Drill Day

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

9:00 - 9:30 Local Time

A TORNADO DRILL will be conducted Wednesday morning, February 27, 2008, between 9:00 AM and 9:30 AM Local Time, weather permitting, as part of SEVERE WEATHER AWARENESS WEEK in Tennessee.  If Wednesday's weather is inclement, the test will be Thursday, February 28, 2008 (same times).

 

Sometime during this hour, each National Weather Service office in the state will issue a test

tornado drill message. The message will be sent under the Weekly Test Product (RWT)

disseminated by NOAA Weather Radio and the EAS alert system.

 

The Weekly Test Product, with the tornado drill message, will be broadcast on all NOAA Weather Radio Transmitters across Tennessee and those transmitters in North Mississippi that cover

Tennessee counties.

 

A Drill such as this gives schools, churches, business offices and plant safety managers across the state a chance to check the readiness of their Severe Weather Safety plans.  If your office has a plan already in place, test it to make sure your employees know how to respond properly.  If your employees know how the safety procedures work, they can carry them out effectively when the time comes.

 

IF YOUR WORK PLACE, SCHOOL OR CHURCH DOES NOT HAVE A SAFETY PLAN, NOW IS THE TIME TO START ONE!!  Developing a safety plan is not difficult.  If a plan is easy to operate, it is more likely to be successful when needed.  Countless lives are saved each year by planning, preparedness and proper education.  The U.S. population has grown in recent years, yet the

number of tornado deaths has diminished.  This is due to agencies and individuals developing Weather Safety Plans and to people reacting in a prudent manner when severe weather threatens their areas.

 

YOUR SAFETY AND THAT OF YOUR FAMILY, FRIENDS & CO-WORKERS  DEPENDS ON YOU!!

 

East Tennessee  averages about 4 tornadoes each year. Our peak season for tornadoes is during March, April and May, and are most likely to occur between 3 PM and 9 PM. A secondary maximum of tornadoes will occur in November and December, of which we have had a sad reminder on November 10, 2002. and the Kimball Tornado this year.

 

Despite the drought, in the year 2007, the entire State of Tennessee experienced nine tornadoes, but with no fatalities.   No place is immune to tornadoes. Tornadoes have been known to occur at all hours of the day or night and at any time of the year.  See the map on page 17 for tornadoes in your county.

 

Details of Tennessee storms since 1950 can be found at this National Climatic Data Center

Website:       http://www4.ncdc.noaa.gov/cgi-bin/wwwcgi.dll?wwevent~storms