Public Information Statement

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
500 AM CST SUN FEB 18 2007


...SEVERE WEATHER AWARENESS WEEK IN ALABAMA STARTS TODAY...

...SKYWARN AND THE EMERGENCY MANAGERS WEATHER INFORMATION SYSTEM ARE
HIGHLIGHTED TODAY...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE...LOCAL...COUNTY...AND STATE GOVERNMENT
AGENCIES...AND THE NEWS MEDIA ACROSS ALABAMA WILL BE PARTICIPATING
IN SEVERE WEATHER AWARENESS WEEK WHICH RUNS FROM SUNDAY FEBRUARY 18TH
THROUGH FRIDAY FEBRUARY 23RD.

EACH DAY DURING SEVERE WEATHER AWARENESS WEEK...THE FOCUS WILL BE ON
A DIFFERENT ASPECT OF SEVERE WEATHER.

SUNDAY...FEBRUARY 18TH...WILL FOCUS ON THE SKYWARN STORM
SPOTTER PROGRAM AND THE EMERGENCY MANAGERS WEATHER INFORMATION
SYSTEM...REFERRED TO AS EMWIN.

MONDAY...FEBRUARY 19TH...WILL BE DEVOTED TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS.

TUESDAY...FEBRUARY 20TH...WILL EMPHASIZE LIGHTNING...ONE OF THE
UNDERRATED WEATHER KILLERS.

WEDNESDAY...FEBRUARY 21ST...WILL FOCUS ON TORNADO AWARENESS AND WILL
SERVE AS A TORNADO DRILL DAY.

THURSDAY... FEBRUARY 22ND...WILL HIGHLIGHT FLOODING AND FLASH
FLOODING...THE NUMBER ONE WEATHER KILLERS IN THE UNITED STATES.

FRIDAY... FEBRUARY 23RD...WILL STRESS NOAA WEATHER RADIO ALL HAZARDS
AND WILL SERVE AS AN EMERGENCY ALERT SYSTEM DAY.

THE PURPOSE OF SEVERE WEATHER AWARENESS WEEK IS TO DRAW ATTENTION
TO THE MANY ASPECTS OF SEVERE WEATHER WHICH AFFECT ALL OF US...TO
FOCUS ON SAFETY...AND TO LEARN WHAT TO DO WHEN HAZARDOUS WEATHER
THREATENS.

NOAA WEATHER RADIO ALL HAZARDS WILL BROADCAST SEVERE WEATHER
INFORMATION AND SAFETY TIPS EACH DAY.  IN ADDITION...THE NATIONAL
WEATHER SERVICE WILL ISSUE STATEMENTS EACH DAY CONTAINING IMPORTANT
SAFETY RULES. YOU CAN USE TO PROTECT YOURSELF AND YOUR LOVED
ONES FROM THE DANGERS OF SEVERE WEATHER. SEVERE WEATHER AWARENESS
WEEK BEGINS TODAY WITH A LOOK AT SKYWARN AND THE EMERGENCY MANAGERS
WEATHER INFORMATION SYSTEM...EMWIN.

SEVERE WEATHER CAN STRIKE DURING ANY MONTH OF THE YEAR...AT ANY TIME
...DAY OR NIGHT.  WHEN SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS THREATEN ...THE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CALLS SKYWARN VOLUNTEERS INTO ACTION.
SKYWARN VOLUNTEERS ARE THE EYES AND EARS OF THE NATIONAL WEATHER
SERVICE...PROVIDING INSTANT REPORTS OF SEVERE WEATHER...INCLUDING
HAIL...HIGH WINDS AND DANGEROUS CLOUD FORMATIONS.

SKYWARN SPOTTERS KEEP A CLOSE EYE ON THE SKY ANYTIME SEVERE
THUNDERSTORMS APPROACH.  MANY COMMUNITIES DEPLOY SPOTTERS AROUND THE
EDGE OF THE CITY AND USE THEIR EARLY REPORTS OF IMPENDING HAZARDOUS
WEATHER TO WARN THEIR COMMUNITIES IN ADVANCE.  SOME SPOTTERS RELAY
REPORTS FROM THEIR HOMES OR BUSINESSES...WHILE OTHERS TRY TO GET AS
CLOSE TO THE STORM AS POSSIBLE...ALWAYS KEEPING THEIR PERSONAL SAFETY
IN MIND.

WHO ARE THESE SKYWARN VOLUNTEERS?  A LARGE NUMBER OF SKYWARN STORM
SPOTTERS IN ALABAMA ARE AMATEUR RADIO OPERATORS...OR HAMS. THESE
PUBLIC SERVICE MINDED INDIVIDUALS MAKE IDEAL STORM SPOTTERS...SINCE
THEY HAVE THE ABILITY TO RAPIDLY COMMUNICATE THEIR REPORTS. THEY ARE
WILLING TO BE TRAINED AND THEY HAVE A REAL INTEREST IN HELPING THE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AND THEIR LOCAL COMMUNITIES PREPARE FOR
SEVERE WEATHER.  AMATEUR RADIO OPERATORS ARE ON CALL 24 HOURS A
DAY...365 DAYS A YEAR...EVEN THOUGH THEY RECEIVE NO COMPENSATION OF
ANY KIND FOR THEIR HARD WORK.

MANY OTHER GROUPS PARTICIPATE IN THE SKYWARN PROGRAM...INCLUDING
LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES...FIRE DEPARTMENTS...UTILITY COMPANIES...
RESCUE SQUADS AND THE NEWS MEDIA.  IN SOME AREAS...INDIVIDUAL
CITIZENS ARE TRAINED AS SPOTTERS AND ASKED TO RELAY THEIR REPORTS TO
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE.  SPOTTERS ARE A VITAL LINK IN THE
WARNING PROCESS. IT IS IMPORTANT TO HAVE AS MANY TRAINED SPOTTERS IN
EACH COUNTY AS POSSIBLE.

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CAN HELP YOUR COMMUNITY SET UP A
SKYWARN SPOTTER NETWORK.  FOR MORE INFORMATION ON SKYWARN AND HOW YOU
CAN HELP...CONTACT THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE IN BIRMINGHAM
AT 205-664-3010...EXTENSION 222.

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS A METHOD OF DISTRIBUTING WEATHER
INFORMATION ON A NATIONAL BASIS.  EMWIN INFORMATION IS DISTRIBUTED AS
A DATA SIGNAL RELAYED THROUGH WEATHER SATELLITES.  SOFTWARE
ALLOWS YOUR PERSONAL COMPUTER TO DISPLAY WEATHER INFORMATION 24 HOURS
A DAY.

THE MAIN PURPOSE OF THE EMWIN IS TO PROVIDE TIMELY WARNINGS OF
APPROACHING SEVERE WEATHER.  EMWIN PRIORITIZES THE DATA WITH FIRST
THE TRANSMISSION OF WARNINGS AND SEVERE WEATHER SUMMARIES.  ROUTINE
WEATHER...SATELLITE IMAGES AND WEATHER GRAPHICS ARE ALSO TRANSMITTED.
THIS PUBLIC INFORMATION SERVICE IS PROVIDED AT NO CHARGE. THE ONLY
COST IS FOR THE RECEIVING EQUIPMENT AND INEXPENSIVE COMMERCIAL
SOFTWARE.

MONDAY...FEBRUARY 19TH...WILL BE DEVOTED TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS. FOR
ADDITIONAL DETAILS...VISIT OUR WEB SITE AT WWW.SRH.NOAA.GOV/BMX...OR
CONTACT JIM STEFKOVICH...METEOROLOGIST IN CHARGE...NATIONAL WEATHER
SERVICE BIRMINGHAM...AT 205-664-3010...EXTENSION 222...OR EMAIL AT
JIM.STEFKOVICH@NOAA.GOV

$$

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