in Louisville, KY.
Basic severe weather preparedness includes:
- Understanding the types of hazardous weather that can affect you and your family. This Weather Safety web page is a good resource to use when learning about different weather hazards.
- Staying up to date on the weather forecast regularly at weather.gov or your favorite weather source. Get a NOAA Weather Radio and ensure your cell phone can receive localized alerts from emergency management officials.
- Building an emergency kit and developing a family emergency plan that considers all types of local hazards and associated risks.
Throughout the week, the NWS offices that serve Kentucky and KYEM will provide severe weather safety information via social media and the web. Partner organizations and the media are encouraged to participate in the week’s activities! Various preparedness articles, infographics and social media plans are available for use and can be shared upon request. Consider including the hashtags #kywx in your organization’s severe weather preparedness related social media posts.
In conjunction with severe weather awareness week, we invite all to attend one of our virtual SKYWARN spotter training sessions. For information about classes being offered, contact your local NWS Warning Coordination Meteorologist. Training webinars are free and open to anyone wishing to become a spotter or learn more about weather safety.
Help us build a Weather-Ready Kentucky by becoming a Weather-Ready Nation Ambassador. This initiative is intended for organizations and designed to help serve the public by strengthening our national resilience against extreme weather events. For more information and to apply, go to https://www.weather.gov/wrn/amb-tou.
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