South Carolina Severe Weather & Flood Safety Awareness Week: March 6-12, 2016

Dangerous Heat Continues in the East; Heavy Rain and Flash Flooding in the Southwest, Plains, and Upper Midwest

Prolonged and intense heat wave continues into Friday with relief expected by this weekend. The most significant cumulative heat impacts are anticipated across the Mid-Atlantic through Thursday and eastern Ohio Valley through Friday. Thunderstorms and heavy rain will continue to bring a flash flood threat over portions of the central Plains, Midwest, northern Great Lakes, and the Southwest. Read More >

...SEVERE WEATHER AWARENESS WEEK DAY FIVE... ...A CHECKLIST OF SEVERE WEATHER SAFETY RULES... ON THIS LAST DAY OF SEVERE WEATHER AWARENESS WEEK, HERE IS A CHECKLIST OF SAFETY RULES FOR SEVERE WEATHER. BE SURE YOU HAVE AN ALL HAZARDS WEATHER RADIO WITH AN ALARM. THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ACTIVATES THESE ALARMS FOR SEVERE WEATHER...CIVIL EMERGENCIES...AND NATIONAL EMERGENCIES THAT AFFECT THE LOCAL AREA. WHEN THUNDERSTORMS ARE APPROACHING...MOVE TO A STURDY BUILDING OR CAR. DO NOT TAKE SHELTER IN SMALL SHEDS...UNDER ISOLATED TREES...OR IN CONVERTIBLE AUTOMOBILES. IF LIGHTNING IS OCCURRING AND A STURDY SHELTER IS NOT AVAILABLE...GET INSIDE A HARD TOP AUTOMOBILE AND KEEP WINDOWS UP. DO NOT PARK UNDER TREES. GET OUT OF BOATS AND AWAY FROM WATER. TELEPHONE LINES AND METAL PIPES CAN CONDUCT ELECTRICITY. UNPLUG APPLIANCES NOT NECESSARY FOR OBTAINING WEATHER INFORMATION. AVOID USING THE TELEPHONES...EXCEPT IN EMERGENCIES. IF CAUGHT OUTSIDE, FIND A LOW SPOT AWAY FROM TREES, FENCES AND POLES. STAY AWAY FROM OPEN AREAS LIKE SOCCER FIELDS, BASEBALL DIAMONDS AND ESPECIALLY GOLF COURSES. WHEN THUNDER ROARS...GO INDOORS. LIGHTNING CAN STRIKE UP TO 10 MILES AWAY! DURING A TORNADO...MOVE TO AN INTERIOR ROOM OR HALLWAY ON THE LOWEST FLOOR AND GET UNDER A STURDY PIECE OF FURNITURE IF POSSIBLE. STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS. GET OUT OF AUTOMOBILES AND INTO A DITCH OR DEPRESSION. LEAVE A MOBILE HOME AND GET INTO A REINFORCED BUILDING. DURING FLASH FLOODING, NEVER DRIVE YOUR CAR INTO AREAS WHERE WATER COVERS THE ROAD. MANY PEOPLE ARE KILLED THIS WAY EACH YEAR. TURN AROUND...DONT DROWN. THESE SIMPLE SAFETY RULES CAN SAVE YOUR LIFE DURING A SEVERE WEATHER SITUATION. WE HOPE YOU HAVE FOUND THE INFORMATION PRESENTED DURING THIS WEEK HELPFUL AND THE TORNADO DRILL GAVE YOU A CHANCE TO PRACTICE WHAT YOU WOULD DO DURING A TORNADO EMERGENCY. IF YOU WOULD LIKE MORE INFORMATION ON SEVERE WEATHER WRITE TO... NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORECAST OFFICE 2909 AVIATION WAY WEST COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA 29170 OR CALL THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AT 803-822-8135.

SOUTH CAROLINA FLOOD AWARENESS WEEK...DAY FIVE. FLOOD SAFETY. IS FLOODING REALLY THAT BIG OF A DEAL? FLOODING CAUSES MORE DAMAGE IN THE UNITED STATES THAN ANY OTHER WEATHER RELATED EVENT...AN AVERAGE OF $4.6 BILLION A YEAR IN THE PAST 20 YEARS. FLOODING CAN OCCUR IN ANY OF THE 50 STATES OR U.S. TERRITORIES AT ANYTIME OF THE YEAR. HOW CAN I FIND OUT IF I AM IN DANGER FROM A FLOOD? THE NOAA ALL HAZARDS WEATHER RADIO IS ONE OF THE BEST WAYS TO RECEIVE WARNINGS FROM THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE. NOAA ALL HAZARDS WEATHER RADIO IS A NATIONWIDE NETWORK OF RADIO STATIONS BROADCASTING CONTINUOUS WEATHER AND RIVER INFORMATION DIRECT FROM NEARBY NWS OFFICES. ALSO...THE NWS WEB PAGE...WWW.WEATHER.GOV/AHPS...IDENTIFIES WHERE FLOODING IS OCCURRING. WHATS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A FLOOD AND A FLASH FLOOD? A FLOOD OCCURS WHEN THERE IS PROLONGED RAINFALL OVER SEVERAL DAYS... INTENSE RAINFALL OVER A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME...OR AN ICE JAM OR DEBRIS JAM CAUSING A RIVER OR STREAM TO OVERFLOW AND FLOOD THE SURROUNDING AREA. MELTING SNOW CAN COMBINE WITH RAIN IN THE WINTER AND EARLY SPRING; SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAN BRING HEAVY RAIN IN THE SPRING AND SUMMER; OR TROPICAL CYCLONES CAN BRING INTENSE RAINFALL TO THE COASTAL AND INLAND STATES IN THE SUMMER AND FALL. A FLASH FLOOD OCCURS WITHIN SIX HOURS OF A RAIN EVENT...OR AFTER A DAM OR LEVEE FAILURE...OR FOLLOWING A SUDDEN RELEASE OF WATER HELD BY AN ICE OR DEBRIS JAM. FLASH FLOODS CAN CATCH PEOPLE UNPREPARED. YOU WILL NOT ALWAYS HAVE A WARNING THAT THESE DEADLY...SUDDEN FLOODS ARE COMING. SO...IF YOU LIVE IN AREAS PRONE TO FLASH FLOODS...PLAN NOW TO PROTECT YOUR FAMILY AND PROPERTY. THE USE OF THE WORD FLASH IS SYNONYMOUS WITH THE WORD URGENT; TAKE ACTION IMMEDIATELY. IS THERE ANYTHING I CAN DO TO PREPARE FOR A FLOOD? HOW TO REDUCE POTENTIAL FLOOD DAMAGE AND WHAT TO INCLUDE IN A FAMILY DISASTER PLAN CAN BE OBTAINED FROM THE AMERICAN RED CROSS. THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WORKS WITH AND RELIES ON STRATEGIC PARTNERS INVOLVED IN FLOODPLAIN MANAGEMENT...FLOOD HAZARD MITIGATION... FLOOD PREPAREDNESS...AND FLOOD WARNINGS TO REDUCE THE LOSS OF LIFE AND PROPERTY DUE TO FLOODS. KEY PARTNERS INCLUDE THE U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY...FEMA...THE NATIONAL HYDROLOGIC WARNING COUNCIL... THE ASSOCIATION OF STATE FLOODPLAIN MANAGERS...THE AMERICAN RED CROSS...THE NATIONAL SAFETY COUNCIL...THE FEDERAL ALLIANCE FOR SAFE HOMES...THE WEATHER CHANNEL...AND OTHER MEDIA OUTLETS AND MANY OTHER GOVERNMENT AND PRIVATE SECTOR ORGANIZATIONS.