Monroe County Recognized as StormReady by National Weather Service
“StormReady encourages communities to take a new, proactive approach toward improving preparedness and public awareness activities related to local hazardous weather”
Monroe County, WI: When hazardous weather threatens, Monroe County, Wisconsin is ready. National Weather Service officials recently recognized Monroe County as a StormReady county, joining over 3400 other StormReady sites nationwide, including 17 other Wisconsin counties. The voluntary StormReady program helps community leaders and residents better prepare for hazardous weather and flooding. Through advanced planning, education, and awareness, StormReady communities demonstrate a strong commitment to implement the infrastructure and systems needed to save lives and protect property when severe weather strikes.
“StormReady encourages communities to take a new, proactive approach toward improving preparedness and public awareness activities related to local hazardous weather,” said Todd Shea, Meteorologist-in-Charge at the National Weather Service office in La Crosse, Wisconsin. The nationwide community preparedness program, founded in 1999, uses a grassroots approach to help communities develop plans for handling all types of extreme weather, from severe thunderstorms to winter storms.
To be recognized as StormReady, a community must maintain a 24-hour warning point and emergency operations center, have more than one way to receive National Weather Service warnings and to alert the public, monitor local weather and flood conditions, ensure hazardous weather and flooding are addressed in formal emergency management plans, and conduct community preparedness programs, storm spotter training, and emergency exercises.
StormReady recognition is valid for 4 years and can be renewed.
Mike Kurz, Warning Coordination Meteorologist at the La Crosse National Weather Service office, said, “Each year, more than 500 Americans lose their lives to extreme weather and flooding. More than 100,000 thunderstorms and 1000 tornadoes impact the United States annually. Potentially deadly weather can happen anywhere in the country, but StormReady sites are well-equipped and prepared to respond.”
“We congratulate Monroe County and appreciate their weather preparedness efforts,” Kurz said. “Becoming a StormReady county is a significant accomplishment.”
More information on the StormReady program can be found at www.weather.gov/stormready.
The National Weather Service’s La Crosse Forecast Office is the primary source of weather data, forecasts, and warnings for over 900,000 people in 28 counties across portions of western and central Wisconsin, southeast Minnesota, and northeast Iowa. Together with its partners, the National Weather Service is striving to build a Weather-Ready Nation that supports community resilience in the face of increasing vulnerability to extreme weather.
Contact:
Mike Kurz, Warning Coordination Meteorologist
National Weather Service La Crosse, WI
608-784-8275 x726 | [email protected]