Statewide tornado drill today at 10 a.m.

(From the City of Joplin)

To help Missourians prepare for potential tornadoes, Severe Weather Awareness Week will include the annual Statewide Tornado Drill, scheduled for 10 a.m. on Tuesday, March 7. If bad weather is affecting the state, the drill may be postponed until Thursday, March 9, also at 10:00 a.m.

This tornado drill will be observed by the City of Joplin by sounding the warning sirens for a full three minutes, the same amount that would occur in an actual warning.

More information on severe weather preparedness and how Missouri families, schools and businesses can use Severe Weather Awareness Week to learn more about weather safety terminology, tornadoes, flash flooding, severe thunderstorms and NOAA weather radios is available from the National Weather Service at http://www.weather.gov/lsx/severeweek.

In addition to the City’s procedures during the drill, the National Weather Service and the State Emergency Management Agency will be conducting their tests using various news mediums and alert systems. The NWS will kick off the drill with a Tornado Warning which is plainly marked as a test. This test will cause NOAA Weather Radios to activate.

As this drill kicks off the 2017 Severe Weather Awareness Week, observed from March 5 - 11, Keith Stammer, Emergency Management Director, encourages everyone to be proactive and prepare for weather safety. Preparing today may make the difference in surviving the storms to come this spring. He also encourages people to seek appropriate notification system and reminds the public about the warning sirens’ purpose.

“The sirens provide a warning for anyone who is out of doors to go indoors, if possible, and take shelter,” he said. “People indoors cannot always expect to hear the outdoor warning sirens.”

Stammer encourages residents to utilize a NOAA Weather Radio that provides a warning signal when the area is under a watch or a warning. “The advantage of having a weather radio is that you hear the alerts directly from the National Weather Service, and are kept current of the warning status.” Weather radios are available at local retailers and are priced at approximately $30.

For information on Joplin’s siren activation policy, please visit http://www.joplinmo.org/index.aspx?nid=589.