February 21st through February 27th has been proclaimed Severe Weather Awareness Week by Rick Perry, Governor of Texas. Each year, the Texas Division of Emergency Management, the National Weather Service, local Emergency Management Coordinators, and other local officials join together to recognize Severe Weather Awareness Week.
Every spring, dozens of Texans are injured or killed by hazardous weather associated with severe thunderstorms. Severe weather hazards include damaging winds, lightning, hail, flooding, and tornadoes. During the last week in May and the first week in June, more tornadoes occur on average on the Texas South Plains into the southern Panhandle than anywhere in the United States. 2010 is the 40th anniversary of the F5 Lubbock Tornado which killed 26 people and injured more than 1500 along its 8.5 mile track, while impacting approximately 15 square miles of the city of Lubbock.
The National Weather Service Office in Lubbock would like to take this opportunity to remind everyone to begin preparing now for severe weather that is inevitable each Spring and early Summer in West Texas.
As part of this campaign, the Lubbock National Weather Service will be hosting activities this week to increase awareness of severe weather hazards.
A Severe Weather Awareness Day sponsored by the Texas Tech Student Chapter of the American Meteorological Society and the Lubbock NWS Office will be held at the Science Spectrum in Lubbock on Saturday, February 27th. NewsChannel 11 will also be on hand to help program your weather radio, and I will have my chase vehicle on display as well.
This event will include educational sessions and hands on weather exhibits. The Lubbock NWS office will host an information booth, and conduct a Skywarn Spotter Training session. This class and the entire event are free and open to the public. For more information about this event, see the web link listed below.
http://www.sciencespectrum.org/new/publicevents.shtml
Tags: national weather service, severe weather, severe weather awareness day, texas
Hey David, thanks for the email regarding video. I’ll be sending some info in shortly. Also to let you know to update your link for my blog, the Iowa Chaser blog has now become Severe Plains. Thanks!