Tornado drill
Encyclopedia
A tornado drill is a method of practicing to take cover in a specified location in the event that a tornado
strikes an area. Generally, a signal is given, such as a series of tones (ex. Continuous Tone), or a voice announcement. Upon receiving the signal, building occupants proceed to a designated location, usually an interior room or corridor with no windows, and assume a protective position.
In some jurisdictions, schools are required to conduct regular tornado drills, though generally less frequently than fire drill
s.
issues test tornado warning
s, and local Emergency Alert System
s and/or NOAA Weather Radio (normally as a Required Weekly Test/RWT, Administrative Message/ADR, Practice-Demo/DMO, or Required Monthly Test/RMT; Tornado Warning/TOR can be used if a waiver from the FCC is granted since "Live Code Testing" is prohibited) are activated along with outdoor warning sirens. Schools and businesses may also conduct a tornado drill simultaneously.
Tornado
A tornado is a violent, dangerous, rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. They are often referred to as a twister or a cyclone, although the word cyclone is used in meteorology in a wider...
strikes an area. Generally, a signal is given, such as a series of tones (ex. Continuous Tone), or a voice announcement. Upon receiving the signal, building occupants proceed to a designated location, usually an interior room or corridor with no windows, and assume a protective position.
In some jurisdictions, schools are required to conduct regular tornado drills, though generally less frequently than fire drill
Fire drill
A fire drill is a method of practicing the evacuation of a building for a fire or other emergency. Generally, the emergency system is activated and the building is evacuated as though a real fire had occurred...
s.
Statewide drills
Most states in the midwestern and southern United States conduct a statewide tornado drill in late winter or early spring in preparation for the severe weather season. During these drills, the National Weather ServiceNational Weather Service
The National Weather Service , once known as the Weather Bureau, is one of the six scientific agencies that make up the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of the United States government...
issues test tornado warning
Tornado warning
A tornado warning is an alert issued by government weather services to warn that severe thunderstorms with tornadoes may be imminent. It can be issued after a tornado or funnel cloud has been spotted by eye, or more commonly if there are radar indications of tornado formation...
s, and local Emergency Alert System
Emergency Alert System
The Emergency Alert System is a national warning system in the United States put into place on January 1, 1997, when it superseded the Emergency Broadcast System , which itself had superseded the CONELRAD System...
s and/or NOAA Weather Radio (normally as a Required Weekly Test/RWT, Administrative Message/ADR, Practice-Demo/DMO, or Required Monthly Test/RMT; Tornado Warning/TOR can be used if a waiver from the FCC is granted since "Live Code Testing" is prohibited) are activated along with outdoor warning sirens. Schools and businesses may also conduct a tornado drill simultaneously.
See also
- Emergency managementEmergency managementEmergency management is the generic name of an interdisciplinary field dealing with the strategic organizational management processes used to protect critical assets of an organization from hazard risks that can cause events like disasters or catastrophes and to ensure the continuance of the...
- Tropical cyclone warnings and watchesTropical cyclone warnings and watchesWarnings and watches are two levels of alert issued by national weather forecasting bodies to coastal areas threatened by the imminent approach of a tropical cyclone of tropical storm or hurricane intensity. They are notices to the local population and civil authorities to make appropriate...
- Tornado watchTornado watchA tornado watch is issued when conditions are right for a tornado to form. Since any thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado is defined as severe, a tornado watch is also automatically a severe thunderstorm watch...
- Tornado warningTornado warningA tornado warning is an alert issued by government weather services to warn that severe thunderstorms with tornadoes may be imminent. It can be issued after a tornado or funnel cloud has been spotted by eye, or more commonly if there are radar indications of tornado formation...