April 5, 2021 Wisconsin’s Tornado and Severe Weather Awareness Week April 12-16
 
LUXEMBURG, WI – Tornado and Severe Weather Awareness Week in Wisconsin will take place April 12-16 this year. This annual campaign encourages everyone in the State of Wisconsin to be prepared for the tornadoes and severe storms that the State frequently experiences during the spring and summer months.
 
Wisconsin averages 23 tornadoes annually. During the 2020 season, the NWS confirmed 20 tornadoes touched down in the State of Wisconsin.
 
On April 15, 2021, two statewide tornado drills are planned, one at 1:45 p.m. and the other at 6:45 p.m. You will notice social media posts from Kewaunee County Emergency Management, ReadyWisconsin, National Weather Service, and local broadcast outlets encouraging residents to exercise their tornado plans.
 
In the event of an elevated severe weather risk anywhere in the state on April 15, the drill would be postponed until April 16, 2021.
 
Due to concerns about technical limitations of the drill, a decision has been made by Wisconsin Emergency Management, NWS, the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association, and Wisconsin Emergency Alert Systems (EAS) Committee to permanently discontinue the EAS live code test portion of the drill. Rather than risk an error that reduces public confidence in alerting systems a decision has been made to remove that aspect of the drill. It is important to note that the alerting systems used during the statewide tornado drill are regularly tested in other ways.
 
With the absence of the EAS live code test sending alerts out over weather radios, broadcast stations, and other alerting devices, Kewaunee County will not be activating the outdoor warning sirens for the Statewide Tornado Drill. Kewaunee County Emergency Management will be using social media and our Mass Emergency Notification System, RaveAlert to encourage residents to take the time to go over their plans and practice them during this drill.
 
You can find tips on creating a plan with your family with ReadyWisconsin at https://readywisconsin.wi.gov.
 
You can also follow Kewaunee County Emergency Management on Facebook (https://facebook.com/KewCoEM) and Twitter (https://twitter.com/kew_em) for updates throughout the week and tips on emergency preparedness throughout the year!