Severe weather could happen at any time, and Tod Pritchard with Wisconsin Emergency Management reminds us to listen for the statewide tornado drill scheduled for testing Thursday. “That’s when you’ll hear the sirens going off; you’ll see the test on your television screen; you’ll hear it on the radio; your weather radio will go off.”
Pritchard says the test will be the trigger for people participating in the mock drill to take shelter. “So, for example, almost every school in the state will be participating in this. So, school kids will be ushered into the safest places they have in their schools. A lot of businesses take part in this, too.”
If the timing isn’t right, Pritchard suggests you schedule a tornado drill with your family maybe later that evening. Talk it through with everyone, he says, especially the kids. Tell them, when the siren blares, it’s time to seek shelter. “If you don’t have a basement, you need to get into the interior of the house, away from windows, and as low to the ground as you can possibly get.”
This week is Wisconsin’s Tornado and Severe Weather Awareness Week. Get more info at ReadyWisconsin‘s website. A mock Tornado Watch will be issued at 1 pm, mock Tornado Warning at 1:45 pm. (Weather permitting).