By Andrew Fefer, Reporter/Editor
With a renewed focus on severe weather preparedness in Wisconsin this month, Eau Claire County’s emergency management team is urging people to attend a free storm spotter training session in Eau Claire.
The annual Skywarn Weather Spotter training event is Apr. 26 at the Chippewa Valley Technical College Energy Education Center on Campus Road, which is on the west side of Eau Claire. The free event starts at 7 p.m. and does not require advance registration. The National Weather Service-Twin Cities, which covers Eau Claire County, is scheduled to discuss the development of tornadoes and severe thunderstorms and what cloud formations can indicate about severe weather conditions.
“The more people that understand what a severe weather situation looks like will potentially help everybody get to thinking that ‘Oh, maybe we need to find our storm shelter. We need to get into a safe space to ride out a potential severe weather incident,'” Emergency Management Coordinator Tyler Esh said.
He mentioned that, although Eau Claire County did not experience any confirmed tornadoes in 2017, there were tornadoes to the north of the county and on the eastern side of Wisconsin.
The Eau Claire County Emergency Management Division is holding the event, which comes about two weeks after Wisconsin’s Severe Weather Awareness Week (April 9-13). The agency is also reminding the public about the upcoming statewide tornado drills.
These are set for this coming Thursday at 1:45 p.m. and 6:45 p.m. It is a time when families are encouraged to practice a tornado safety plan by finding a safe place, away from exterior walls, where they can receive updates about changing weather conditions.
Eau Claire County also has a new emergency notification system called Smart911, which is tied into the National Weather Service to broadcast weather warnings and tornado watches. People can sign up to be notified by providing email addresses, or by listing phone numbers for voice calls or text messages. Esh said the system will most likely send out alerts for severe weather, but can also be used for other emergencies.
“Say there’s a train derailment with a hazmat incident,” he said. “We can pinpoint those who signed up, and send out a message to just them, and say ‘Hey, there’s a train derailment…shelter in place.'”
Users can sign up for the system by clicking here. Sign-ups can also be completed by sending email to Emergency.Management@co.eau-claire.wi.us.
The county also has sirens in several communities, but said in a press release that these are not designed to be heard from inside a home or building. Emergency Management recommends that everyone should have NOAA Weather Radios for severe weather information.