PEARL, Miss.- Gov. Phil Bryant has declared that next week, Oct. 24-28, is Fall Severe Weather Preparedness Week in Mississippi.
“Heat is our number one killer, followed by flooding, but the third largest killer in our country is tornadoes,” Lee Smithson, Director of the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency, said. “Mississippi leads our nation in tornado related fatalities.”
Mississippi has been hit by 772 tornadoes in the months of November, December, January and February since 1950, according to the National Weather Service.
On December 23rd of 2015, tornadoes killed 11 people leaving 56 others injured throughout Bolivar, Coahoma, Quitman, Panola, Tate, Marshall, Benton, and Tippah counties.
“Severe weather deaths, injuries and damage are devastating whenever they occur, but more so around the holidays when we celebrate Thanksgiving and Christmas with friends and family,” said Gov. Bryant. “I encourage all Mississippians to be prepared and have a plan.”
A test tornado warning will be issued on the NOAA weather radios at 9:15 a.m. on Wednesday Oct. 26. Schools, government agencies,and businesses are asked to participate in the drill.
MEMA and the NWS will focus on specific types of severe weather each day of the week on social media and websites. The outline is as follows:
- Monday, Oct. 24: Alerts and Warnings. There are numerous ways to receive weather alerts from your cellphones, to weather radios, to mass notification systems.
- Tuesday, Oct 25: Severe Thunderstorms. Lightning, large hail, and damaging winds from severe storms are just as dangerous as tornadoes.
- Wednesday, Oct. 26: Tornado Safety. A statewide tornado drill will be conducted at 9:15 a.m.
- Thursday, Oct. 27: Flooding and Flash Flooding. Flooding is the number one cause of weather-related deaths behind heat. Remember… Turn Around, Don’t Drown.
- Thursday, Oct. 28: Winter Weather. Surprisingly, these winter events can affect the Magnolia State before winter officially begins in late December.In the event of a severe weather disaster, Smithson said: “One, get off the roads, two, get out of mobile homes, three, get to a safe place.”
For more information on your local weather alert through NWS visit the following:
- Central Mississippi counties: www.srh.noaa.gov/jan.
- Coastal Mississippi counties: www.srh.noaa.gov/mob or www.srh.noaa.gov/lix.
- Northern Mississippi counties: www.srh.noaa.gov/meg.
