County designated StormReady

ADAMS COUNTY — Adams County is the latest community to receive the StormReady designation from the National Weather Service. Mississippi now has 28 StormReady designations including 14 communities, 11 counties and the University of Southern Mississippi and University of Mississippi.

StormReady is a nationwide program of the weather service that helps communities protect their citizens during severe weather and encourages communities to take a proactive approach to improving local hazardous weather operations.

To be recognized as 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.

Being recognized as a StormReady community shows the great progress we have made to better protect and inform our citizens of weather risks,” said Adams County Emergency Management director Stan Owens. “The entire community should be proud of this achievement.”

To learn more about the StormReady program visit www.stormready.noaa.gov.