Dakota County Will Observe Severe Weather Awareness Week on April 15-19

Editor's Note: The following is a news release from the Dakota County Sheriff's Office.

Dakota County Sheriff Dave Bellows wants to remind citizens that the week of April 15th to April 19th is Severe Weather Awareness Week. This event is sponsored by the National Weather Service (NWS) and is intended to raise everyone’s awareness as we enter into the severe weather season. As part of Severe Weather Awareness Week, two tornado drills will be held on Thursday, April 18, 2013.

Schools and businesses are encouraged to practice emergency plans during the statewide tornado drill at 1:45 p.m. on Thursday. A second drill at 6:55 p.m. will take place in most counties, including Dakota County, to allow families and second-shift workers to practice sheltering plans.

Historically, early springtime is “flood season” in our state — but in 1998 it was late March when violent storms brought 13 tornadoes to the Cities of St. Peter and Comfrey. Tornadoes struck Rogers on September 16, 2006, and Hugo on May 25, 2008.

If that wasn’t enough, between March and September of 2010, Minnesota experienced a record 113 tornadoes (the most in the U.S.), with a total of 48 on a single day in June. Dakota County experienced four tornadoes in 2010, one of them being in Farmington on August 13th. Ths NWS categorized this tornado as an EF 1, with winds estimated at 105 miles per hour and a debris path of 1.5 miles long. The other three tornadoes occurred in rural Dakota County.

Minnesota had 31 confirmed tornadoes in 2011. On May 22nd, northwest Minneapolis and Fridley suffered an EF 1 tornado with winds of 86 to 110 miles per hour, resulting in one fatality and significant damage.

In 2012, 37 tornatoes struck between March and November.

The lesson from these events is that Minnesota weather hazards can happen anytime and anywhere, and the key to maintaining your personal safety and well-being is to be aware of the threats, be prepared, and know how to receive and respond to warnings.

In Dakota County, our policy is to sound outdoor warning devices (sirens) when the NWS has issued a Severe Thunderstorm Warning and tornado warnings for cities in Dakota County. The NWS and local media do an excellent job of notification on incoming severe thunderstorms. The sirens are just another notification tool to advise citizens to go inside and turn on a radio or TV to see where the storms are and determine their best course of action.

Severe thunderstorms can generate:

• Winds in excess of 65 miles per hour and cause structural damage.
• Damaging hail. Hail can be as big as tennis balls. This could cause flash flooding to occur.
• Lightning from severe thundrestorms could cause more deaths than hurricanes and tornadoes on an annual basis.
• Tornadoes can form on the back side of severe thunderstorms after the high winds and heavy rains.

During severe weather season, always be aware of the weather conditions around you. Be ready to seek shelter when the weather turns nasty. Have an emergency kit at home and ensure all family members know where the kit is located.

To help you put together an emergency kit visit the following: http://www.ready.gov/build-a-kit/