Officials with the City of West Plains announce that the city has been recognized by the National Weather Service Forecast Office for achieving StormReady Renewal through October 2027.
“Being part of a Weather-Ready Nation is about preparing for your community's increasing vulnerability to extreme weather and water events,” said National Weather Service officials. “Americans live in the most severe weather-prone country on Earth. You can make sure your community is StormReady.”
Officials noted that about 98% of presidentially-declared disasters are weather-related and lead to around 500 deaths and nearly $15 billion in damage each year.
“The StormReady program helps arm America's communities with the communication and safety skills needed to save lives and property — before, during and after the event,” officials explained. “StormReady helps community leaders and emergency managers strengthen local safety programs.”
According to the National Weather Service, “StormReady uses a grassroots approach to help communities develop plans to handle all types of extreme weather — from tornadoes to winter storms. The program encourages communities to take a new, proactive approach to improving local hazardous weather operations by providing emergency managers with clear-cut guidelines on how to improve their hazardous weather operations.”
To be officially considered StormReady, a community must establish a 24-hour warning point and emergency operations center, have multiple ways to receive severe weather warnings and forecasts and to alert the public, create a system that monitors weather conditions locally, promote the importance of public readiness through community seminars and develop a formal hazardous weather plan, which includes training severe weather spotters and holding emergency exercises. West Plains Police Chief Stephen Monticelli, who also serves as the city’s emergency management director, said he realizes that no community is storm proof, but StormReady can help communities save lives.
The City of West Plains has been recognized since Oct. 19, 2001, as a StormReady municipality.
