Tornado sirens will blare all across Iowa this morning as part of a statewide tornado drill. This is Severe Weather Awareness Week and officials want to drive home lessons that could save lives.Jeff Johnson is the warning coordination meteorologist at the National Weather Service office in metro Des Moines. He says today’s statewide tornado drill is slated for 10 a-m, though not everyone will hear the prolonged moan of the tornado warning sirens. He says local jurisdictions decide if they’ll participate in the drill.Eighteen Americans have been killed by tornadoes this year — though no twisters have yet hit the Hawkeye State. Johnson encourages Iowans to react as they would during a real tornado warning situation when the clock strikes ten this morning. He says you should mentally think about what you would do if it were an actual tornado.Iowa averages 35 tornadoes a year, but there were 59 twisters last year and more than 70 the year before. In addition to 29 injuries, two Iowans were killed by tornadoes in Harrison County last year, the first twister deaths in the state in 13 years.
