According to our weather expert, Tyler Penland, the skies will be sunny and blue, but the weather sirens will be sounding Wednesday at 9:30 am for Severe Weather Preparedness Day.
You might think of Spring as the first round of severe storms, and you would be correct. November often brings the second round of severe weather as temperatures change, and cold fronts meet warm air in the Chattahoochee Valley. Also, bear in mind that Hurricane season doesn’t end until November 30.
The Columbus-Muscogee County Emergency Management and Homeland Security Department, in partnership with the Georgia Emergency Management Agency and the National Weather Service, will participate on November 5th in Georgia’s Severe Weather Preparedness Day. All schools, businesses and individuals are encouraged to take part in a severe weather exercise/tornado drill around 9:30 a.m.
“Severe Weather Preparedness is a great opportunity for our community to create or review their emergency plans and to make sure that we all know what to do should a severe weather strike Columbus,” said Columbus and Muscogee County EMA and Homeland Security Director Chance Corbett. “We encourage residents to have multiple ways to receive alerts and to know in advance where they will seek shelter during a severe weather incident.”
As individuals and families prepare for this day, schools and businesses will be conducting their own severe weather exercise/tornado drills, which will be activated by the NOAA Weather Radio’s routine weekly test around 9:30 a.m. followed by the immediate test activation of Columbus’s Outdoor Warning Sirens.
Columbus residents can prepare for severe weather by visiting www.columbusga.gov/emergency or by using GEMA/HS’s Ready Georgia campaign as it offers resources and information residents can use to be informed about potential threats. Citizens can also develop a communications plan and create an emergency Ready kit. Go to https://gema.georgia.gov/plan-prepare/ready-georgia for information on developing a custom emergency plan and Ready kit.
Employers can use the Ready Your Business guide to create custom contingency plans, and children can visit the Ready Kids page for age-appropriate information, videos and games at https://gema.georgia.gov/planprepare/ready-georgia/get-ready-kids
Sirens are located across Columbus and likely in areas near your neighborhood, parks, recreation, and other public areas. The sirens are scheduled to be tested each Saturday at noon. In case of severe weather in the area, the siren test may be canceled.
NOAA weather radios are one of the best ways to receive notification of severe weather and other civil emergencies.
NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards is an automated 24-hour network of VHF FM weather radio stations in the United States that broadcast weather information directly from a nearby National Weather Service office. The routine programming cycle includes local or regional weather forecasts, synopsis, climate summaries or zone/lake/coastal waters forecasts (when applicable). During severe conditions, the cycle is shortened into hazardous weather outlooks, short-term forecasts, special weather statements or tropical weather summaries.
If you can’t hear the siren but have a dog, you will know when the siren is sounded by the howling chorus. Apparently, most dogs have radar ears.
