When severe weather is in the forecast, wouldn’t you like to be the first to know? If you live in an officially recognized StormReady community, you might be in luck.
What You Need To Know
- StormReady communities provide guidelines on how to stay ahead of hazardous weather
- The program trains emergency managers on safety skills in order to protect lives and property
- Weather and communications experts work together to strengthen local storm safety programs through community seminars
- In addition to the StormReady Program, there is also a TsunamiReady Program
There is no way to stop severe weather from happening, but there are better ways to be prepared for it.
Whether it be thunderstorms, tornadoes, hurricanes or floods, extreme weather leaves us in shock knowing of the damage and unfortunate loss of life they cause.
With the combination of climate change and overdevelopment, more and more people are prone to severe weather every year.
According to StormReady, the U.S. is the most severe weather-prone country on Earth. Almost 98% of all Presidentially declared disasters are weather-related, leading to around 500 deaths per year and nearly $15 billion in damage.
So what is StormReady?
It’s a voluntary education certification program through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for groups and organizations interested in improving upon hazardous weather training and communications.
Neighborhoods that are under the umbrella of StormReady will receive crucial information in a timely fashion.
Members are trained to alert the public and media outlets of dangerous weather before it hits, and make sure there are various options for receiving weather alerts using clear, concise and timely messaging.
If interested, you can find your local Warning Coordination Meteorologist and learn more about how to sign up here. To find out if your community is already StormReady, you can check here.
As always, you can stay up to date with your latest forecast and sign up for weather alerts on the Spectrum News app.
