It certainly doesn’t feel like it Monday and it won’t this week, but the severe weather season is upon us and the National Weather Service is beginning Severe Weather Awareness Week.
Both the Weather Service Topeka office, which handles forecasting for Lyon, Coffey, Morris, Osage and Wabaunsee counties, and the Wichita office, which issues the forecasts for Chase and Greenwood counties, are urging plans and preparations through Friday. Wichita meteorologist Chance Hayes says this is a good time to discuss exactly how to respond in case of all kinds of severe weather.
Topeka meteorologist Chad Omitt is worried about complacency, given last year’s near-record low tornado numbers and an ongoing increase in tornadic activity in the Deep South.
Hayes says the recent push to install emergency shelters is a good idea, but he tells residents considering that step to make sure they are certified by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
As has become the norm in years past, the Weather Service targets one item per day as a focal point:
*Monday: Preparedness
*Tuesday: Tornado safety
*Wednesday: Lightning safety
*Thursday: Hail and wind safety
*Friday: Flood safety
Meanwhile, spotter training sessions continue through both offices. Residents in the Topeka coverage area can register for the roughly 75-minute spotter sessions by going online to www.weather.gov/top/spottertalks. Registration for residents in the Wichita coverage area can currently be done by going online to www.weather.gov/ict and then clicking on the Storm Fury on the Plains link. Schedules can be found below.
Both Hayes and Topeka meteorologist Chad Omitt urge residents to have several ways to get warning information, including severe weather radios, mobile apps and media partners like KVOE. Whenever severe weather is possible or underway, stay with KVOE and KVOE.com for instant information. As has been the case for years, KVOE will rely on its Storm Team network of volunteer spotters to give “ground truth” information.
National Weather Service Topeka spotter training sessions
*March 4, 11, 18, 23, 25. All sessions at 7 pm
National Weather Service Wichita spotter training sessions
*March 2, 10, 23, 29. Sessions at 6:30 pm
*March 4, 25. Sessions at 1 pm
