Severe Weather Awareness Week serves as reminder to have a plan when bad weather hits
WELDON SPRING, Mo. – Now is the time to think about severe weather, which peaks in the spring and early summer. This week, the National Weather Service will help get people ready now that we’re starting to see more thunderstorms. Monday’s topic is having a plan and making sure you have multiple ways to receive warnings.
“We all rely on our cellphones, right? It’s just what we do. But, you know, in the big tornadoes, the Joplin tornado, there was no cellphone coverage. And so, having multiple ways to get information; if one thing were to fail, if you lose electric, if you lose cellphone service,” Kevin Deitsch, the warning coordination meteorologist with the National Weather Service in St. Louis, said.
A NOAA weather radio can be an important backup source for weather information. The rest of the week will cover other important topics for our area.
“Tuesday, we’re going to be talking about lightning safety; Wednesday’s tornado safety; Thursday is wind and hail safety; and then Friday, we’re going to end with flood safety,” Deitsch said.
On Wednesday, there’s a statewide tornado drill for both Missouri and Illinois.
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“We’re going to tell people at 11 a.m. Wednesday morning, think about whether you’re at work, school, home, wherever you’re at. What would you do if a tornado was approaching your area right then and there? And to practice that drill then,” Deitsch said.
Not only is this week an important time for the public to get prepared but the meteorologists at the National Weather Service are training as well.
The radar in Weldon Spring is going to be down through March 19, but there is overlapping radar coverage for exactly this reason.
“You know, if a radar has to go down, so in our case, we’re doing a major upgrade to it, replacing a lot of the guts of the radar. So, it’s something that needs to be done. Our radar hasn’t been touched since the late 80s, so it’s been spinning for a long, long time,” Deitsch said. “So, these repairs are certainly needed. And so, we have these overcovering radars. We actually have what we call a TDWR from the FAA in St. Louis as well. That gives us a little more close range into the Saint Louis metro. So, we will have coverage and we will keep everyone safe from the storms.”
You can find more information on these important topics at weather.gov/stlouis.
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