The National Weather Service and the State Emergency Management Agency are issuing a statewide tornado drill as part of Severe Weather Awareness Week in Missouri.
Outdoor warning sirens and weather alert radios will sound during a Tornado drill this week and Missourians are being urged by the National Weather Service and the State Emergency Management Agency to take the opportunity to plan and prepare for how they will react and take shelter in the event of an actual tornado.
Warning Coordination Meterologist Jim Kramper with the National Weather Service says the peak season for tornadoes are in April, May, and June. “Those are the three months that the averages show we get the most tornado activity,” he said. “However, in Missouri we can get severe weather and tornadoes at any month out of the year.” Kramper says if conditions in the atmosphere are right, tornadoes can occur at any time.
Kramper adds that a tornado watch are also generally more common than tornado warnings. “Tornado watch is not something that happens all the time. They are all rather infrequent because a tornado is relatively a rare event and it doesn’t happen all that often,” Kramper said. “The problem is, it’s a rare event but it has a very high impact.”
Kramper says tornado warnings are smaller and might cover only part of a county or two counties. He recommends people should seek immediate shelter in the event they are in an area with a tornado warning. The annual statewide tornado drill is Tuesday.
For more information, visit www.Stormaware.mo.gov
AUDIO: Mary Farucci reports. (1:01)
