Month: March 2019

(from the National Weather Service)

Wednesday, April 3, 2019, is #SafePlaceSelfie day!

If there was one extreme weather preparedness action you want your loved ones to take, what would it be? For many, that one action is to know ahead of time where their safe place is located. On April 3rd, 2019, at 11:11am local time, please join the National Weather Service and its Weather-Ready Nation Ambassadors to take a “selfie” and post with the hashtag #SafePlaceSelfie.

“What makes the #SafePlaceSelfie campaign so powerful is it’s simple message and call-to-action. If you’re sitting in your home or at your desk at work looking at Twitter, ask yourself ‘what if?’ Where would you go if life-threatening weather approaches your area? Spend a few minutes going to that safe place, take a selfie, and share over social media using the #SafePlaceSelfie hashtag. This campaign keeps it simple while making a paramount preparedness action fun and interactive. And most importantly, we can see it working.”

-Trevor Boucher, forecaster at the Las Vegas Weather Forecast Office

Here are some helpful suggestions:

• Think about the hazards in your area where you would need to know where safe places or evacuation routes are located.
• Get creative! Storm shelters, safe rooms, and basements are all good safe places from tornadoes and strong winds but think of other scenarios or hazards that may require other safe places.
• What other preparedness actions make your safe place even safer? Having a NOAA Weather Radio? Emergency Kit? Family Communications Plan?
• Encourage family, friends, and your social media network to post their #SafePlaceSelfie. Tag someone on your post and ask them, “Where is your safe place from extreme weather?”Feel free to ask questions and engage in dialog with the larger #SafePlaceSelfie social media community.

For more information, visit: https://www.weather.gov/wrn/safeplaceselfie

The 2019 Missouri and Kansas statewide tornado drill will be held on Tuesday, March 5th at 10 a.m.

Starting at 10 a.m., a net will be held on all Southwest Missouri Regional Skywarn Repeater Network repeaters, on our EchoLink Node: N0NWS.R (291849), and via the Southwest Missouri Skywarn DMR Brandmeister Talkgroup: 31297. All stations who check in are encouraged to indicate whether you were able to hear your local tornado sirens and/or if your N.O.A.A. All Hazards Radio alert tone was activated.

This net will take place in lieu our regularly-scheduled Skywarn Training Net for Tuesday evening, March 5, 2019, at 7 p.m.

* Important Note: Due to the cold weather this year, some locations are announcing that they will not activate their tornado sirens to prevent possible damage to those sirens.

Why Participate?

Severe weather can strike at any time in Missouri, making it important for all of us to be prepared to find the most secure shelter available no matter where we are. The statewide tornado drill is an excellent opportunity for Missourians to practice their sheltering plans and ensure readiness in case of a severe weather emergency. The statewide drill provides schools, businesses, and families with an opportunity to test their planning and readiness to be able to quickly seek appropriate shelter in case of a real severe weather emergency. By practicing and increasing readiness across the state, Missourians will feel confident and prepared in the event of actual severe weather emergencies.

How to Participate

At 10:00 a.m. on the day of the drill, NOAA Weather Radios will alert listeners that the tornado drill has begun. *Outdoor warning sirens will also sound across Missouri. At this time, participants should practice taking cover in their designated shelter.

Schools, businesses and families are all encouraged to participate in the statewide tornado drill. Schools are encouraged to use the tornado drill as an educational tool for students by incorporating tornado facts and meteorological information and safety tips into their lesson plans.

Missouri’s annual Statewide Tornado Drill is part of Severe Weather Awareness Week, which includes:

• Monday – Preparedness Day
• Tuesday – Tornado Safety Day, including a tornado drill at 10:00 a.m.
• Wednesday – Flash Flood Safety Day
• Thursday – Severe Thunderstorm Day
• Friday – NOAA Weather Radio Day

StormAware is using Facebook and Twitter to help provide severe weather facts and safety information in the days leading up to and during Severe Weather Awareness Week. Please like StormAware at facebook.com/StormAware and follow on Twitter at twitter.com/MoStormAware.

The 2019 Severe Weather Expo at Battlefield Mall in Springfield, Missouri on Saturday, March 2nd was a huge success. A chilly early March day with snow on the way invited hundreds of people into the warm shopping center where several booths representing local media, storm damage recovery businesses, the National Weather Service, and Southwest Missouri Regional Skywarn were on display. Thank you to all who stopped by our booth and said hello. It is remarkable how many non-hams out there listen to the 145.49 and the rest of the Southwest Missouri Regional Skywarn Repeater Network during severe weather either via scanners or our live online Broadcastify feed!

Below are a few photos of the expo. Enjoy…

The SW MO Skywarn Booth staffed by Caleb KE0FOE

N0NWS 145.49 Trustee Michael N0NQW (left) showing Michael, a new Meteorologist with the NWS Springfield, MO office, what we do with Skywarn

Clay KB0WZI demonstrating Amateur Radio at the Skywarn booth

NWS Springfield Warning Coordinator Steve Runnels KD4OPZ staffing the NWS Booth & Tornado Simulator

Brad KA0KDW (right) helping to staff the KOLR 10 booth

The Greene County OEM booth

The Greene County ARES & CERT booth

Foundation Recovery Systems Booth

KY3 Storm Team booth

KTTS 94.7 FM Radio booth