Tornado and Severe Weather Awareness Week
The week of April 16-20, 2012 is Tornado and Severe Weather Awareness Week in Wisconsin. The National Weather Service in Wisconsin and Wisconsin Emergency Management are asking that everyone take time to go over their safety plans so that they will be ready when severe weather strikes. The time to prepare is before the storms hit.
On Thursday, April 19, a tornado drill will be conducted. At 1 pm, a test Tornado Watch will be issued for all of Wisconsin. The test watch will be broadcast on NOAA Weather Radio as a Required Weekly Test–RWT. At 1:45 pm, the NWS Green Bay office will issue a test Tornado Warning. The test warning will be broadcast as a test on NOAA Weather Radio using the actual Tornado Warning code. The drill will conclude at 2 pm.
Here’s the schedule for the tornado drill:
1:00 p.m. – A test Tornado Watch is issued for all of Wisconsin by the Storm Prediction Center
1:45 p.m. – NWS offices in Wisconsin issue test Tornado Warnings using actual Tornado Warning code (broadcast will state this is a test)
2 p.m. – Drill ends with the issuances of test Severe Weather Statements
Should severe weather be present anywhere in Wisconsin on the day of the drill, the test watch and warnings will be postponed until Friday. If severe weather is forecast for Friday, the drill will be canceled.