It’s Tornado Awareness Week in Wisconsin. Now that we’re reasonably certain to be done with winter weather, Tod Pritchard with Wisconsin Emergency Management wants us to start thinking about the severe weather that comes when the days turn warm.
“Make sure that you dust off your plans for a tornado,” Pritchard advises. “It’s not really a question of if we’ll have a big tornado in Wisconsin, it’s a question of when.” According to the National Weather Service, Wisconsin averages 23 tornadoes annually. Last year, there were 16 tornado touchdowns in the state. All of the tornadoes were either an EF0 or EF1
For the second year in a row, there will be a statewide tornado drill, scheduled for Thursday at 6:55 p.m. The tornado drill will take place even if the sky is cloudy, dark and or rainy. If actual severe storms are expected in the state on Thursday, April 20, the tornado drills will be postponed until Friday, April 21 with the same times. If severe storms are possible Friday, the drills will be canceled.