For the past week, NewsLink Indiana Weather has brought you special content for Indiana Severe Weather Preparedness Week 2022. According to the National Weather Service (NWS), "the goal of Severe Weather Preparedness Week is to better educate people about the hazards of severe thunderstorms and tornadoes, and to help everyone be prepared when severe weather occurs." Severe Weather Preparedness Week is a colloborative effort between the National Weather Service and their partners (federal and state organizations, broadcast media, and businesses) to better raise awareness and encourage preparedness.
While severe weather can happen anytime throughout the year, it is most common in Indiana in the spring and summer months. During this time, especially in spring, an unsettled weather pattern is possible, with clashes between warm and cold air setting the stage for severe weather. In the summer, severe weather is often driven by moisture and warmth from the Gulf of Mexico being advected into the Midwest, which cuases instability in the atmosphere.
Here are some facts and information from NWS Northern Indiana and NWS Indianapolis, the two weather service offices that cover a majority of the state of Indiana.
This year, Severe Weather Preparedness Week ran in Indiana from Sunday, March 13th until Saturday, March 19th. This included a statewide test of emergency communication systems on Tuesday, March 15th at 10:15 AM EDT for the Statewide Tornado Drill Day. A list of topics from the NWS can be found below. Each day, one of the NewsLink Indiana Weather Forecasters recorded a video for the day's topic.
- Sunday: Kick-Off: Discuss partners' roles in severe weather
- Monday: Severe Weather Outlooks and Watches: Partners' roles at the outlook and watch stages of an event
- Tuesday: Warnings: Taking action when warnings are issued (Statewide Tornado Drill Day)
- Wednesday: Response: Partners' roles in responding to disasters (real-time response)
- Thursday: Recovery: Partners' roles in the recovery process (days/weeks/months after disaster)
- Friday: Weather Ready Nation: How we are working to build a Weather Ready Nation
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Saturday: Wrap-Up: Importance of preparedness and action during threatening hazards
Sunday, March 13th - Day 1 - Chief Weather Forecaster Maddi Johnson
Monday, March 14th - Day 2 - Weather Forecaster Lance Huffman
Tuesday March 15th - Day 3 - Weather Forecaster Ryan Hill
Wednesday, March 16th - Day 4
Thursday, March 17th - Day 5 - Weather Forecaster Eric Segbor
Friday, March 18th - Day 6 - Weather Forecaster Ryan Crump
Some of the Severe Weather Preparedness Week content also aired on the sister show to NewsLink Indiana, called Waking up with Cardinal Weather, on Friday, March 18th at 8AM on their Facebook page.
You can find out more about Severe Weather Preparedness Week from the NWS here: https://www.weather.gov/ind/SevereWxWeek
---- Chief Weather Forecaster Maddi Johnson
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For more information about the Weather-Ready Nation program please click HERE.
