(Harlan) Shelby County Emergency Management Coordinator Alex Londo reports they are planning on setting off the sirens Wednesday, March 23, around 10:00 a.m. for Severe Weather Awareness Week. In the event of actual severe weather, the tests will be conducted Thursday.
Council Bluffs, March 21, 2022 – Severe Weather Awareness Week begins today and will run through Friday, March 25th. This week is an opportunity to highlight the importance of being aware of, and prepared for, severe weather. It is also an ideal time to review and practice your family, school, and workplace emergency plan and procedures.
Each day this week will focus on different severe weather topics:
• Monday – Severe Thunderstorms
• Tuesday – Weather Warnings
• Wednesday – Tornadoes
• Thursday – Family Preparedness
• Friday – Flash Floods
The annual Iowa and Nebraska statewide tornado drills will take place on Wednesday, March 23, beginning at 10 a.m. Tornado sirens will sound in all Pottawattamie County communities during the drill. If there is an actual severe weather threat Wednesday, the drill will be postponed to March 24th.
“It is critical that families, businesses, and schools take this opportunity to review and practice what they would do during severe weather threats,” said Doug Reed, Director of Emergency Management. “Pottawattamie County and its communities were extremely lucky on December 15th when we experienced four tornado touchdowns in our county. A shift in storm track of less than a quarter mile could have placed three of those tornadoes tracking directly into four of our communities.” “Iowa has already seen this year the heart-breaking effects of the dangers severe weather presents.”
Everyone who lives in Pottawattamie County should sign up for severe weather warnings from the Alert Iowa system. This service is free. It is also used to provide localized emergency alerts and information related to all types of threats and hazards. Sign up at https://pcema-ia.org.
Emergency Management will post helpful videos each day this week on its website, Facebook page, twitter account, and YouTube channel.
Today: P/Cldy to Cldy w/showers late. High 72. S @ 15-30 mph.
Tonight: Cldy w/shwrs & tstrms. Low 43. N @ 10.
Tomorrow: Mo. Cldy w/rain. High 45. N @ 10-20.
Wednesday: Cldy w/a light rain-snow mix at times in the morning. High 40.
Thursday: P/Cldy. High around 50.
Sunday’s High in Atlantic was 73. Our Low was 27. Last year on this date the High in Atlantic was 68 and the Low was 39. The Record High on this date was 88 in 1907. The Record Low was -7 in 1960.
Today: Mostly sunny & breezy, with a high near 73. S @ 10-20 w/gusts to near 25.
Tonight: Mostly cloudy & breezy, with a low around 51. S/SW @ 15-30 mph.
Monday: Partly sunny w/a slight chance of rain in the afternoon. High near 68. S/SW winds 15-30.
Tuesday: Showers. High near 53. North wind 10 to 25 mph. New precipitation amounts between a half and three quarters of an inch possible.
Wednesday: Rain. High near 43.
Saturday’s High in Atlantic was 60. The Low was 25. Last year on this date, the High in Atlantic was 62 and the Low was 31. The record High was 80, in 1938. The Record Low was -7, in 1906.
SATURDAY SKYSCAN FORECAST 3-19-2022
TODAY: Some patchy fog this morning, otherwise sunny skies. SW10 High 58
TONIGHT: Fair to pt cloudy skies. S 5-10 Low 32
SUNDAY: Partly cloudy skies SW 10-20 High 72
MONDAY: Partly cloudy to cloudy skies with showers and T storms late. High 68
TUESDAY: Mostly cloudy skies. Some rain and T storms High 58
DES MOINES – Cass County Emergency Management, Iowa Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (HSEMD), National Weather Service (NWS), and Iowa Emergency Management Association (IEMA) have joined together to promote Severe Weather Awareness Week in Iowa.
Severe Weather Awareness Week, March 21-25, is an opportunity to highlight the importance of being aware of, and prepared for, severe weather. It is also an ideal time to review your family’s emergency plan, check the contents of your emergency kit, and sign up to receive alerts to stay weather aware.
Mike Kennon, Cass County EMA Coordinator says “Severe weather season arrived much earlier than is typical this year. The December 15th derecho that spawned a local tornado as well as the deadly March 5th tornado in Madison County remind us that we need to stay prepared for severe weather events.” 
Each day during Severe Weather Awareness Week has a different focus:
Monday – Severe thunderstorms
Tuesday – Weather warnings
Wednesday – Tornadoes
Thursday – Family preparedness
Friday – Flash floods
The annual statewide tornado drill will take place on Wed., March 23, beginning at 10 a.m. In the event of severe weather, the drill will be postponed to March 24 at 10 a.m.
Additional information about the tornado drill can be found on local NWS-DM website. For more information on severe weather preparedness, visit www.beready.iowa.gov.
To find a link to sign up for local emergency alerts on the Cass County homepage, visit https://www.casscountyia.gov or https://homelandsecurity.iowa.gov/alert-iowa
Follow HSEMD, IEMA, and NWS on social media using the hashtag #IAwx and #ReadyIowa.
(Radio Iowa) – Republican Iowa Congresswoman Ashley Hinson recently joined with Democrat Congresswoman Cindy Axne in sending a letter to the National Weather Service after reports of technical delays in warnings of severe storms. Those delays came earlier this month on the day that seven people died in tornadoes. “I want to make sure that everybody has the tools to effectively warn their communities,” Hinson says. “…our emergency managers, our meteorologists, that’s who we are talking to right now to find out where the breakdowns happened in the communication on their end” Hinson says.
The delays in tornado warnings on March 5th were due primarily to a damaged fiber optic cable. National Weather Service staff came up with a workaround and a warning that a tornado was likely to hit near Winterset was issued 20 minutes in advance. Hinson says they hope to hear back more from the N-W-S on how things can be improved. “So we can find out what the actual legislative proposals need to be, to find out what I need to do in terms of resources or policies — so we make sure that we get these problems fixed so we can keep people safe,” she says.
Hinson says her conversations with local and state officials indicate the damage will not rise to the level needed to be approved for a federal disaster declaration. “As of now no — but we will continue to monitor any feedback from our local folks as well,” Hinson says. Governor Kim Reynolds has issued state disaster proclamations for the ten counties hit by the tornadoes on March 5th. Those counties are Adair, Benton, Decatur, Jasper, Lucas, Madison, Polk, Tama, Warren, and Wayne counties.
1040 AM CDT Fri Mar 18 2022
Snow may create some travel issues in southwest Iowa today, mainly in the form of reduced visibility and slushy roads. Temperatures near to above freezing should limit the extent of impacts to travel conditions.
Audubon-Guthrie-Dallas-Cass-Adair-Madison-Adams-Union-Taylor Counties….WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 4 PM.
Mills-Montgomery-Fremont-Page Counties…WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL NOON
* WHAT…Snow. Snow expected. Total snow accumulations of 1 to 4 inches. Locally higher amounts on grassy or elevated surfaces may occur. The wind will gust as high as 35 mph.
* IMPACTS…Plan on snow or slush covered roadways and slippery road conditions.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…
Slow down and use caution while traveling.
Today: Mostly cloudy w/a snow-rain mix. A late High of 38. N/NE @ 15-30 mph.
Tonight: P/Cldy. Low 23.
Tomorrow: Areas of morning fog; Becoming Mo. Sunny. High 58. SW @ 10-15.
Sunday: P/Cldy. High 72.
Monday: Mo. Cldy w/showers & thunderstorms developing late. High around 68.
Thursday’s High in Atlantic was 49. Our Low this morning was 30. We received 2.1 inches of snow overnight into early this morning, at KJAN. Thursday’s rainfall and snow amounted to 1.58″ of liquid precipitation. Last year on this date the High in Atlantic was 51 and the Low was 20. The Record High on this date was 81 in 2012. The Record Low was -1 in 1893.
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