Statewide tornado drill postponed

The National Weather Service announced Monday it is postponing the Missouri Statewide Tornado Drill until 1:30 p.m. Thursday.

The 40th annual statewide drill is part of Missouri 2014 Severe Weather Awareness Week, which runs through Friday, according to a news release from the Missouri Department of Public Safety.

Greg Meffert, lead forecaster for the National Weather Service in Paducah, Ky., said the drills are normally postponed if there is a chance of severe weather -- such as thunderstorms. "We don't usually have this type of severe weather event in March," he said. Plus participants such as schools and businesses are shut down, so it's anticipated things will be more back to normal by Thursday.

On Thursday, Missouri outdoor warning sirens will sound, indicating that residents should seek shelter during the tornado drill, the release said. The safest shelter is a basement or an interior room in the lowest level of a building, and the drill is complete once everyone is accounted for in the designated shelters, the release said.

Missouri's Stormaware.mo.gov website includes videos showing how to react to flash flooding and tornadoes and shelter in specific types of buildings -- houses with and without basements, mobile homes, schools -- and information about tornado sirens and weather alert radios, the release said. The site also includes links to free severe weather texting services that can alert people across Missouri to upcoming severe weather, the release said.

In a separate severe weather vein, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers officials are holding several workshops in Illinois and Missouri in the next two weeks to discuss flood preparation with local officials, the Associated Press reported.

One of those is set for 6:30 p.m. March 12 at the Osage Centre in Cape Girardeau.

March is the start of the flood season along the Mississippi River Valley. The workshops are designed to give levee district officials a chance to hear about the spring flood outlook and discuss levee safety, response capabilities and other issues, the AP said.

rcampbell@semissourian.com

388-3639

Web resources for Severe Storm Awareness Week:

• NWS -- Springfield, Flood Safety & Awareness site: http://www.crh.noaa.gov/sgf/?n=floodawarenessweek
• Missouri Department of Transportation Travelers Map: http://www.modot.mo.gov/
• Missouri Ready In 3 program: http://www.dhss.mo.gov/Ready_in_3/ <http://www.dhss.mo.gov/Ready_in_3/>
• FEMA's Animals in Emergencies for Pet Owners DVD: http://www.fema.gov/individual/animals.shtm
• Missouri StormAware: http://stormaware.mo.gov