Severe Weather Awareness Week

BOWLING GREEN, Ky.- Severe weather awareness week is declared March 1- March 7 this year. NWS offices that serve Bowling Green and surrounding areas will provide weather safety information through social media and web posts throughout the week.

Wednesday March 2,2022 marks the 10 year anniversary of the deadly March 2nd tornado outbreak which caused widespread destruction in West Liberty and Salyersville, Ky . It was responsible for claiming the lives of 26 people and injuring 200. Of course , our community is still recovering from the unprecedented December tornadoes and the one on January 1st.

“Whether it’s the April 3, 1974 Super Outbreak, the West Liberty and Salyersville March 2, 2012 long track tornadoes, or the Dec 10-11 2021 Quad State Tornadoes, Kentuckians must be weather prepared. Please have a plan of what you would do for your family, when warnings are issued, whether you are at home, at a youth sporting event, or at the grocery store. Make sure you have multiple ways of receiving life saving warnings from your local NWS office” said John Gordon, Meteorologist-in-Charge at the National Weather Service in Louisville, KY.

There will be a statewide tornado drill this Wednesday, March 2nd at 9:07 am CST. This year, alerts will not activate the Emergency Alert System or cable overrides, and test messages do not activate Wireless Emergency Alerts.

Severe weather awareness week is about being aware and staying prepared for severe weather. As we’re reminded from the tragic events, severe weather knows no boundaries and can impact anyone in any region of the commonwealth.

In conjunction with Severe Weather Awareness week, the NWS encourages anyone to attend the virtual SKYWARN spotter training sessions. For more information on that, contact your NWS warning coordination meteorologist. These online sessions are free and open to all who want to become a trained spotter and learn about severe weather safety.