(Spirit Lake)– This week marks the observance of Severe Weather Week in the state of Iowa. Dickinson County Emergency Management Coordinator Mike Ehret says there are several things we can do now to get ready for the upcoming season. Things like preparing a plan as to where you would go and what you would do in the event of a severe thunderstorm or tornado warning being issued, along with having multiple ways to get those warnings…
“When you’re away from the radio and the t.v. there’s so many apps out there anymore for weather information. Go ahead and find one you like. A lot of them will give you alerts. And then not just for home, but for travel. Your phone always knows where you’re at and with that those apps can take advantage of that and if you’re out of the area it can still alert you to weather watches and warning for wherever you are in the country.”
He reminds us outdoor warning sirens are just that, and chances are you’re not going to hear them INDOORS. However Dickinson county does have an extensive network of sirens to notify those involved in outdoor activities. Ehret reminds us of the protocol that’s used in sounding the sirens…
“It’s possible they could go off even before the warning gets issued. So again, tornadoes, funnel clouds things like, tornado warnings. And then with severe thunderstorm warnings we started a couple of years ago tripping the sirens for what are considered destructive severe thunderstorms by the National Weather Service and that’s a thunderstorm that contains hail baseball size or larger and/or winds of 80 mph or stronger. We actually put that into place for the first time last summer toward the end of July we had strong thunderstorms moving in from the west and we activated our sirens for the severe thunderstorm warning that was forecast to contain 80 mph winds. Fortunately that storm weakened a little bit before it got here, but still that’s our policy. So anytime that you hear those sirens go off, that is your cue to get to shelter.”
Ehret adds the sirens are sounded only for the particular area of the county in which a warning has been issued.
Ehret also encourages those who haven’t yet done so to sign up for the Dickinson Alert system that sends warnings and other important information to your phone. You can do that here.
