The National Weather Service certified Eau Claire County, Wisconsin as StormReady at the county board meeting on Tuesday, March 15.  Eau Claire County is one of only 12 other counties in Wisconsin to receive such status.  The National Weather Service enjoys a close relationship with Eau Claire County.
 

Pictured from left to right: Sam Simmons, Eau Claire County Emergency Management Program Assistant; Todd Krause, NWS Twin Cities Warning Coordination Meteorologist; Tyler Esh, Eau Claire County Emergency Management Coordinator.
 

Americans live in the most severe weather-prone country on Earth. You can make sure your community is StormReady. Some 98 percent of all presidentially declared disasters are weather-related, leading to around 500 deaths per year and nearly $15 billion in damage. The StormReady program helps arm America's communities with the communication and safety skills needed to save lives and property--before, during, and after the event. StormReady helps community leaders and emergency managers strengthen local safety programs.

StormReady communities, counties, Indian tribal governments, universities and colleges, military bases, government sites, commercial enterprises, and other groups are better prepared to save lives from the onslaught of severe weather through advanced planning, education, and awareness. No community is stormproof, but StormReady can help communities save lives.

StormReady uses a grassroots approach to help communities respond to extreme weather—from tornadoes to hurricanes. StormReady helps communities respond to hazardous weather by providing emergency managers with clear-cut guidelines on how to improve their hazardous weather operations. Applying is easy. To be officially StormReady, a community must:

• Establish a 24-hour warning point and emergency operations center
• Have more than one way to receive severe weather warnings and forecasts and to alert the public
• Create a system that monitors weather conditions locally
• Promote the importance of public readiness through community seminars
• Develop a formal hazardous weather plan, which includes training severe weather spotters and holding emergency exercises.

To apply, please visit the following link for more information: https://www.weather.gov/stormready/become