Statewide tornado drills will be held at 1:45 and 6:45 p.m. Thursday in conjunction with Minnesota's Severe Weather Awareness Week, the National Weather Service in Grand Forks said in an email this week. Local sirens will be tested.
"This is the perfect time for families, communities, schools and local businesses to review and talk about their emergency plans and how they can prepare for the upcoming severe weather season," the release said.
Each day this week, the Minnesota Department of Public Safety is posting on its Homeland Security and Emergency Management website information about severe weather. Wednesday's topic is floods and Thursday will focus on tornados. Friday will wrap up with the topic of extreme heat.
To read more about severe weather in Minnesota, go to dps.mn.gov/divisions/hsem/weather-awareness-preparedness/Pages/default.aspx.
Next week, North Dakota will host its Severe Weather Awareness Week. The National Weather Service already has posted its own information on weather events, including thunderstorms, flash floods and tornados.
In conjunction with local emergency entities, the weather service will issue test tornado warnings on Wednesday, April 26. Communities will sound local sirens.
"Counties and cities own the sirens, and therefore decide how and when to activate them," the weather service said on its website. "The National Weather Service does not sound them."
For more information, go to weather.gov/fgf/ND_SevereWeatherAwarenessWeek and www.nd.gov/des/get/severe-summer-weather.
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