CANCELED - Iowa 2020 Tornado Drill

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 concerns and the call of social distancing by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Weather Service (NWS) is canceling Iowa's 2020 tornado drill originally scheduled for 10 AM on Wednesday, March 25th. Most sheltering locations are in confined spaces, which is not where people should be congregating given ongoing concerns. Another group that we focus on practicing their sheltering is schools and with the majority of those now out of session for the next 4 weeks, the outcome is ineffective. Aside from the tornado drill cancellation, Severe Weather Awareness Week will continue as normal next week, where Iowa NWS Offices and the Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management will provide safety reminders as severe weather season 2020 is right around the corner. We are asking Iowans to spend a few minutes next week thinking about & discussing their in-home severe weather sheltering plans. Check back for additional preparedness information next week at the following Iowa serving NWS office websites and social media channels...

NWS Des Moines - weather.gov/desmoines; facebook.com/NWSDesMoines; twitter.com/nwsdesmoines/

NWS Quad Cities - weather.gov/quadcities; facebook.com/NWSQuadCities; twitter.com/nwsquadcities/

NWS Omaha, NE - weather.gov/omaha; facebook.com/NWSOmaha; twitter.com/nwsomaha/

NWS Sioux Falls, SD - weather.gov/siouxfalls; facebook.com/NWSSiouxFalls; twitter.com/nwssiouxfalls/

NWS La Crosse, WI - weather.gov/lacrosse; facebook.com/NWSLaCrosse; twitter.com/nwslacrosse/