Severe weather watches and warnings are ineffective if the public does not receive the message or is not knowledgeable of the safety procedures to follow. The purpose of Mississippi Severe Weather Awareness Week is to provide people with the knowledge necessary to protect their lives when severe weather threatens.

Whether in the form of severe thunderstorms, tornadoes, or flash floods, severe weather can develop very quickly. Once a tornado approaches, or flooding develops, it is too late to start working on preparedness plan. When severe weather develops, and warnings are issued, we must take immediate action to protect ourselves. Preparing for severe weather is the theme of this program.

So how does one prepare for severe weather? For a severe weather preparedness plan to be successful, it must include the following: knowledge of terminology suches as watches and warnings, a thorough knowledge of safety rules to follow when severe weather strikes, a reliable method of receiving emergency information, the designation of an appropriate shelter, and drills to test the plan.

For what to do on a Typical Severe Weather Day Look Here

For information on Severe Thunderstorms

For information on NOAA Weather Radio

For information on Tornadoes

For information on Tornado Safety in Schools

For information on Wind and Hail

For information on Floods and Flash Floods

For information on Safety Tips

For information on Major Disaster Events in Mississippi

For more information, contact the following: Jim Butch(Warning Coordination Meteorologist) at (601-936-2189); Cliff Lusk at the Mississippi Emergency, Management Agency (601-352-9100); Mike McAlpin at the American Red Cross (601-353-5442).

A Message from the National Weather Service Concerning Severe Weather Awareness Week

Each spring, Mississippi and the southeastern United States experience several episodes - many of them deadly episodes - of severe weather. In fact, March begins Mississippi's peak tornado season. Early warning and action are the keys to surviving severe weather. Over the years, our capability to warn people of impending hazardous weather has continued to improve. The speed and availability of wireless communication allows messages to be sent nearly instantaneously over many methods including NOAA Weather Radio and the Emergency Alert System. Weather detection through the state of the art Doppler radar allows earlier identification of potentially killer storms. But people must be prepared by staying informed during severe weather events and by learning in advance safety measures to take.

That is what this week is all about - time to review, time to learn, time to get ready. As weather records show, it is not if we will have another round of devastating tornadoes, its simply when.

A Message from the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency Concerning Severe Weather Awareness Week

The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency(MEMA) is proud to join Governor Ronnie Musgrove, local emergency management agencies, the National Weather Service and others in the campaign to promote severe weather awareness in Mississippi. In a special initiative undertaken in 1999, MEMA and local emergency managers began the Mississippi Tornado Awareness Initiative with the release to schools and local governments of 2,000 NOAA Weather Radios. Quickly following was the release of classroom learning kits aimed at providing the public with information that could save lives in a severe weather outbreak. Severe Weather Awareness Week is another step in that campaign. Your involvement this week will ultimately determine the success or failure of this initiative. Only your quick action can save a life during a severe storm.

While we have been fortunate in recent years compared to neighboring states, Mississippi still ranks as one of the deadliest places to live during a tornado outbreak. We average eight deaths per year from tornadoes, and tornadoes occur in every month of the year, every hour of the day.

With this week, we hope you can...Learn to Survive.