Tennessee Severe Weather Awareness Week
February 17-22, 2013

Fayetteville Tornado

Tornadoes Thunderstorms Derechos Hail Floods Lightning

The National Weather Service is conducting Tennessee Severe Weather Awareness Week from Sunday, February 17, 2013 to Friday, February 22, 2013 to call attention to the peak of severe weather that occurs in the late winter and spring seasons. Historically, the spring months - especially March, April, and May - are the most active for severe weather throughout Tennessee.

Tennessee Severe Weather Awareness Week 2013 brochure (or printable version)

Right now is the perfect time of the year to check your preparedness plans! Learn about weather safety for the different types of severe weather by clicking the links above. Check that your NOAA Weather Radio has fresh batteries in it and is tuned properly to the nearest NOAA Weather Radio transmitter. Make sure you have a means of receiving severe weather information, whether you are at home, work, school, or travelling. Make sure you know what to do if threatening weather approaches.

Awareness Events:

  • Sunday, February 17 - Important Role of SKYWARN Spotters.
  • Monday, February 18 - Hazards of Flooding and Flash Floods.
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  • Tuesday, February 19 - Lightning, the Underrated Killer.
  • Wednesday, February 20 - Tornado Safety and Preparedness with statewide Tornado Drill
  • Thursday, February 21 - Severe Thunderstorms and the Devastating Effects of Severe Storms.
  • Friday, February 22 - NOAA Weather Radio and The Emergency Alert System.

A statewide tornado drill including a test of the NOAA Weather Radio will be conducted on Wednesday, February 20, 2013. Media outlets will also be working with the National Weather Service during Tennessee Severe Weather Awareness Week to publicize weather safety.

Tennessee Tornado History

West TN Tornado Database Middle TN Tornado Database East TN Tornado Database

Severe weather and tornadoes are most common across Tennessee during the spring, especially the month of April.  In fact, some of the largest and deadliest tornado outbreaks in Tennessee history have occurred in April, including on April 2 2006, April 3 1974, April 16 1998, and April 27 2011.

2013 has already been a very active year for severe weather, with tornadoes reported on January 13, 2013 and a record outbreak of tornadoes and wind damage on January 30, 2013.
SKYWARN

One way you can become more prepared when severe weather strikes is to become a SKYWARN storm spotter! SKYWARN is the National Weather Service (NWS) program of trained volunteer weather spotters. Storm spotters come from many walks of life, including fire fighters, law enforcement, amateur radio operators, and regular members of the public. SKYWARN spotters coordinate with local emergency management officials and send reports of weather based phenomena to the NWS. In addition to serving as a community's first line of defense against dangerous storms, spotters provide important information to warning forecasters who make critical warning decisions. SKYWARN storm spotters play a vital role in providing ground truth data, which helps the NWS perform our primary mission - to save lives and property. 

SKYWARN storm spotter training classes are offered all across Tennessee throughout the year, and teach the different aspects of severe weather, what to look for when storm spotting, and weather safety and preparedness. If you are interested in becoming a storm spotter, view the schedules below for the next available training classes in your area.

West TN Spotter Training
Class Schedule		 Middle TN Spotter Training
Class Schedule		 East TN Spotter Training
Class Schedule

 

The National Weather Service is now on Facebook and Twitter! Keep up with the latest weather information and be prepared when severe weather threatens by hitting the "like" button on NWS office facebook pages and following our tweets on NWS office twitter pages!

Facebook NWS Memphis Facebook Twitter NWS Memphis Twitter
NWS Nashville Facebook NWS Nashville Twitter
NWS Morristown Facebook NWS Morristown Twitter
NWS Huntsville Facebook NWS Huntsville Twitter

 

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