March is Severe Weather Preparedness Week in North Carolina

The first week of March is Severe Weather Preparedness Week in North Carolina, to encourage you and your family to have a safety plan, to practice what you will do, to have an emergency kit and to have a way of getting weather alerts in case severe weather strikes.

After an icy winter, we are all ready for spring here in North Carolina. Spring is a time of beauty and renewal, but it is also the most active season for tornados and severe thunderstorms in our state.  As you are getting the garden ready for all that will begin to bloom in the next few months, also be thinking about severe weather preparedness. 

The first week of March is Severe Weather Preparedness Week in North Carolina, to encourage you and your family to have a safety plan, to practice what you will do, to have an emergency kit and to have a way of getting weather alerts in case severe weather strikes.

If you think severe weather is not going to affect you, keep in mind that in 2024, the National Weather Service issued 641 severe thunderstorm warnings and recorded 755 severe thunderstorms with damaging winds and hail in North Carolina. This is on top of 267 flash flood warnings and 432 flood events across the state.

If that is not enough to convince you to prepare for severe weather, the NWS also delivered 181 tornado warnings in North Carolina and recorded 37 tornado touchdowns last year. Tornadoes form during severe thunderstorms when winds change direction and increase in speed. These storms can produce large hail and damaging winds that can reach 300 miles per hour. A tornado can develop rapidly with little warning. In fact, the average warning lead time for tornadoes in North Carolina in 2024 was only 20 minutes. While that was nearly a two-fold improvement over the year before, it is still a very short amount of time, so it is important to have a plan in place that will allow you to respond quickly.

To help you prepare, you can participate from home or work in an annual tornado drill by joining schools and government agencies across the state on Friday, March 7, at 9:30 a.m. If you want to join in, the NWS will broadcast test messages on weather radios and the Emergency Alert System. When they do, follow their instructions and go to the lowest floor of the building you are in and find an interior room without windows. Know where the safe place is in your home, school or workplace to shelter during severe weather.

Emergency Management officials recommend the following safety tips:

• Develop a family emergency plan so each member knows what to do, where to go and who to call during an emergency.
• Assemble an emergency supply kit for use at home or in your vehicle. Make sure to include a 3-day supply of non-perishable food, bottled water and any medications you would need. Remember to plan for your pets when you make your emergency kit!
• If thunder roars, go indoors! Lightning is close enough to strike you.
• Know where the nearest safe room is, such as a basement or interior room away from windows, in every building that you frequent.
• Know your severe weather terminology. WATCH means severe weather is possible. WARNING means severe weather is occurring; take shelter immediately.
• If you are driving when a tornado hits, leave your vehicle immediately to seek shelter in a safe structure. If there is no shelter available, take cover in a low-lying, flat area.
• If a flash flood warning is issued for your area, or if there is any possibility of a flash flood, move immediately to higher ground.
• Turn around, don’t drown! Never walk or drive through floodwaters.
   

For more information on tornadoes and overall emergency preparedness, visit www.ReadyNC.gov.

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