SEVERE WEATHER AWARENESS WEEK IN NORTH CAROLINA

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RALEIGH NC
700 AM EST SUN FEB 28 2010

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SEVERE WEATHER AWARENESS WEEK IN NORTH CAROLINA
FEBRUARY 28 - MARCH 06
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Governor Bev Perdue in conjunction with the National Weather
Service and Department of Crime Control and Public Safety have
declared this week as severe weather awareness week for 2010. All
week long the national weather service will be issuing informative
messages to help you prepare for severe weather.

Each day will cover a different topic. Monday's topic will be severe
thunderstorms. Tuesday we will cover lightning. Wednesday's topic
will be tornadoes. Thursday we will talk about flooding...and
Friday...the alert process.

On Wednesday...march 3rd at 930 am...the National Weather Service
will issue a statewide tornado drill in the form of a Required
Monthly Test on all NOAA weather radios. The alarm test will also
be carried by local radio broadcasters. This will allow
schools...business...and residents the opportunity to practice their
tornado drills and enact safety plans.

Given the recent active weather pattern this winter and chances for
increased severe weather activity this spring...everyone across
North Carolina should use this week to think about what to do when
threatened by lightning...hail...flooding...and tornadoes.
Thunderstorms bring a variety of threats...and knowing how to
protect you and your family’s life is important.

Use this week to discuss safety with your children and students.
Talk about where to take shelter and practice taking refuge in that
hall closet or bathroom. Setting aside a few moments this week to
talk about severe weather safety with your family may one day save
your life and theirs.

Gov. Perdue Declares Severe Weather Awareness Week February 28-March 6

As North Carolinians eagerly awaits springtime, Gov. Bev Perdue cautioned residents to be on the lookout for severe weather that may include tornadoes and thunderstorms. Perdue declared February 28-March 6 as Severe Weather Awareness Week in North Carolina and recommends that families have safety plans for home, work or school so they can respond quickly when tornadoes or severe storms threaten.


Perdue said schools and government buildings statewide would hold tornado drills on Wednesday morning, March 3. "We never know when or where a tornado will strike," said Perdue. "You may only have a few minutes warning. That is why it is so critical to have emergency plans in place." Perdue urged all North Carolinians to take time now to discuss and rehearse family emergency plans so that when the National Weather Service issues a tornado warning in their area, everyone can act quickly and take shelter calmly. March, May and November are the deadliest months for tornadoes in North Carolina.

Last year, the National Weather Service issued approximately 70 tornado warnings and recorded 33 tornadoes in North Carolina. Four of those tornadoes had winds in excess of 110 mph. Combined, the tornadoes caused at least $3 million in damages. Tornadoes usually form during heavy thunderstorms when warm, moist air collides with cold air. These storms can also produce large hail and strong winds. Damaging straight line winds are equally as dangerous.


When severe weather is likely, people should listen to local radio, television, a weather channel or a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) radio for information. If a tornado watch is issued, the conditions are favorable and a tornado is possible. However, if a warning is issued, a tornado has actually been spotted or appeared on radar. This is the time when people should go to a safe shelter immediately.

The Department of Crime Control and Public Safety recommends the safest place during a tornado is underground in a basement. If there is no basement, people who are at home should go to the lowest floor of the house and to an interior room such as a hallway, pantry or closet. Schoolchildren should go to inner hallways, but stay out of gymnasiums, auditoriums or cafeterias where there is a large roof span. Office workers should take shelter under something sturdy like a desk or a table to protect from flying debris or a collapsed roof. Everyone should stay away from windows.


Mobile home residents are especially vulnerable to damage from high winds and should go to a prearranged shelter when severe weather is predicted.

Every family's emergency plan should include information on what to do if severe weather happens while traveling to work or school. Drivers who see a tornado forming or approaching should leave the car immediately and take shelter in a low lying area. A tornado can easily blow a car off a road and many people have been killed while trying to outrun a tornado. Those who are on foot or a bicycle could encounter falling trees, downed power lines or lightning, and they should go to a safe place immediately. The basement of a sturdy building is best. Lying flat in a ditch or low area may also offer protection, but beware of possible flash flooding and flying debris.

Residents should be equally prepared when other forms of severe weather threaten, such as lightning, floods or hail. Last year, the National Weather Center issued 700 severe thunderstorm warnings, and recorded 625 incidents of severe thunderstorms with winds of 58 mph, some with large hail.

This year, the National Weather Service redefined its definition of a severe thunderstorm for the first time in more than 50 years. The NWS will only issue hail warnings if the storm is expected to produce hail of one inch or larger, roughly the size of a quarter. This is an increase from the previous criteria of .75 inches, or the size of a penny.

Preparation for any type of severe weather also means having a family disaster plan and an emergency supply kit assembled and in a location that is easy to access during an emergency. More information on tornadoes and overall emergency preparedness is available at http://www.readync.org/

Vehicle Fire

On Sunday at approximately 2215 West Sanford Fire Department responded to a fully involved vehicle fire on Cumnock Rd. near the Chatham County line.  Upon arrival of the first unit the grass and woods were on fire as well.  LCSO and LCFMO also responded to investigate.

Winter Weather Advisory for Wednesday 2-24-10

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RALEIGH NC
336 PM EST TUE FEB 23 2010

...ACCUMULATING SNOWFALL LIKELY ACROSS THE PIEDMONT COUNTIES OF
CENTRAL NORTH CAROLINA WEDNESDAY AND WEDNESDAY EVENING...
.AN AREA OF LOW PRESSURE WILL DEVELOP OFF THE SOUTH CAROLINA COAST
WEDNESDAY MORNING THEN TRACK NORTHEAST ALONG THE NORTH CAROLINA
COAST. AT THE SAME TIME...NORTHERLY WINDS WILL USHER COLDER AIR
INTO CENTRAL NORTH CAROLINA. THE PRECIPITATION WILL START OUT AS
EITHER RAIN OR RAIN AND SNOW MIXED EARLY WEDNESDAY MORNING THEN
BECOME ALL SNOW BY LATE MORNING AND INTO THE EARLY AFTERNOON.

PERSON-GRANVILLE-VANCE-WARREN-FORSYTH-GUILFORD-ALAMANCE-ORANGE-
DURHAM-FRANKLIN-DAVIDSON-RANDOLPH-CHATHAM-WAKE-STANLY-MONTGOMERY-
MOORE-LEE-INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...ROXBORO...OXFORD...HENDERSON...
WARRENTON...WINSTON-SALEM...GREENSBORO...HIGH POINT...
BURLINGTON...CHAPEL HILL...DURHAM...LOUISBURG...LEXINGTON...
ASHEBORO...PITTSBORO...RALEIGH...ALBEMARLE...TROY...
SOUTHERN PINES...SANFORD

336 PM EST TUE FEB 23 2010

...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 6 AM WEDNESDAY TO
MIDNIGHT EST WEDNESDAY NIGHT...
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN RALEIGH HAS ISSUED A WINTER
WEATHER ADVISORY FOR SNOW...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 6 AM
WEDNESDAY TO MIDNIGHT EST WEDNESDAY NIGHT.

BASIS...AN AREA OF LOW PRESSURE WILL TRACK ALONG THE NORTH
CAROLINA COAST WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING...SPREADING
PRECIPITATION INTO CENTRAL NORTH CAROLINA.
PRECIPITATION TYPES AND ACCUMULATION...SNOW IS EXPECTED TO
ACCUMULATE WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING...TOTALING ONE TO
TWO INCHES...MAINLY ON GRASSY SURFACES. PRECIPITATION WILL START
OUT AS EITHER RAIN OR A MIXTURE OF RAIN AND SNOW WEDNESDAY MORNING
THEN BECOME ALL SNOW BY LATE MORNING IN THE NORTHWEST PIEDMONT
INCLUDING THE TRIAD...AND BY EARLY AFTERNOON ALONG THE HIGHWAY 1
CORRIDOR INCLUDING THE TRIANGLE AREA.

TIMING AND DURATION...THE PRECIPITATION SHOULD CHANGE OVER TO ALL
SNOW IN THE NORTHWEST PIEDMONT AFTER 9 AM....AND IN THE SOUTHERN
AND NORTHEAST PIEDMONT AFTER 12 NOON. THE SNOW WILL DIMINISH TO
LIGHT FLURRIES AFTER 6 PM WITH ALL THE SNOW ENDING BY MID EVENING.

IMPACTS...ROAD TEMPERATURES ARE RATHER WARM...THUS ANY SNOW
ACCUMULATION WILL REMAIN CONFINED TO GRASSY AREAS OR ELEVATED
SURFACES. ROADS ARE EXPECTED TO BE EITHER WET OR WITH A SLIGHT
SLUSH BUILDUP.

A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY MEANS THAT PERIODS OF SNOW WILL CAUSE
TRAVEL DIFFICULTIES. BE PREPARED FOR SLIPPERY ROADS AND LIMITED
VISIBILITIES...AND USE CAUTION WHILE DRIVING.



Shane Seagroves

Possible Winter Weather Advisory

The NWS will be issuing a Winter Weather Advisory for location from Highway 1 west across the western piedmont for Wednesday. Although temperature are not all that cold currently, cold air will be surging into the area tomorrow as moisture spreads in from the south. The cold air and moisture will combine to produce a period of rain which will change over to snow during the day Wednesday.


Given the facts that current temperatures have not been very cold and the cold air will be moving in the same time as the moisture, snow accumulations should be limited to grassy and elevated surfaces. In some areas where the snow is very light much of the snow may melt upon contact with the ground. In areas where the snow is more moderate in intensity there could be a brief accumulation of up to 2 inches. Again the timing of the snow will be from shortly before noon through 5 pm Wednesday.

Apartment Fire Clark Circle

On Friday 2/19/2010 Sanford Fire Department responded to an appartment fire on Clark Circle. The fire was contained to one appartment with minor smoke damage to a second appartment. The occupants of the appartment were outside and when one of them went back inside and discovered a fire in the appartment. One adult and five children resided at the appartment. Red Cross was contacted to assist the family.

Class Cancelled

Helicopter safety class at the ESTC has been cancelled for 02/20/2010.

submitted by: Lee County Emergency Services DFM Mike Tatum