2016 Tornado and Severe Weather Awareness Drills

Scheduled for Thursday April 14, 2016

The 2016 Tornado Drills will consist of a mock tornado watch and a mock tornado warning issued for all of Wisconsin. This is a great opportunity for your school, business and community to practice your emergency plans.

DRILL SCHEDULE:

1:00 p.m. – National Weather Service issues a mock tornado watch for all of Wisconsin (a watch means tornadoes are possible in your area. Remain alert for approaching storms).

1:45 p.m. – National Weather Service issues mock tornado warning for all of Wisconsin (a warning means a tornado has been sighted or indicated on weather radar. Move to a safe place immediately).

2:00 p.m. – End of 1:45 p.m. mock tornado warning drill

6:55 p.m. – National Weather Service issues a mock tornado warning for all of Wisconsin.

The tornado drills will take place even if the sky is cloudy, dark and/or rainy. If actual severe storms are expected in the state today, the tornado drills will be postponed until tomorrow with the same times. If severe storms are possible tomorrow, the drills will be cancelled. Any changes will be issued to local media as well as posted on the ReadyWisconsin website at http://readywisconsin.wi.gov. Updates will also be posted on Facebook (www.facebook.com/ReadyWisconsin), Twitter (www.twitter.com/ReadyWisconsin) and Instagram (www.instagram.com/ReadyWisconsin).

Many local and state radio, TV and cable stations will be participating in the drills. Television viewers and radio station listeners will hear a message at 1:45 p.m. and 6:55 p.m. indicating that “This is a test.” The mock tornado warnings will last about one minute on radio and TV stations across Wisconsin and when the test is finished, stations will return to normal programming.

In addition, alerts for both the mock tornado watch and warnings will be issued over NOAA weather radios. Be sure your weather radio is turned on for this test. If the alarm on your weather radio does not go off for this test, check your weather radio’s programming and quality of reception.

This is a great opportunity for you to practice your tornado emergency plan with family, friends, and co-workers. Schools will also participate in the drill. During storm season – follow this message: Listen, Act and Live. Don’t ignore watches and warnings. Listen and take action. Every second counts. Don’t wait… go to a safe place right away!

April 11-15, 2016

(MADISON) – To give families a chance to test their emergency plans, a statewide tornado drill will be held during the evening of April 14, 2016. The drill is part of the annual spring severe weather campaign to encourage people in Wisconsin to get ready for possible tornadoes and severe weather.

Governor Walker has declared April 11-15, 2016 as Wisconsin’s Tornado & Severe Weather Awareness Week. Wisconsin Emergency Management, the National Weather Service (NWS) and the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association (WBA) have once again teamed up to sponsor the statewide tornado drill scheduled for Thursday, April 14.

For the first time, a mock tornado warning will be issued at 6:55 p.m. on Thursday, April 14 to give families and businesses a chance to test their emergency severe weather plans. Earlier in the day, a mock tornado watch will be issued at 1:00 p.m. and a mock tornado warning will be issued at 1:45 p.m. Many radio and TV stations across the state will issue the test tornado warnings. In addition, mock alerts will be issued on NOAA Weather Radios and many communities will sound their tornado sirens.

According to the NWS, Wisconsin averages 23 tornadoes annually. Last year, there were 17 tornado touchdowns in the state. All of the tornadoes were either an EF0 or EF1. On August 19, 2015, two tornadoes touched down near Lake Geneva and Big Bend causing damage to area business. No one was injured.

The statewide tornado drill is a great opportunity for schools, businesses and families to test their emergency plans about what to do and where to go when severe weather strikes. The tornado drill will take place even if the sky is cloudy, dark and or rainy. If actual severe storms are expected in the state on Thursday, April 14, the tornado drills will be postponed until Friday, April 15 with the same times. If severe storms are possible Friday the drills will be cancelled.

NOAA-NASA-cloud-chart images/available to download

On April 17, 2013, in a small Texas town, a fertilizer plant exploded, killing 12 first responders and three other community members and injuring 226 people. Safety experts have spent years looking into the cause of this tragedy in hopes that such events can be mitigated in other communities across the country. This video has been produced by the U.S. Chemical Safety Board to help Local Emergency Planning Committees (LEPCs) understand how to protect their communities from a similar event taking place in their own backyard.

Through information such as this, LEPCs are able to create emergency plans that take into consideration the potential chemicals a facility might have, their proximity to residences, safety controls and procedures that are in place, potential chemical reactions that could occur, and the effects they may have on people and the environment, as well as many other details that can impact our community. Working with our facilities, we are able to work collaboratively to ensure that every step is taken to protect local residents from a disaster such as this.