Two cloud-to-ground lightning strikes occur in rural Buffalo County in June, (Brian Neben, Central Nebraska Today)
HASTINGS — Sandhills Cranes. The Time Change. March Madness. All of those events signal spring is just around the corner, and with that, severe weather. Nebraska has designated the week of March 23-27 as Severe Weather Awareness Week.
Just like last year, the National Weather Service (NWS) offices which serve Nebraska, will lead efforts to prepare via an annual tornado warning drill. Drill information follows:
- Date: Wednesday, March 25
- Time: 10 a.m., CDT
- Method: The drill will be sent via NWS Weather Radio All-Hazards tone alert.
The NWS portion of the drill will not trigger phone notifications, media alerts, Wireless Emergency Alerts or virtually any other automatic notification systems.
If you have a weather radio, the drill will be identified as a “Routine Weekly Test” or RWT and likely sound the audible alarm.
Participation: Participation is voluntary. However, many schools, businesses, cities and/or counties may participate. Contact the local
Emergency Manager to find out if a city or county will participate and by what means.
Spotter Talks Ongoing Across the Area
Another aspect of preparedness is learning more about severe weather and its impacts at a local Spotter Talk. Spotter talks have been scheduled throughout March and early April in south central Nebraska and north central Kansas. A complete schedule is available on the NWS Hastings website (weather.gov/hastings) at this link.
About the National Weather Service:
The National Weather Service’s Hastings Forecast Office located in Hastings is the primary source of weather data, forecasts and warnings for south central Nebraska counties and north central Kansas counties. Join us on Facebook and X.
Working with partners, the National Weather Service is building a Weather-Ready Nation to support community resilience in the face of increasing vulnerability to extreme weather.
