As we work or way through the end of winter, now is the time to start thinking about and planning for spring and summer severe weather in Kansas.
Monday marks the beginning of the state's 2020 Severe Weather Awareness Week.
“The National Weather Service, county emergency management agencies, and local media do a great job of keeping the public informed when severe weather is headed our way. They also help educate the public on steps that should be taken with regard to severe weather watches and warnings. But just knowing what to do isn’t enough,” said Angee Morgan, deputy director of the Kansas Division of Emergency Management.
“You have to actively carry out the steps necessary to make sure you’re prepared: assemble a home disaster kit, formulate a disaster plan and then practice your plan," Morgan said. "It doesn’t take much time or a lot of money to make a home disaster kit, and it’s a great investment in your family’s safety.”
As part of the week’s activities, Kansans are urged to take part in the statewide tornado safety drill 10 a.m. on Tuesday. If severe weather is expected on or around the test time on Tuesday, the test will be postponed.
Additionally, throughout the week, the National Weather Service (NWS) plans to focus on severe weather safety topics, including the following.
Preparedness
Tornado safety
Lightning safety
Hail and wind safety
Flood safety
Kansas counties are covered by seven different NWS offices in the following locations.
Goodland
Dodge City
Topeka
Wichita
Hastings, Neb.
Pleasant Hill (Kansas City, Mo.
Springfield, Mo.
Each office is staffed by a team of highly trained meteorologists, technicians, electronics technicians, information technology specialists, hydrologists, and administrative assistants. The NWS offices are staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.
The weather information provided on SalinaPost.com comes from the Wichita, Topeka, and Hastings, Neb., offices.
Following is severe weather terminology that may appear in weather information, as provided by NWS.
Severe Thunderstorm
The National Weather Service issues severe thunderstorm warnings for storms that are currently or are capable of producing winds of 58 mph or stronger and/or hail one
inch in diameter or larger. Severe thunderstorms are often much stronger than this minimum criteria, so it is a good idea to take severe thunderstorm warnings seriously.
Tornado
A tornado is a violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground either as a pendant from a cumuliform cloud or underneath a cumuliform cloud, and it is often (but not always) visible as a funnel cloud. A funnel cloud is a condensation cloud typically funnel-shaped and extending outward from a cumuliform cloud and is associated with a rotating column of air.
Flash Flood
A flash flood is flooding that occurs very rapidly and usually within 6 hours of heavy rainfall. Flash flooding may occur along creeks, rivers or streams. It can also occur in low lying or urban areas where drainage is poor. Water levels can rise very quickly during flash flooding including locations that did not receive the heavy rainfall but are located downstream from areas that received an extreme amount of rainfall. Flash flooding can occur in the winter months when rain falls on existing snowpack and causes it to melt rapidly. Flooding is the number one severe weather killer in the United State.
As we finish up winter, began formulating a plan for what to do should severe weather strike.