Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Severe Weather Awareness Week Underway

Spring in Arkansas means several things, gardening, warmer temperatures and severe weather.

Because of the threat of severe weather, the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management, formerly the Offices of Emergency Services, has declared the week of Feb. 20-26 as Severe Weather Awareness Week 2000 in the state.

According to a release from the ADEM, it seems strange to start thinking of tornado season so soon after the state received anywhere from two to 18 inches of snow. Still, residents in Arkansas must be prepared for spring and the increased potential for severe weather.

As part of severe weather awareness week, the National Weather Service will be conducting tornado drills over the NOAA weather radio.

The NWS has sent information to school superintendents in hopes of getting school districts involved.

There are five different NWS centers covering different parts of Arkansas. Each center will be conducting its tornado drill Thursday, Feb. 24, between 9-9:30 a.m.

The NWS in North Little Rock, as part of the campaign, is preparing a packet of severe weather information. This data will be sent to each emergency management coordinator in all counties.

The ADEM will also be sending packets including the "Disaster Preparedness Coloring Book", tornado safety tips and disaster safety tips pamphlets, along with a Severe Weather Awareness Week Public Information and Planning Guide.

For those counties needing Spanish language pamphlets, the emergency coordinator needs to contact the local chapter of the American Red Cross.

For those counties not having a Red Cross chapter, the contact person is Lorrie, at the main office in Little Rock. The phone number is 501-614-1010.

According to the ADEM, these pamphlets are also available in other languages, including Vietnamese.

For more information about the severe weather week program call 501-730-9750.