North Carolina's 2017 Severe Weather Prepareness Week

Know Your Risk

The first step to becoming weather-ready is to understand the type of hazarous weather that can affect where you live and work, and how the weather could impact you and your family.  Check the weather forecasts regulary and visit readync.org to learn more about becoming prepared.

Pledge to Prepare and Take Action

Pledge to prepare by visiting readync.org. Take the first step to make sure that you and your family are prepared for severe weather.  This includes building an emergency kit, filling out a family safety and communication plan, keeping important papers in a safe place, and having multiple sources for weather alerts.

Be an Example

Once you have taken action to prepare, get involved, and share your story with your family and friends.  Studies show that many people use social media in the event of a disaster to let relatives and friends know that they are safe.  This is an important trend because people are most likely to take preparedness steps if they observe the preparations taken by others.

Here are some key points to remember about the drill:

• The drill will be broadcast on NOAA Weather Radio and the Emergency Alert System via the Required Monthly Test (RMT).  There will not be an actual Tornado Warning issued.
• This drill and RMT will take the place of the usual weekly NOAA Weather Radio Alert test (RWT).  That is, there will not be a weekly radio test done between 11 AM and Noon on that day.
• Most NOAA Weather Radio receivers (including the Midland WR-100 that many schools have) do not sound an audible alert for the RMT product, but instead, may have a blinking light on the display to indicate that an RMT was received.  As such, when the RMT for the statewide tornado drill is initiated at 9:30 AM on Wednesday, March 8, 2017, there's a good chance that your NOAA Weather Radio will not sound an alarm. 
• Since your NOAA Weather Radio may not sound an alarm at the time the RMT is issued, you will want to do one of the following:  simply plan to start your tornado drill own your own at 9:30 AM; or, you can manually turn on your NOAA Weather Radio receiver around 9:25 AM, and simply listen to the audio broadcast to hear when the RMT is issued, which will mark the beginning of the statewide tornado drill.
• There will be no followup statements issued by the NWS to mark the end of the statewide tornado drill.   It will simply be over when your group, school, business, organization, or family feel that you have adequately practiced your tornado shelter procedures.
• If there is actual severe weather occurring on the morning of March 8, 2017, the statewide tornado drill will be postponed.  The alternate date for the drill is Friday, March 10, 2017 at 9:30 AM EST.

As a committed leader for weather-readiness, each day during the preparedness week the NWS will be highlighting ways individuals can prepare for the severe weather season by knowing their severe weather risks, taking action, and serving as an example.

Daily Topics:

• Sunday: Introduction
• Monday: Severe thunderstorms and tornadoes
• Tuesday: Ways to receive severe weather alerts, and information about the
  Statewide Tornado Drill
• Wednesday: Staying safe when high winds, hail,and tornadoes strike
• Thursday: Lightning safety
• Friday: Flash flood safety
• Saturday: Make a plan and encourage others to do the same

• North Carolina's Department of Public Safety severe weather preparedness page:  https://readync.org
• Be Informed:  https://www.readync.org/EN/Informed.html
• Make a Plan:  https://www.readync.org/EN/Plan_MakeAPlan.html
• Build a Kit:  https://www.readync.org/EN/Plan_GetAKit.html
• Get Involved:  https://www.readync.org/EN/Involved.html
• The free ReadyNC mobile app is an all-in-one tool to help people get ready for everything from traffic jams to hurricanes and ice storms. The app gives information on real-time traffic and weather conditions, river levels, evacuations and power outages:  https://www.readync.org/EN/DOWNLOADAPP.html
• NOAA Weather Radio: http://www.nws.noaa.gov/nwr/
• Wireless Emergency Alerts:  http://www.nws.noaa.gov/com/weatherreadynation/wea.html
• Weather-Ready Nation

• Be a Force of Nature
• Nationwide Awareness Weeks
• Spanish-language:  https://www.listo.gov