National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office

Kansas and Missouri Severe Weather Awareness Week set for            March 9-13, 2009

Kansas Tornado Drill scheduled for Tuesday, March 10  at 1:30 p.m.

The National Weather Service in Pleasant Hill, in conjunction with the Kansas Division of Emergency Management, the Missouri State Emergency Management Agency, and local emergency management agencies, will conduct the annual statewide Severe Weather Awareness Week for both Kansas and Missouri March 9th through March 13th, 2009.

The statewide tornado drill for Kansas and Missouri, including the counties in the Pleasant Hill forecast and warning area, will take place on Tuesday, March 10th, at 1:30 p.m.   The National Weather Service in Pleasant Hill will issue a test tornado warning as part of the drill.  Local warning sirens, NOAA All-Hazards Weather Radio, and the Emergency Alert System (EAS) will be activated upon receipt of this warning, to signal the start of the drill. The "TOR" code for EAS and NOAA Weather Radio will be used again this year to simulate what would occur in the event of an actual tornado warning. Residents should treat the drill as if it were an actual tornado emergency.  The purpose of the annual drill is to test everyone's readiness for life-threatening severe weather events such as tornadoes, flash floods, large hail, and damaging winds.

 Daily themes during this week will include:  

  Monday - Preparedness Day

  Tuesday - Tornadoes Day

  Wednesday - Flash Flood Day

  Thursday - Thunderstorm Day

  Friday - NOAA Weather Radio Day

The 2009 severe weather season can quickly become quite active across the country, so it is imperative you prepare now.  Residents are encouraged to use this week, and the annual test day, to review their severe weather safety plans.  Practice what you would do in a real severe weather emergency.    

Links at the bottom of this page offer several severe weather awareness resources for the media, emergency managers and the public to use. Feel free to download and duplicate as needed for your local awareness campaigns.

Throughout the spring and summer, be sure to check out our Severe Weather Tracker web page, and our Forecast web page, to keep track of the latest forecasts, advisories, watches, and warnings.

You can also download the 2009 Kansas Severe Weather Awareness Week packet (in PDF format).

Some helpful links and resources for Severe Weather Awareness Week