...TORNADO AND SEVERE WEATHER AWARENESS WEEK IS APRIL 18-22...
...TODAY/S TOPIC...PART 5... SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS...
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SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CONTAIN MULTIPLE DANGERS THAT CAN THREATEN
YOUR SAFETY AND PERSONAL PROPERTY IN ANY PART OF THE COUNTRY AND AT
ANY TIME OF THE YEAR.  ALTHOUGH THESE STORMS CAN BE FAIRLY SMALL...
AVERAGING AROUND 10 TO 15 MILES IN DIAMETER...AND HAVE AN AVERAGE
LIFETIME OF 20 TO 30 MINUTES...THEY CAN CAUSE A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT
OF DAMAGE IN THIS SHORT TIME FRAME.

SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE DEFINED AS HAVING ONE OR MORE OF THE
FOLLOWING:

...PEAK WINDS IN EXCESS OF 58 MILES PER HOUR

...HAIL AT LEAST 3/4 OF AN INCH IN DIAMETER /APPROXIMATELY THE SIZE
   OF A PENNY/

...A TORNADO

...A FLASH FLOOD

SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ALSO FREQUENTLY CONTAIN DANGEROUS LIGHTNING.

WISCONSIN SEES AN AVERAGE OF 30 DAYS A YEAR WITH THUNDERSTORMS.
HERE/S THE BREAKDOWN ON SHORT-LIVED SEVERE WEATHER EVENTS IN
WISCONSIN...

   ***ROUGHLY 52 PERCENT OF ALL SEVERE EVENTS IN THE STATE ARE
      STRAIGHT LINE WIND EVENTS /WIND SPEEDS 58 MPH OR HIGHER/

   ***31 PERCENT ARE HAIL EVENTS WITH HAIL-STONES THAT ARE AT
      LEAST 3/4 INCH IN DIAMETER

   ***7 PERCENT ARE TORNADO EVENTS

   ***5 PERCENT ARE FLASH FLOODS.

HERE ARE SOME MORE INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN
THE STATE OF WISCONSIN...

...HAIL CAN OCCUR IN ANY COUNTY HOWEVER THE SOUTHERN HALF OF
   WISCONSIN HAS A GREATER NUMBER OF RECORDED HAIL EVENTS.

...EACH SUMMER THERE ARE ABOUT 15 SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN WISCONSIN
   WHICH PRODUCE HAIL 1.5 INCHES IN DIAMETER OR LARGER.

...SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAN OCCUR AT ANY TIME OF THE DAY AND AT ANY
   TIME OF THE YEAR.  THE PEAK SEASON FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IS
   BETWEEN APRIL AND AUGUST AND MOST LIKELY TO OCCUR IN THE LATE
   AFTERNOON OR EVENING HOURS.

...DURING JUNE AND JULY OF 1999...13 COUNTIES IN WISCONSIN
   EXPERIENCED HURRICANE FORCE WINDS /GREATER THAN 75 MPH/ ASSOCIATED
   WITH SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS.

...FROM 1970 TO 2004...WISCONSIN HAS HAD 21 DAYS WITH DOCUMENTED
   STRAIGHT-LINE THUNDERSTORM DOWN-BURST WINDS OF 100 MPH OR HIGHER.

...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH AND WARNINGS...
IT IS IMPORTANT TO KNOW THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM
WATCH AND A WARNING.  WHEN A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IS ISSUED...IT
MEANS THAT SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE.  WHEN A SEVERE
THUNDERSTORM WARNING IS ISSUED...IT MEANS THAT SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS
ARE IMMINENT OR OCCURRING IN YOUR AREA.

ALWAYS MAKE SURE THAT YOU KNOW THE NAME OF THE COUNTY IN WHICH YOU
RESIDE. WATCHES AND WARNINGS ARE DEFINED ON A COUNTY BASIS. IF SEVERE
THUNDERSTORMS ARE A POSSIBILITY IN YOUR AREA...MONITOR A NOAA WEATHER
RADIO ALL-HAZARDS...LOCAL TV OR RADIO STATIONS FOR THE LATEST SEVERE THUNDERSTORM
WATCHES AND WARNINGS FOR YOUR AREA.

IF A WARNING IS ISSUED YOU NEED TO TAKE ACTION TO PROTECT YOURSELF.
MOVE TO A STURDY BUILDING AND DO NOT STAND NEAR WINDOWS.  DO NOT USE
TELEPHONES UNLESS IN AN EMERGENCY UNTIL THE STORM HAS PASSED YOUR
AREA.  ALWAYS REMEMBER THAT THUNDERSTORMS CAN AND DO PRODUCE
TORNADOES WITH LITTLE OR NO ADVANCE WARNING.

FOR ADDITIONAL SEVERE WEATHER INFORMATION AND UP TO DATE FORECASTS
AND WARNINGS PLEASE VISIT OUR WEB SITE AT:

http://weather.gov/mkx
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KAPELA/KONOP