While the drill will be sent using live TOR EAS coding (tornado warning), it is only a test and will be postponed to Wednesday, March 13, if weather conditions warrant. (National Weather Service, Wilmington, Ohio, will send the test for their Indiana counties using the RWT coding, per an agreement with their Cincinnati broadcast market partners.)

As part of National Weather Service efforts to build a “Weather Ready Nation,” the goal of Severe Weather Preparedness Week, which in Indiana is March 10-16, is to better educate people about the hazards of severe thunderstorms and tornadoes, and to help everyone be prepared when severe weather occurs. Each day focuses on a different topic:

• Sunday: Kick-off: Discuss partners’ roles in severe weather (Traducido al español)
• Monday: Severe weather outlooks and watches: Partners’ roles at the outlook and watch stages of an event (Traducido al español)
• Tuesday: Warnings: Taking action when warnings are issued (statewide Tornado Drill Day) (Traducido al español)
• Wednesday: Response: Partners’ roles in responding to disasters (real-time response) (Traducido al español)
• Thursday: Recovery: Partners’ roles in the recovery process (days/weeks/months after disaster) (Traducido al español)
• Friday: Weather Ready Nation: How we are working to build a “Weather Ready Nation” (Traducido al español)
• Saturday: Wrap-up: Importance of preparedness and action during threatening hazards (Traducido al español)

Click here for a kids’ activity booklet from the Indiana Department of Homeland Security.

Severe weather safety information in Spanish can be found here. Aquí encontrará información en español sobre seguridad en caso de inclemencias meteorológicas.

What should you do at each step as severe weather threatens – outlook (hours to days in advance), watch (minutes to hours in advance), warning (event is threatening now)? Think READY (outlook), SET (watch), GO (warning).

To help you be ready, find out how to get one tap access to the National Weather Service on your smartphone. Also, click here to learn more about Wireless Emergency Alerts, an important way that NWS provides location-based alerts to your smartphone for Tornado Warnings, Flash Flood Warnings, and more.

This week, Hoosiers are also reminded to be aware of the underappreciated but deadly dangers of flooding. On average, flooding is the deadliest thunderstorm-related hazard. Indiana suffered three flood fatalities in 2023. Preliminary flood fatality statistics for the nation can be found here. The majority of flood deaths are preventable and occur as a result of people driving into flood waters. Click the “Turn Around, Don’t Drown!” barriers below to learn more. Click here the flood safety image to see a “Turn Around, Don’t Drown” public safety announcement on YouTube.

The American Red Cross has released an “emergency app” for smartphone and tablet users. It provides location-based severe weather alerts from the National Weather Service, as well as the ability to quickly send an “I’m Safe” message to the Red Cross in case loved ones are unable to contact you. Additionally, the application provides access to lifesaving tips on actions to take, shelter locations, and more. Click here to see it and other Red Cross safety applications designed to help you prepare for and respond to life-threatening weather emergencies and other hazards.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has also produced an app that is your personalized disaster resource for all stages of disaster response — plan, protect and recover. Find this app and more information here.

As part of National Weather Service efforts to build a “Weather Ready Nation” with partners and the public, severe weather preparedness efforts have also gone national in recent years. Click the image below to learn more about what you can do to “Be a Force of Nature.”