(From the City of Joplin)On Wednesday, March 6, 2024, at 11 AM State Emergency Management and the National Weather Service will conduct a Statewide Severe Weather Tornado Drill. This drill is weather permitting, and there will not be a backup date. Joplin/Jasper County, Carthage & Webb City will move their March monthly regional outdoor warning siren test to coincide with the statewide tornado drill on Wednesday.
Every school, citizen, and business is encouraged to participate in the drill.
Residents should treat the drill as if it were an actual Tornado Warning. The drill aims to test everyone's readiness for life-threatening severe weather events such as tornadoes, flash floods, and damaging winds. Local officials are encouraged to sound warning sirens to initiate the drill.
The National Weather Service will issue a Routine Weekly Test (RWT) to NOAA Weather Radios to initiate the drill. Outdoor warning sirens will also sound across participating communities in Missouri. The City of Joplin will observe this tornado drill by sounding the warning sirens for a full three minutes, the same amount that would occur in an actual warning.
As this drill is part of the 2024 Severe Weather Preparedness Week, observed from March 4 to March 8, David Holden, Emergency Management Director, encourages everyone to be proactive and prepare for weather safety. Preparing today may make the difference in surviving possible storms this spring. He also encourages people to seek appropriate notification systems and reminds the public about the purpose of the warning sirens.
“The sirens warn anyone out of doors to go indoors, if possible, and take shelter,” he said. “People indoors cannot always expect to hear the outdoor warning sirens.”
Holden encourages residents to utilize a NOAA Weather Radio that provides a warning signal when the area is under a watch or a warning. In addition, local news stations also offer weather watch apps for cell phones that residents can download.
“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. The phone apps also provide notifications and current information that is helpful during severe weather.”
For more details about Joplin’s storm sirens and sheltering tips, go to https://www.joplinmo.org/698/Basic-Sheltering-Rules
More information about Severe Weather Preparedness Week can be found online at: www.weather.gov/sgf/SevereWeatherPreparednessWeek
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