April 20th – April 24th has been deemed Severe Weather Awareness week in Wisconsin and this is to remind people of the dangers associated with severe weather, including tornadoes, thunderstorms, flooding and hail. 

There will be a mock tornado drill on Thursday, April 24th for the entire state of Wisconsin.  Below is a list of times as to when you can expect it in your community.  If there is a real threat for severe weather on Thursday, the drill will be postponed until Friday.                                                         

1:10-1:15 pm – National Weather Service Green Bay issues mock tornado warning for Brown, Calumet, Door, Florence, Forest, Kewaunee, Langlade, Lincoln, Manitowoc, Marathon, Marinette, Menominee, Oconto, Oneida, Outagamie, Portage, Shawano, Vilas, Waupaca, Waushara, Winnebago and Wood Counties.

1:20-1:25 pm – National Weather Service Milwaukee issues mock tornado warning for Columbia, Dane, Dodge, Fond du Lac, Green, Green Lake, Iowa, Jefferson, Kenosha, Lafayette, Marquette, Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Racine, Rock, Sauk, Sheboygan, Walworth, Washington and Waukesha Counties.

1:30-1:35 pm – National Weather Service La Crosse issues mock tornado warning for Adams, Buffalo, Clark, Crawford, Grant, Jackson, Juneau, LaCrosse, Monroe, Richland, Taylor, Trempealeau and Vernon Counties.

**1:40-1:45 pm – National Weather Service Minneapolis/Chanhassen issues mock tornado warning for Barron, Chippewa, Dunn, Eau Claire, Pepin, Pierce, Polk, Rusk and St. Croix Counties.**

1:50-1:55 pm – National Weather Service Duluth issues mock tornado warning for Ashland, Bayfield, Burnett, Douglas, Iron, Price, Sawyer and Washburn Counties.

2:00 pm – END OF MOCK TORNADO WATCH/WARNING DRILL

It’s always a good idea to have a battery operated flashlight, battery operated radio, weather radio and most of all, a plan in place in case of severe weather.  For more information, head to the Wisconsin Emergency Management Website at http://emergencymanagement.wi.gov/

Be safe!

Meteorologist LeAnn Lombardo

Posted under Weather

Mother Nature certainly works in strange ways when it comes to our weather here in the upper Midwest.  The Chippewa Valley is dealing with extremely dry conditions and high fire dangers, while our neighbors just across the border in Minnesota are still throwing sand bags, trying to keep the Red River from entering their businesses and their homes.

At the time of this writing the relative humidity in Eau Claire was 16%, in Phoenix, Arizona it was 17%.  We are drier than the desert!

Because of these dry conditions the Wisconsin DNR has placed burning bans in certain areas across the state.  Check out the link below to see if your neighborhood is included:

http://dnr.wi.gov/forestry/fire/fire_danger/Wis_Burn/StateCounties.asp

Have a great week!

Meteorologist LeAnn Lombardo

Posted under Weather