ZCZC NYCWRKPS2 000
TTAA00 KNYC 261141

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE UPTON NY
600 AM EDT MON APR 28 2008

...THIS IS SEVERE WEATHER AWARENESS WEEK...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN PARTNERSHIP WITH SEVERAL NEW YORK 
AGENCIES IS PROMOTING SEVERE WEATHER SAFETY FOR ALL PEOPLE.

OVER THE LAST 20 YEARS...SEVERE WEATHER HAS KILLED OVER 100 PEOPLE 
IN NEW YORK ALONE...AND HAS CAUSED OVER THREE QUARTERS OF A BILLION 
DOLLARS IN DAMAGE. ON AVERAGE...THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ISSUES 
400 SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNINGS...17 TORNADO WARNINGS AND ABOUT 150 
FLASH FLOOD WARNINGS EACH YEAR IN NEW YORK STATE. TO REDUCE YOUR 
CHANCES OF BEING KILLED OR INJURED BY SEVERE WEATHER...IT IS 
IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND THE MEANING OF SEVERE WEATHER WATCHES AND 
WARNINGS. 

SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCE WINDS OF AT LEAST 58 MPH AND OR HAIL OF 
AT LEAST THREE QUARTERS OF AN INCH IN DIAMETER. A SEVERE 
THUNDERSTORM WATCH MEANS THAT SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE 
WITHIN THE NEXT FEW HOURS...TYPICALLY LESS THAN SIX HOURS. YOU 
SHOULD CONTINUE WITH YOUR DAILY ROUTINE...BUT BE PREPARED TO MOVE TO 
A PLACE OF SAFETY SHOULD A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING BE ISSUED. A 
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING MEANS THAT SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE 
IMMINENT OR OCCURRING. A WARNING IMPLIES A SIGNIFICANT THREAT TO 
LIFE AND PROPERTY. YOU SHOULD SEEK SHELTER IMMEDIATELY WHEN A SEVERE 
THUNDERSTORM WARNING IS ISSUED. OUR GOAL IS TO CORRECTLY FORECAST AT 
LEAST 80 PERCENT OF ALL SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH AN AVERAGE LEAD 
TIME OF 16 MINUTES.

TORNADOES ARE VIOLENTLY ROTATING COLUMNS OF AIR IN CONTACT WITH THE  
GROUND AND ATTACHED TO THE CLOUD BASE ABOVE. LIKE A SEVERE 
THUNDERSTORM WATCH...A TORNADO WATCH MEANS THAT TORNADOES ARE 
POSSIBLE OVER THE NEXT FEW HOURS...AGAIN USUALLY LESS THAN SIX 
HOURS. A TORNADO WARNING MEANS THAT A TORNADO IS IMMINENT OR 
OCCURRING. A TORNADO WARNING IMPLIES AN IMMEDIATE THREAT TO LIFE AND 
PROPERTY. TAKE SHELTER IMMEDIATELY.

FLASH FLOODING IS A RAPID RISE...WITHIN SIX HOURS...OF WATER ALONG A 
STREAM OR LOW LYING URBAN AREA. THE MOST COMMON CAUSE OF FLASH 
FLOODING IS DOWNPOURS ASSOCIATED WITH THUNDERSTORMS. A FLASH FLOOD 
WATCH MEANS THAT CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR FLASH FLOODING. 
CONTINUE WITH YOUR DAILY ACTIVITIES...BUT BE PREPARED TO HEAD TO A 
PLACE OF SAFETY SHOULD A FLASH FLOOD WARNING BE ISSUED. A FLASH FLOOD
WARNING MEANS THAT FLOODING IS IMMINENT OR OCCURRING. FLOOD WATERS 
CAN RISE RAPIDLY. SEEK SHELTER IMMEDIATELY WHEN A FLASH FLOOD 
WARNING IS ISSUED. OUR GOAL IS TO CORRECTLY FORECAST 90 PERCENT OF 
ALL FLASH FLOODS WITH AN AVERAGE LEAD TIME OF 49 MINUTES.

NOAA WEATHER RADIO ALL HAZARDS OFFERS THE BEST WAY TO STAY IN TOUCH  
WITH WEATHER CONDITIONS WHETHER AT HOME...WORK OR PLAY. IT PROVIDES 
CONTINUOUS BROADCASTS OF WEATHER INFORMATION...WITH IMMEDIATE RELAY 
OF ANY SEVERE WEATHER WARNINGS. NOAA'S NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE 
RECOMMENDS EVERYONE HAVE ACCESS TO A NOAA WEATHER RADIO. FOR MORE 
INFORMATION ON SEVERE WEATHER AWARENESS...GO TO OUR WEB PAGE. 

TOMORROW WE TAKE A LOOK AT SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS AND CONDUCT OUR 
FIRST COMMUNICATIONS DRILL. 

$$