Sunday marked the first full day of spring and today is the start of Severe Weather Awareness Week.
Meteorologist Kelsey Angle, with the National Weather Service, says each day through Friday, they’ll center on a different topic to help Iowans prepare for the stormy seasons ahead. Angle says today’s (Monday) focus will be on severe thunderstorms.
“Tuesday’s more about preparedness and developing a plan,” Angle says. “On Wednesday, it’s executing that plan with a test tornado drill. On Thursday, we’ll talk more about preparedness and then on Friday, we wrap the week up with flash flooding.” Snow, ice and blizzards should be behind us now, with the months ahead being punctuated by hail, high winds, flash flooding, thunderstorms and tornadoes.
Angle says, “This is the time to really think about in case severe weather strikes your area, and it will at some point during the spring or summer, to have a plan and know where you would go to seek shelter and remain safe.”
Last year was a relatively average year for tornadoes in Iowa, with about 50 twisters reported statewide. Learn more at weather.gov.
(By Pat Powers, KQWC, Webster City)