Weather Academy: Severe Weather Preparedness Week

MONROE, La. (KNOE) - It is Louisiana Severe Weather Awareness Week! All week long, we will be going over different severe weather topics, and today, we’re going to be going over different ways to receive watches and warnings. And what the difference between a watch and a warning is.

For our first topic on severe weather preparedness, we’re talking about the differences between a watch and a warning. For a watch, we want to be prepared. The event is possible or even in the near future. Stay tuned for changes because our conditions can deteriorate quickly. And therefore, you need to know where you’re going to take shelter. That way, if a warning is issued, you can be taking action because that means the event is imminent or it’s happening at that moment. And you need to be taking shelter immediately. This is the case for a thunderstorm warning or, again, a tornado warning, so make sure you’re checking for forecasts updates. To better understand the differences between a watch and a warning.

Let’s put this in terms of something everyone understands, cake! Here in front of us, we’ve laid out all the ingredients we need to make a cake. But notice we aren’t eating cake yet. That’s why this would be considered a cake watch. Now we have a cake in front of us. All of the ingredients have come together, and we have a cake warning. This is the time when you want to take action and will take action by taking a bite.

We’ve mentioned how during watches and warnings, it’s important to stay up to date with the latest information. Television is a great way to receive information, but sometimes your power goes out in the TV won’t be available. That’s why it’s important to have different ways to receive information. That is when the internet can be a great tool. Make sure to download the KNOE 8 weather app, we send push alerts and videos on our app to make sure that you’re up to date with the latest info. You also want to make sure that you have an NOAA Weather Radio and that it’s properly programmed and turned on. Click here for a tutorial on how to program your weather radio. And lastly, you want to make sure that emergency alerts are turned on on your smart devices. These are GPS located, so no matter what county or parish you’re in, you’ll get the proper watches and warning alerts sent directly to your phone.

Thank you for joining us on today’s weather Academy. Make sure you’re tuning in each day this week because the KNOE weather team will be highlighting different topics for severe weather preparedness week. And a reminder that as we head into November, we do see an uptick in severe weather here in the ArkLaMiss.

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