It’s Georgia’s Severe Weather Awareness Week… a time for all of us to get ready for when severe weather hits.
The week goes from February 7th to 11th, with a statewide tornado drill happening at 9am on Wednesday.
Tuesday’s topic is about thunderstorms and what makes them severe.
The ingredients needed for a thunderstorm are moisture, unstable air and a lifting mechanism. A typical thunderstorm is 15 miles in diameter and lasts for 30 minutes.
Around 100,000 thunderstorms happen each year, but only 10 percent of them are severe.
In order for a thunderstorm to be considered severe, it needs at least one or combination of the following: 58mph winds or higher, hail one inch in diameter or larger, or a tornado.
Which leads us to Wednesday’s topic… tornadoes.
Tornadoes are Georgia’s number one weather-related killer. They can happen anytime of the year, so making advance preparation is vital.
On Wednesday, Georgia residents are encouraged to put their tornado safety skills into practice as part of Ready Georgia’s PrepareAthon! for Tornado Safety.
Also, familiarize yourself with terms that are used to identify a tornado hazard.
A tornado watch means that a tornado could develop. It means a tornado is possible. Stay alert.
A tornado warning means that a tornado has been spotted or detected on radar. You need to take cover now.
To make sure you always get storm warnings, download the free WSAV Storm Team 3 weather app. Turn on the notifications to receive alerts.