Many of us think about tornadoes as a spring thing. And it’s true that they’re more common during that time of year. But tornadoes in the fall should be a big concern too, because we may not get as many as we do in the spring, but they often hit during the night and can be moving pretty fast…
“You’ve got a deadly combination.”
Logan Poole at the National Weather Service in Jackson says it’s hard to predict how active our fall storm season will be this year but signs point to it being an average season…
“Average in our area certainly still means that there will be storms and there will be the potential for all modes of severe weather including tornadoes.”
Today was an opportunity to get prepared for the fall storms. The Weather Service held a statewide tornado drill this morning giving the public a chance to run through their tornado safety plans…
“If you feel that you have a really good plan, then check in on your family, your neighbors. See what their plans are. You might even have a better plan for yourself after having talked to them,” Poole says.
Attala County emergency management director Danny Townsend says a preparedness week like this one is a good time to be organizing what you might need if you were forced to leave your home because of an emergency…
“People have medications and they have important papers. They need to have those documents, those medications in a place where you can reach and grab them and go. And it would be good to have some clothes and whatnot already packed where you can grab a suitcase and take off.”
And Townsend says don’t forget about making arrangements for your pets if you have to leave in a hurry…
“A lot of people don’t take that into consideration.”
And if you have to evacuate, having a plan to reunify your family is important…
“You need to have a designated area that you go to and say that this is going to be our meet-up place if something happens,” Townsend says.
He recommends that people visit the website Ready.Gov to find out more about being prepared for disasters.
