| March 26th, 2012
News Release: 2012 Iowa Tornado Drill
From: Thomas I. Berger, Dubuque County E MA Coordinator
The Dubuque County Emergency Management Agency and area communities will be participating in the State
Wide Tornado Drill coordinated by the National Weather Service (NWS) and Iowa Homeland Security and
Emergency Management Division. The drill will be conducted between 10:00 am and 10:25 am, Wednesday,
April 4th, 2012. The drill will begin with a test Tornado Watch at 10 a.m., followed by a test Tornado
Warning around 10:15 - 10:25 am.
Every school, citizen and business is encouraged to participate in the drill by practicing seeking secure, safe
shelter as if this were a real event. In case of severe weather on April 4*, the test would be postponed to the
following day - Thursday April 5*.
The Federal Communication Commission (FCC) has granted a waiver to the state of Iowa for this drill. This
means that The National Weather Service will use the actual Emergency Alert System (EAS) code TOR for the
tornado drill message, activating NOAA Weather Radios for the test tornado warning.
The City of Dubuque and communities throughout Dubuque County will activate outdoor warning sirens as a
component of the drill. Area residents, businesses, and schools are urged to treat the drill as if it were an actual
tornado warning. The purpose of the annual drill is to test everyone's readiness for life-threatening severe
weather events such as tornadoes, large hail, and damaging winds. Area outdoor warning sirens are activated
for tornado warnings and severe thunderstorms with winds greater than 70 MPH and golf ball size hail or
higher. When sirens are activated, people should seek immediate shelter inside and tune to their NOAA
weather radio, local radio or local television for updates.
Dubuque County experiences a variety of severe weather including tornadoes, severe thunderstorms with
damaging winds and large hail, and flash flooding. In 2011 Dubuque County was placed under a Severe
Thunderstorm Warning nine times and a Tornado Warning twice. Residents are encouraged to use Severe
Weather Awareness Week-April 2nd-6th, and the armual drill day, to review their severe weather safety plans.
Practice what you would do as if there were a real tornado warning.
For more information, please check the National Weather Service website at: http://www.crh.noaa.gov/dvn |
