State to hold annual tornado drill March 20
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Virginia’s annual Statewide Tornado Drill, a yearly opportunity to prepare Virginians for tornado emergencies and test public warning systems, will take place Tuesday, March 20, 2018, at 9:45 a.m. (If widespread severe weather threatens the commonwealth on March 20, the drill will be rescheduled for Wednesday, March 21, at 9:45 a.m.).
The drill will begin at 9:45 a.m. with a test tornado warning sent by the National Weather Service to National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration weather radios. NOAA weather radios will sound a tone alert and show a test message (or flash to indicate a message) to simulate what people would hear or see during an actual tornado warning. Local radio stations, TV stations and cable outlets will broadcast the test message via the Emergency Alert System (EAS). Participants, including individual schools and businesses, should register for the drill with VDEM. Registration information and resources are available at: http://www.vaemergency.gov/tornadodrill/.
Tornadoes can occur in any month of the year; last year 25 confirmed tornadoes touched down throughout the Commonwealth. On March 31, 2017, two tornadoes touched down in the Hampton Roads region, including an EF-2 tornado with winds exceeding 120 mph. The tornado was on the ground for eight miles in the cities of Virginia Beach and Chesapeake damaging more than 200 homes. An EF-1 tornado April 6 in Lancaster County, near Irvington, produced winds in excess of 90 mph and damaged 45 structures. A storm system passing through the Commonwealth on May 5 produced nine tornadoes throughout the state.
“An actual tornado warning isn’t the time to figure out how to keep your loved ones, coworkers, friends and neighbors safe. Virginians should use the statewide tornado drill on March 20 as an opportunity to test their tornado emergency procedures and discuss preparedness efforts for these deadly and unexpected storms which can touch down in Virginia throughout the year,” said Virginia Department of Emergency Management State Coordinator Dr. Jeff Stern.
