Tornado and Severe Weather Awareness Week April 10th-16th, Final
Thursday, April 7th, 2016 -- 10:50 AM
-Next week is Tornado and Severe Weather Awareness Week.I spoke with John Ross, Clark County’s Emergency Management Director, and he explained why the county decided to do monthly testing of the sirens.
"We have the equipment and we want to make sure that it's working. We don't want to create any unnecessary risk of finding our there's a failure when we really need the equipment to work. Monthly testing will take place the first Wednesday of the month between 5-6pm. Again, if there's severe weather in the area, the test will be postponed, but normal rain or cloudy skies will not stop the test. This will include the voice warning sirens and Russell Memorial Park and at Rock Dam County Park as well as the other sirens throughout the county. We tend to avoid testing them during the winter just because of cold and ice and snow and we don't want to risk unnecessary damage. But during the summer we feel it's a good thing to test the equipment to make sure it's working the way it's supposed to. If there is an issue then we can identify it and get it repaired, hopefully, before we need it in a real event."
John ended our interview by saying that people should be alert about what’s happening around when it comes to severe weather.
"I guess the big thing is just to be alert to what's going on around you. Have that plan in place as to how you're going to respond in emergencies. Have the disaster supply kit at home so that if there is an event, for example the power is going to be out, you have food and water to take care of yourself until things are restored to normal. If there's threatening weather, take it seriously."
Once again, next week is Severe Weather Awareness Week in Wisconsin and the state will be participating in the mock tornado watch and warning on Thursday, April 14th.
In Case You Missed It:
Part 1: http://cwbradio.com/news/?fn_mode=fullnews&fn_id=16402
Part 2: http://cwbradio.com/news/?fn_mode=fullnews&fn_id=16413
Part 3: http://cwbradio.com/news/?fn_mode=fullnews&fn_id=16424
Feel free to contact us with questions and/or comments.