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Amarillo National Weather Service (NWS), along with state and local
officials of the Texas and Oklahoma Emergency Management, have laid
the groundwork for communities across the Texas and Oklahoma Panhandles
to seek recognition as being "StormReady".
StormReady,
a voluntary program, is designed to help communities take a pro-active
approach to the kinds of severe weather that affect their area by
improving local hazardous weather operations and heightening public
awareness. Communities work with the local National Weather Service
office, state and local emergency managers to become "StormReady".
Applications are supplied below.
The
program was started by the National Weather Service Forecast Office
in Tulsa as an effort to educate residents about storm safety. It
is now expanding nationwide in an effort to spread information about
severe weather preparedness and what to do when severe weather strikes.
For
a county or community to be recognized as "StormReady",
they must meet predetermined criteria as set by National, Regional,
and Local StormReady Advisory Boards. The criteria includes such
things as a 24-hour Warning Point and/or Emergency Operations Center,
placing NOAA Weather Radios in all locally owned government facilities,
and maintaining NWS trained spotter networks.
Emergency
Managers can apply for StormReady at this website: http://www.stormready.noaa.gov/howto.htm
The goal of achieving StormReady status is to increase the chances
of local citizens surviving a tornado, hurricane, flash flood, tsunami,
or whatever type of severe weather threatens their area of the country.
"Obviously, tornadoes and severe thunderstorms are the primary
focus of the Amarillo StormReady program," said Steve Drillette,
NWS Warning Coordination Meteorologist. "We hope many panhandle
communities will apply and work towards gaining StormReady recognition."
For
additional information, or to request an application, call Steve
Drillette at the Amarillo National Weather Service Forecast Office
at 806-335-1121, or check our website at www.srh.noaa.gov/ama.
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