April 20, 2017 – Washington County, WI – If you hear tornado sirens going off today there’s a good reason, and it’s not because there’s a tornado.
As a part of Tornado and Severe Weather Awareness Week in Wisconsin, a statewide tornado drill, coordinated with the National Weather Service, will issue a mock tornado watch at 1 p.m. Forty-five minutes later, it will be upgraded to a tornado warning. At that time (1:45 p.m.) the Emergency Alert System will be activated on participating TV and radio stations statewide, and alerts will also come through NOAA weather radios.
At 6:45 p.m. there will be another mock tornado warning, as well.
If actual severe weather is forecast at any point today, the drills will be postponed until Friday April 21st.
Do you know the difference between a watch and a warning? A watch means that conditions are favorable for severe weather, but severe weather may not be actively occurring. A warning means that severe weather is actively ongoing or imminent. When a warning is issued you should stop what you are doing and begin following your severe weather plan.
This is a perfect opportunity for families, schools and businesses to determine a plan and carry it out in the event of severe, and possibly life-threatening, weather.
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