A GUIDE TO DEVELOPING A
SEVERE WEATHER EMERGENCY PLAN
FOR SCHOOLS

This guide was written by Barbara McNaught Watson, Warning Coordination Meteorologist with the National Weather Service, Baltimore-Washington Forecast Office. It has been adapted for use by the National Weather Service around the country with help from other Warning Coordination Meteorologists. While it is designed specifically for schools, the principles used can be applied to any facility that is used by people including businesses, shopping malls, depots, hotels and hospitals.

This guide is also available as an Adobe PDF. It is 2.14Meg.

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

• INTRODUCTION
• Purpose and general layout of Guide
• Who will Develop Your Plan?
• SECTION 1 - Understanding the Danger: Why an Emergency Plan is Needed
• Lightning
• Flooding
• Severe Thunderstorms - Hail, Downbursts, and Tornadoes
• Conclusions
• SECTION 2 - Designing Your Plan
• How to Get Emergency Weather Information?
• How will the School Administration Alert Teachers and Students to Take Action?
• Determining Tornado and High Wind Safety Zones in Your School
• Determining When to Activate Your Plan and When it is Safe to Return to Normal Activities
• Determining when to Hold Departure of School Buses
• School Bus Actions
• Special Considerations for Other Weather Hazards
• Need for Periodic Drills and Severe Weather Safety Instruction
• SECTION 3 - Thunderstorms and Severe Weather Spotting
• Basic facts about Thunderstorms
1. What makes a typical thunderstorm?
2. The thunderstorm life cycle
3. What causes thunder?
• The Severe Thunderstorm
1. Hail
2. Supercells
3. Downbursts
• Some Basic Severe Thunderstorm and Tornado Spotting Techniques
• NWS Methods of Detecting and Tracking Severe Weather.

APPENDICES - Reference Materials.

• A. National Weather Service Products (What to listen for)
• B. Glossary of Weather Terms
• C. General Severe Weather Safety
1. Tornadoes and Severe Winds
2. Hail Lightning
3. Flooding
4. Hurricanes and Storm Surge
5. Winter Storms
6. Extreme Cold
7. Extreme Heat
• D.  NWS Contact Information
• E.  NOAA Weather Radio
• F.  Emergency Alert System
• G. Emergency Management Contacts and the American Red Cross
• H. School Severe Weather Check List

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:

I would like to thank Bill Bunting, Warning Coordination Meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Pleasant Hill, MO. Bill gave me a copy of the guide he developed for Oklahoma Schools when he worked at the Oklahoma Forecast Office. I was able to use his guide as a foundation to develop this one. I would also like to thank the Virginia Department of Emergency Services for their overall support on this project in its development phase.
 02/15/02