Severe Weather Preparedness - March 4-8, 2024

Kansas experiences a wide variety of summertime severe weather, including: tornadoes, damaging winds, large hail, and flash flooding. Residents are encouraged to review their severe weather safety plans. Practice what you would do as if the event was REAL.

Tornado Drill

The National Weather Service in Wichita will conduct a Tornado Drill @ 11AM Wednesday, March 6th. Everyone is encouraged to participate in the drill by practicing seeking secure, safe shelter from a tornado. This test will be broadcast over NOAA All Hazards Weather Radio. Local officials may also sound their warning sirens. We encourage everyone to abide by local health and safety guidelines during the tornado test. If that's not possible then simply sheltering in place or discussing where you'd go and what you'd do are other options.

We will be focusing on several different severe weather safety topics through the week.
See the listings below along with our 2024 Preparedness Week Packet (pdf) for more great information.

Monday

Preparedness

Tuesday

Lightning
Safety

Wednesday

Tornado
Safety

Thursday

Hail/Wind
Safety

Friday

Flood
Safety

Preparing for an event starts now!

Ask yourself what YOU would do in case of severe weather. Do you have multiple ways to receive alerts? Do you have adequate shelter & supplies?

More Information...

Every lightning strike can be deadly. Lightning strikes the U.S. 25 MILLION times and kills 47 people on average each year. Many of these deaths occur outdoors and are preventable.

When Thunder Roars, Go Indoors!

More Information...

Tornadoes pack some of the fastest winds on Earth and are deadly to anyone caught in their path. Kansas averages 95 tornadoes per year but has seen up to 187, with the peak tornado season running from April to June.

More Information...

Damaging winds and large hail are two other weapons in a storm's arsenal. Hail can exceed softball size and straight-line winds can down trees & destroy property. They often garner less respect than tornadoes, but are just as deadly.

More Information...

Floods kill more people in the United States each year than any other thunderstorm-related hazard. Many flood deaths are the result of people driving into flooded roads.

Turn Around, Don't Drown!

More Information...

Public service announcements courtesy of Bill Kurtis

Interested in Learning More About Severe Storms?

Check out our weather identification training schedule