BULLETIN – IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TEST…TORNADO WATCH OUTLINE UPDATE FOR WT 9991…TEST
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
950 AM CDT WED MAR 27 2013

    TORNADO WATCH 9991 IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 1100 AM CDT FOR THE
     FOLLOWING LOCATIONS….ALL 99 COUNTIES IN IOWA….

TORNADOES…THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS TO 0 MPH…AND DANGEROUS
LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.

THE TEST TORNADO WATCH AREA IS APPROXIMATELY ALONG AND 55 STATUTE
MILES NORTH AND SOUTH OF A LINE FROM 20 MILES WEST OF SCOTTSBLUFF
NEBRASKA TO 35 MILES EAST NORTHEAST OF CEDAR RAPIDS IOWA.  FOR A
COMPLETE DEPICTION OF THE WATCH SEE THE ASSOCIATED WATCH OUTLINE
UPDATE (WOUS64 KWNS WOU1).

REMEMBER…A TORNADO WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR
TORNADOES AND SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN AND CLOSE TO THE WATCH
AREA. PERSONS IN THESE AREAS SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR
THREATENING WEATHER CONDITIONS AND LISTEN FOR LATER STATEMENTS
AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS.

DISCUSSION… TEST

THIS IS A TEST IN SUPPORT OF SEVERE WEATHER AWARENESS

The beginning of Spring last week marked the start of severe weather season in the Midwest. The season typically brings strong storms that produce heavy rain, hail, destructive winds and tornadoes. As part of Severe Weather Awareness week, the National Weather Service (NWS), in coordination with the Storm Prediction Center (SPC) in Norman, Oklahoma, will conduct a Statewide Tornado Drill in Iowa and other Midwestern states.

The drill begins at 10-a.m., when the SPC issues a Test Tornado Watch for Iowa and Nebraska. The National Weather Service offices in both states will issue the Test Watch tones on all NOAA Weather Radios and the Emergency Alert System (EAS), as a Test Message.

At 10:10-a.m., the NWS offices in Sioux Falls and Omaha will issue test tornado warnings for their Iowa counties, and at 10:15-a.m., the NWS offices in Des Moines and the Quad Cities will issue a Test Tornado Warning for their Iowa counties.

From 10:30 until about 10:35, all Iowa NWS offices will issue a Severe Weather Statement to terminate the test warnings. The Test Tornado Watch will officially expire at 11-a.m. During the test, residents, businesses, local governments and schools are urged to carry out their Tornado safety plans and procedures, as though a real weather event was about to occur and is occurring.

The Freese-Notis (Podcast) forecast for Atlantic & the KJAN listening area, and weather data for Atlantic…

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TODAY…PARTLY SUNNY. HIGH IN THE MID 40S. SOUTHEAST WIND 5 TO 10 MPH.

TONIGHT...PARTLY CLOUDY. LOW IN THE UPPER 20S. EAST WIND NEAR 5 MPH.

THURSDAY…PARTLY SUNNY. HIGH AROUND 50. SOUTHEAST WIND 5 TO 10 MPH.

THURSDAY NIGHT…PARTLY CLOUDY. LOW IN THE MID 30S. EAST WIND 5 TO 10 MPH.

FRIDAY...PARTLY SUNNY. HIGH IN THE MID 50S. SOUTHEAST WIND 5 TO 10 MPH.

FRIDAY NIGHT…MOSTLY CLOUDY. A 20 PERCENT CHANCE OF LIGHT RAIN AFTER MIDNIGHT. LOW IN THE UPPER 30S.

SATURDAY…SHOWERS LIKELY AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS. HIGH IN THE MID 50S. CHANCE OF PRECIPITATION 60 PERCENT.

SATURDAY NIGHT…CLOUDY WITH A 30 PERCENT CHANCE OF RAIN. LOW IN THE MID 30S.

EASTER SUNDAY…PARTLY SUNNY. HIGH IN THE MID 50S.

National Weather Service forecasters are predicting near normal temperatures and precipitation this spring. Meteorologist Miles Schumacher helped craft the outlook as part of the weather service’s Weather Whisper Spring 2013 newsletter. Schumacher notes this winter was slightly warmer and wetter than normal in Iowa. Many Iowans may feel the month of March has been especially cold, but Schumacher that’s only true when compared to March of 2012.

“Last year was 16-degrees above normal for March and we’re running about 7-degrees below normal right now,” Schumacher said. “So, it’s about 23-degrees colder this year than last year, so everyone thinks it’s record cold. Really, it’s colder than normal, but last year was so much warmer than normal that you kind of lose sight of where we really should be.” March of 2012 ranked as the warmest March in Iowa history. This winter brought above normal precipitation over the southeast half of the state, but northwest Iowa experienced mostly dry conditions. Schumacher believes there’s a decent chance for above normal rainfall over the next couple months.

“I don’t think this spring is going to be particularly dry and we may do fairly well,” Schumacher said. “I think we’re going to be short of precipitation this summer again, kind of an echo of last year’s drought. However, I don’t think it’ll be nearly as extensive as last year was.” The outlook does not offer predictions of severe weather, but Schumacher expects Iowans could see plenty of thunderstorms and tornadoes.

“It would probably be a safe bet to say we’ll have more than we had last year because last year was one of our lightest severe weather years in quite a while, so it’ll seem like a lot more at least,” Schumacher said.

(Radio Iowa)

The Freese-Notis Forecast for Atlantic and the KJAN listening area…

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TODAY…PARTLY SUNNY. HIGH IN THE UPPER 30S. WEST WIND NEAR 10 MPH.

TONIGHT…PARTLY CLOUDY. LOW IN THE LOWER 20S. SOUTHEAST WIND NEAR 5 MPH.

WEDNESDAY…PARTLY SUNNY. HIGH IN THE MID 40S. SOUTHEAST WIND 5 TO 10 MPH.

WEDNESDAY NIGHT…PARTLY CLOUDY. LOW IN THE UPPER 20S. EAST WIND AROUND 5 MPH.

THURSDAY…PARTLY SUNNY. HIGH IN THE UPPER 40S. SOUTHEAST WIND 5 TO10 MPH.

THURSDAY NIGHT AND FRIDAY…PARTLY CLOUDY. LOW IN THE LOWER 30S. HIGH IN THE LOWER 50S.

FRIDAY NIGHT…PARTLY CLOUDY. LOW IN THE MID 30S.

SATURDAY…MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A 40 PERCENT CHANCE OF RAIN. HIGH IN THE MID 50S.

COUNTIES: MONONA-HARRISON-SHELBY-POTTAWATTAMIE-
519 AM CDT MON MAR 25 2013

…SLICK ROADS POSSIBLE FOR THE MORNING COMMUTE…

LIGHT SNOW SHOWERS AND SUB-FREEZING TEMPERATURES THIS MORNING
COULD CREATE LOCALLY SLICK ROADS…ESPECIALLY UNTREATED ONES…        DURING THE MORNING COMMUTE. ALLOW A LITTLE EXTRA TRAVEL TIME TO REACH YOUR DESTINATION…AND BE ESPECIALLY CAUTIOUS ON RESIDENTIAL ROADS.

The Freese-Notis (podcast) weather forecast for Atlantic & the KJAN listening area, special weather information for early Monday morning, and weather data for Atlantic…

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (1.4MB)

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Iowans are being reminded of all the dangerous possibilities that come with spring, from flooding to tornadoes, as this is the first day of Severe Weather Awareness Week. Meteorologist Jeff Johnson, at the National Weather Service, says we should all brush up on safety procedures, though he notes, last year was relatively quiet. “Last year, of course, we had the drought, which was bad, but the other side of that coin, we had a very tranquil severe weather season with only 16 tornadoes in the state.” That was the lowest number of tornadoes in Iowa since 1963. Iowa averages 47 tornadoes per year. A record 120 tornadoes touched down in Iowa in 2004. During this Severe Weather Awareness Week, different themes will be covered each day.

“Flash flooding, the warning decisions, tornadoes on Wednesday, severe thunderstorms on Thursday and family preparedness on Friday,” Johnson says. “The week will be highlighted by the statewide tornado drill which will occur at 10 AM on Wednesday, the 27th.” That tornado drill should be taken seriously, giving everyone a chance to think of what they should do if it were the real thing and where they would take cover. The Tornado Watch will be issued at 10 o’clock on Wednesday.

“And then at about 10:15, we’ll issue a Tornado Warning for our area that will go over the Weather Radio System, through the Emergency Alert System and through the other systems,” he says. Learn more at: www.weather.gov/dmx

(Radio Iowa)