Severe Weather Awareness Week 2008
March 10-14, 2008 |
We have Severe Weather every year. Even last year (2007), which was a VERY dry Spring and Summer, we still managed to get over 700 separate reports of damage, tornadoes, or large hail in the Commonwealth. See a graphic of ALL the (Convective) Severe Weather Reports for PA in 2007!
Each spring before the typical onset of the thunderstorm and flash flood season...the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency (PEMA), County Emergency Management Officers and the National Weather Service (NWS) sponsor a week of Severe Weather Awareness and Preparedness.
This year, Governor Edward Rendell has declared the week of March 10th through 14th as Weather Emergency Preparedness Week for Pennsylvania.
Weather Emergency Preparedness Week is a time to plan for thunderstorms...tornadoes....lightning and flash floods.
Each day during the week will emphasize a different weather hazard and associated safety tips.
On Monday, Mar 10, 2008 - the topic will be Tornadoes
On Tuesday, Mar 11, 2008 - the topic will be Severe Thunderstorms
On Wednesday, Mar 12, 2008 - the topic will be Flash Flooding
On Thursday, Mar 13, 2008 - the topic will be River Flooding
On Friday, Mar 14, 2008 - the topic will be SkywarnTM Spotters
Test Severe Thunderstorm Warnings
To test the communication circuits and to update hazardous weather plans,
the NWS will issue test Severe Thunderstorm Warnings on Thursday, March 13th.
Warning Test Info/Times
| Remember that we will have changed the clocks to EDT on the 9th of March this year! |
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| Test Severe Thunderstorm Warnings will be issued for Western PA (areas served by NWS Pittsburgh and NWS Cleveland, OH) at 9 AM EDT |
Test Severe Thunderstorm Warnings will be issued for Central PA (areas served by NWS State College) at 10 AM EDT |
Test Severe Thunderstorm Warnings will be issued for Eastern PA (areas served by NWS Binghamton, NY and NWS Mount Holly, NJ) at 11 AM EDT |
The Voice of the National Weather Service - NOAA Weather Radio
All TEST warnings during the Weather Awareness
week will be aired on NOAA Weather Radio (NWR),
the voice of the National Weather Service.
These TEST Warnings will be broadcast as code "RWT" (Routine Weekly Test) for the EAS/NWRSAME automated-encoding system.
NOAA Weather Radio is an "all hazards" radio network, making it the single source for the most comprehensive weather
and emergency information available to the public. NOAA Weather Radio also
broadcasts warning and post-event information for all types of hazards
- both natural (such as earthquakes and volcano activity) and technological
(such as chemical releases or oil spills). NWRs are inexpensive and
can be purchased at a variety of locations such as your local electronics
store or over the Internet.
Links for Emergency Managers and Schools
(You may have to right click on the link and choose "Save Target As...")
The Severe Weather Exercise/Scenario for 2008 (word .doc file)
The PEMA Severe Weather Scenario from 2007 (word .doc file)
Severe Weather Emergency Plan for Schools is a template that most schools, business, factories, etc can use to develop an action plan.
Additional Information
Additional information can be obtained through contacting your local National Weather Service Office (see above contacts), and brochures can be obtained through the National Weather Service .
Is your community StormReady? 
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weather.gov 
