Post by SKYSUMMIT on Mar 4, 2013 8:18:13 GMT -6
PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEW ORLEANS LA
600 AM CST MON MAR 4 2013
...SEVERE WEATHER AWARENESS WEEK IN LOUISIANA...
....MARCH 3 THROUGH MARCH 9
THE WEEK OF MARCH 3 THROUGH MARCH 9 HAS BEEN DESIGNATED AS SEVERE
WEATHER AWARENESS WEEK IN LOUISIANA. LATE WINTER AND SPRING MONTHS
TYPICALLY BRING THE HIGHEST FREQUENCY OF SEVERE WEATHER TO GULF
COAST REGION. SEVERE WEATHER AWARENESS WEEK IS A GOOD TIME TO REVIEW
SEVERE WEATHER SAFETY PLANS AND ENSURE YOU HAVE A MEANS TO RECEIVE
TIMELY WARNINGS.
LAST YEAR...A TOTAL OF 22 TORNADOES TOUCHED DOWN IN SOUTHEAST
LOUISIANA AND THE ADJACENT AREAS OF SOUTHWEST AND COASTAL
MISSISSIPPI IN 2012. OF THOSE 22 TORNADOES...THE 10 TORNADOES THAT
OCCURRED IN SOUTHEAST LOUISIANA WERE ALL RATED AS WEAK...EITHER EF0
OR EF1 ON THE ENHANCED FUJITA SCALE. THE TORNADO THAT PRODUCED THE
MOST PROPERTY DAMAGE IN SOUTHEAST LOUISIANA OCCURRED IN THE
PRAIRIEVILLE AREA OF ASCENSION PARISH ON THE MORNING OF MARCH 21.
THE TORNADO PRODUCED CONSIDERABLE DAMAGE TO A NUMBER OF HOUSE ROOFS
AS WELL AS DOWNING TREES AND POWER LINES ALONG ITS 4 MILE LONG PATH.
TWO OF THE TORNADOES IN SOUTHEAST LOUISIANA LAST YEAR ORIGINALLY
DEVELOPED AS WATERSPOUTS BEFORE MOVING ONSHORE AND CAUSING MINOR
PROPERTY DAMAGE. ON MAY 9...A WATERSPOUT MOVED FROM BARATARIA BAY
SOUTHWARD ONTO GRAND ISLE DAMAGING SEVERAL HOUSES AND CAMPS. ON
JULY 13...A WATERSPOUT MOVED ONSHORE PORT FOURCHON CAUSING MINOR
PROPERTY DAMAGE AND A MINOR INJURY.
SIMILAR TO 2011...LIGHTNING PRODUCED THE ONLY DIRECT WEATHER RELATED
SEVERE WEATHER FATALITIES IN SOUTHEAST LOUISIANA DURING 2012. TWO
FISHERMAN WERE FATALLY INJURED WHEN LIGHTNING STRUCK A TREE NEXT TO
A SMALL STRUCTURE THEY HAD SOUGHT REFUGE DURING A THUNDERSTORM SOUTH
OF PONCHATOULA.
ON WEDNESDAY MORNING...MARCH 6...THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INVITES
LOCAL GOVERNMENT AGENCIES...SCHOOLS AND OTHERS ORGANIZATIONS TO TEST
THEIR SEVERE WEATHER PLANS BY PARTICIPATING IN A TORNADO TEST
DRILL. THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILL ISSUE A TEST TORNADO
WARNING ON NOAA WEATHER RADIO BETWEEN 9 AND 10 AM USING THE ROUTINE
WEEKLY TEST MESSAGE. THE TEST WARNING WILL PROVIDE INTERESTED
GROUPS A WAY TO TEST THEIR SEVERE WEATHER PLANS.
EXPERIENCE HAS SHOWN THAT LIVES CAN BE SAVED IF PEOPLE ARE AWARE OF
THE DANGERS ASSOCIATED WITH TORNADOES AND SEVERE WEATHER...AND
ARE PREPARED TO TAKE QUICK STEPS TO PROTECT THEMSELVES FROM
NATURES MOST VIOLENT AND UNPREDICTABLE STORMS.
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILL BE ISSUING PUBLIC INFORMATION
STATEMENTS ABOUT SEVERE WEATHER AND INFORMATION ON SEVERE WEATHER
SAFETY ACCORDING TO THE FOLLOWING SCHEDULE.
MAR 4 MONDAY MORNING SEVERE WEATHER AWARENESS WEEK
MONDAY AFTERNOON SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS
MAR 5 TUESDAY MORNING TORNADO SAFETY RULES
TUESDAY AFTERNOON NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE
WATCH AND WARNING DEFINITIONS
MAR 6 WEDNESDAY MORNING TORNADO TEST DRILL
MAR 7 THURSDAY MORNING NOAA WEATHER RADIO
THURSDAY AFTERNOON LIGHTNING SAFETY
MAR 8 FRIDAY MORNING FLASH FLOOD SAFETY
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT THE NEW ORLEANS / BATON ROUGE AREA
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORECAST OFFICE... 504 522 7330 OR
985-649-0357 EXTENSION 4.
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