This week was Severe Weather Awareness Week in Minnesota and Wisconsin. It is important to be prepared for thunderstorms as we move into the late Spring and Summer. To be prepared you should have a plan in the event of severe weather. For example, where are the safer places in your home/your community? Do you have someone outside your community for everyone in your family to contact should you get separated? Do you have multiple ways to know if there are weather warnings in effect for your area? Remember, don’t rely on sirens if indoors. Sirens are meant for those close enough to hear them while outdoors however they can still fail to sound due to mechanical or other issues (such as prior lightning strike).
Besides a safety plan of action, it is important to have your severe weather preparedness kit ready for the season ahead. Here are some things you should include:
Severe Weather Preparedness Kit:
- NOAA Weather Radio (Get a radio with S.A.M.E. technology to only alert for the local county or counties of your choice. I recommend the Midland WR-120 or WR-300.)
- Battery operated radio (If power goes out for an extended period of time this is very important.)
- Flashlight (Do NOT use candles as these can lead to a fires.)
- Spare batteries
- Water
- Non-perishable food
- First Aid Kit
- Whistle
- Cash
- Baby food/supplies (if necessary)
- Pet food/supplies (if necessary)
Here’s more on building your safety kit from FEMA.
FEMA also has more on their Be Ready website on how to prepare for disasters of all types.
If you have questions about preparing for severe weather season, your preparedness kit or any other weather question send Elise an email at elise [at] treasuredhavenfarm [dot] com.
Stay safe this severe weather season! Follow the Storm Prediction Center for severe weather outlooks and your local National Weather Service office for your daily forecasts and warnings in the case of severe weather.
This week is Severe Weather Awareness week in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Each day of the week focuses on a specific severe weather topic.
Monday, April 11th – Thunderstorms, Hail, Wind and Lightning
Tuesday, April 12th – Severe Weather Watches and Warnings, and How to Receive Severe Weather Information
Wednesday, April 13th – Flash Floods
Thursday, April 14th – Tornado Safety Information
Friday, April 15th – Heat Waves
Take this week as an opportunity to discuss your severe weather plan with your family so you are prepared from what Mother Nature may bring your way.
Turn Around, Don’t Drown!
This week is flood safety awareness week around the country and it is very timely here in Minnesota. The National Weather Service has already issued river forecasts for some rivers in Minnesota and are monitoring others at this time. If you live in a flood prone area, please stay informed by information from the National Weather Service (click here to see the NWS Upper Midwest Spring Flood Monitor) and your local media. Finally, never drive into flooded roadways! You never known how much the road has been washed out. It only takes 6 inches of moving water to sweep your vehicle off the road. Stay safe out there!
On a brighter note, ENJOY the warmer temperatures!
We received a total 10.5″ of snow at the farm over the last couple of days during this past snowstorm. Pete measures and reports his snowfall amounts to the National Weather Service as well as to the Cocorahs network. This event set the most snowfall for a single storm in the month of February in the Twin Cities. (read more) Below is two images of the snowfall totals created via a NWS application that ingests Cocorahs data. The first is centered on the Twin Cities and includes most of Minnesota into Wisconsin. A clear area of higher amounts is visible across the middle portions of the state right through the metro.
This second image (over the same 72 hr time period) shows the band of heavy snow extending from western South Dakota through Minnesota and Wisconsin to Lake Michigan!
If so, check out the SKYWARN spotter training class closest to you this spring! A complete list of classes held around the metro can be found courtesy of the Twin Cities NWS. These classes are a great opportunity to learn more about thunderstorms and what is considered “severe weather”. After you’ve taken a class, if you wish, you can join the NWS espotter network to report severe weather. It is extremely useful to NWS forecasters during severe weather situations to have trained spotters giving accurate real-time reports.
The Green Bay NWS posted this nice animation of the serious snow melt from Thursday through this morning. Temperatures should get into the 40s over the next couple of days so look for more of the snow to melt! Don’t get fooled though, temperatures look to dip back into the single digits for lows this weekend as a cold front pushes through the region.
If you would like to calculate the wind chill or the temperature that it feels like outside with the temperature and wind taken into account, you can use the chart below to give yourself an idea how cold and dangerous it is outside. Check out the NWS Wind Chill brochure to learn more.
URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN
248 PM CST TUE FEB 8 2011
...EXTREMELY COLD WIND CHILLS CONTINUE... (more...)
Every time we step outside, the white landscape is a constant reminder of the amount of snow and, thus, amount of moisture that is waiting to flow into rivers and streams when the weather finally turns warm this spring. The above normal snowfall early this winter combined with above normal rainfall early last fall has led to the National Weather Service declaring the potential for significant flooding in the Upper Midwest this spring. Check out the National Weather Service – Twin Cities and the North Central River Forecast Center for more information and remember if you encounter a flooded roadway, TURN AROUND DON’T DROWN!
Percent Chance of Minor Flooding from January 31, 2011 to May 1, 2011
Treasured Haven Farm has encountered some technical difficulties this past week. Look for the page to be back up and running within the next week.
