tornado drill | Ralph W. lambrecht (Unsplash)
tornado drill | Ralph W. lambrecht (Unsplash)
Severe Weather Awareness Week
Severe Weather Awareness Week is March 27-31, 2023. This is an opportunity to be aware of, and prepare for, severe weather. It is also an ideal time to review your family's emergency plan, check the contents of your emergency kit, and sign up to receive alerts to stay weather aware.
Statewide Tornado Drill
Severe Weather Awareness Week includes the annual statewide tornado drill, which will take place at 10:00 am on Wednesday, March 29. In the event of severe weather that day, the drill will be postponed and held at 10:00 am on Thursday, March 30.
The purpose of the drill is to ensure that Iowans can adequately receive a Tornado Warning and practice actions that should be taken in the event of a tornado.
The test will be sent through all communication channels normally used for severe weather alerts. Please note: third-party mobile applications will vary in behavior and performance based upon the coding within the application.
Practice Severe Weather Safety Plans
The drill is a good time to practice severe weather safety plans, take shelter in a safe place, and monitor NOAA weather radio or tune into local media for information as you would during a real severe weather event. A designated tornado-safe room or the innermost and lowest windowless room is the preferred place to go to in the event of a tornado.
Monthly Siren Testing
The outdoor warning sirens are normally tested on the first Wednesday of the month at 10:00 am. Due to the statewide drill happening close to Johnson County’s normal siren test day, Johnson County will not test outdoor sirens on Wednesday, April 5. The normal testing cycle will resume on Wednesday, May 3 at 10:00 am.
About the Storm Warning Sirens
The storm warning sirens are an outdoor warning system, designed to alert those who are outside that something dangerous is approaching and to seek shelter. The storm warning is a high-pitched, constant tone that lasts for 3 minutes, and sirens may be sounded multiple times to convey a continued or new threat. Under the Johnson County outdoor warning system guidelines, sirens are sounded for:
- Tornadoes: Tornado warnings, either Doppler radar-indicated or reported by a trained spotter.
- Wind: Severe thunderstorm warnings with winds of 70 mph or greater (potential for whole trees to snap or uproot).
- Hail: 1.75 inch (golf ball-sized) or larger (potential for windows to break)
You can sign for Johnson County/Alert Iowa Alerts. In the event of an emergency or severe weather, an alert will be sent to the phone number and/or email address provided by voice, text and/or email. This is a free service provided by Johnson County and the State of Iowa, however, normal message fees may apply.
- Register for Johnson County specific alerts at https://www.smart911.com/smart911/ref/reg.action?pa=JohnsonCountyAlerts
- Download the Smart911 app available in the Apple App Store or Google Play.
- Text JohnsonIA to 67283.
Additional information about the tornado drill can be found on local NWS websites. For more information on severe weather preparedness, visit www.weather.gov/dvn/Awareness_Weeks or beready.iowa.gov, or www.jecc-ema.org.
To learn about local weather spotter training classes, visit https://www.weather.gov/dvn/spotters#schedule.
To learn more about the outdoor warning sirens, the guidelines for when they are sounded, and where they are located in Coralville, visit www.coralville.org/stormwarningsirens.
Original source can be found here.
Alerts Sign-up