Severe Weather Awareness Week - Introduction
...THUNDERSTORM HAZARDS HAVE BEGUN...ARE YOU PREPARED?...
SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH TORNADOES HAVE VISITED EASTERN COLORADO EARLY THIS YEAR...AND WILL MAKE REPEATED VISITS IN THE COMING WEEKS AND MONTHS. DO YOU KNOW HOW TO STAY SAFE AROUND TORNADOES...FLASH FLOODS...LIGHTNING...HAIL...AND DAMAGING WINDS? THIS IS THE WEEK TO LEARN. GOVERNOR RITTER HAS PROCLAIMED THIS WEEK...APRIL 13TH TO APRIL 19th AS COLORADO SEVERE WEATHER AWARENESS WEEK. THIS IS THE TIME TO LEARN MORE ABOUT SEVERE WEATHER IN COLORADO...DEVELOP SEVERE WEATHER PREPAREDNESS PLANS...AND TEST VITAL COMMUNICATIONS.
CAN WE LEARN LESSONS FROM THE PAST SEVERE WEATHER EVENTS? JUST 10 YEARS AGO A DEVASTATING FLASH FLOOD OCCURRED IN FORT COLLINS RESULTING IN 5 FATALITIES AND MILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN DAMAGE ON JULY 28, 1997. ON THE VERY NEXT NIGHT EVEN MORE RAIN FELL IN THE PAWNEE GRASSLANDS AND WATER WAS DIVERTED BY A RAILROAD BRIDGE SPREADING TWO TO FOUR FEET OF WATER ACROSS STERLING. SEVENTEEN YEARS AGO GOLFBALL TO BASEBALL SIZED HAIL FELL ACROSS METRO DENVER ON JULY 11 1990 RESULTING IN THE COSTLIEST HAILSTORM IN THE NATION WITH 625 MILLION DOLLARS IN DAMAGE. JUST LAST MONTH ON MARCH 28 2007 AN EF-3 TORNADO STRUCK THE TOWN OF HOLLY IN SOUTHEAST COLORADO RESULTING IN MAJOR DAMAGE TO EASTERN HOLLY...SEVERAL INJURIES AND THE FIRST TORNADO FATALITY IN COLORADO SINCE 1960.
EACH YEAR FOR THE PAST 20 YEARS THERE HAVE BEEN AN AVERAGE OF 50 TORNADOES IN COLORADO...3 PEOPLE KILLED BY LIGHTNING...AND ANOTHER 15 INJURED BY LIGHTNING.
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICES WHICH COVER COLORADO WILL ISSUE A SERIES OF PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENTS DURING THE WEEK COVERING THE FOLLOWING TOPICS:
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MONDAY...WATCHES AND WARNINGS
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TUESDAY... TORNADOES AND TORNADO SAFETY
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WEDNESDAY...FLASH FLOODS AND FLASH FLOOD SAFETY
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THURSDAY...DOWNBURST WIND AND HAIL.
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FRIDAY...LIGHTNING AND LIGHTNING SAFETY
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SATURDAY...A REVIEW OF THE WEEK
SAFETY INFORMATION, WATCHES, WARNINGS, FORECASTS, PAST WEATHER AND
MUCH MORE INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE AT YOUR LOCAL NATIONAL WEATHER
SERVICE WEB SITES:
| HTTP://WWW.WEATHER.GOV/DENVER | NWS DENVER WEB SITE |
| HTTP://WWW.WEATHER.GOV/PUEBLO | NWS PUEBLO WEB SITE |
| HTTP://WWW.WEATHER.GOV/GOODLAND | NWS GOODLAND WEB SITE |
| HTTP://WWW.WEATHER.GOV/GJT | NWS GRAND JUNCTION WEB SITE |
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