Introduction to Severe Weather Awareness Week

Spring in the Pacific Northwest can bring snow one day, then thunderstorms the next. The chance of severe thunderstorms will be increasing through the next several weeks. Are you prepared for severe thunderstorms that produce large hail, tornadoes, flash flooding, mudslides and even lightning caused wildfires? Are you ready for storms along the coast? This is the time to learn more about severe weather, develop severe weather preparedness plans, and test vital communications.

To help our communities learn more about these dangers, NOAA's National Weather Service will issue Public Information Statements throughout the week to discuss:

Later in the week, National Weather Service's Storm Prediction Center, in conjunction with the Nationa Weather Service forecast offices in the Pacific Northwest, will issue a TEST Severe Thunderstorm Watch as part of the awareness campaign. This will be a good opportunity for county emergency management officials to excercise their preparedness plans upon receipt of the test severe thunderstorm watch product.

Remember, in times of severe weather, you can get all these vital NOAA/National Weather Service messages via NOAA Weather Radio, your favorite local media, or through NOAA's National Weather Service websites.

This message is brought to you by your local NOAA National Weather Service offices. Here are a few more links that will provide additional information..

1. NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)
2. National Weather Service's Safety website
3. Severe Weather Preparedness
   
4. National Interagency Fire Center
5. NOAA's National Fire Weather Data Page
6. National Wildfire Data