People across Virginia participated in the state's annual tornado drill Tuesday.
At 9:45 Tuesday morning, an Emergency Alert System warning will be sent out through NOAA weather radios and local cable television and radio stations – including RADIO IQ.
“So, it’s to get folks to start thinking about their environments," says Adam Zubowsky with the Virginia Department of Emergency Management. “What their emergency procedures would be for those environments, whether it’s a school, an office building, at home – to start discussing and practicing those emergency preparedness efforts.”
Virginia averages about 24 confirmed tornadoes a year, but 31 touched down in 2018.
Phil Hysell with the National Weather Service says there has been a recent uptick in Virginia tornadoes, including in mountainous places of the state like Pulaski County.
“From 1950 through 2011 or through 2010, there were no confirmed tornadoes in Pulaski County. And then we had April 8th, 2011, when two tornadoes struck," says Hysell. "And they’ve had another tornado since then that occurred in the fall of 2017”
The drill will not trigger an alert on smartphones. However, officials are urging citizens to download the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s free mobile app in order to receive push notifications for potential future emergency warnings.
You can find more information on how to participate in the drill here.
