Montana Severe Weather Awareness
April 14th through 18th is Montana Severe Weather Awareness week, sponsored by by Montana’s local National Weather Service offices. Severe Weather Awareness week is designed to alert Montana residents to the types of severe weather the state experiences, and how to be prepared. Each day has a different theme:
- Monday, April 14: NWS Watch and Warning Program
- Tuesday, April 15: Severe Thunderstorm Climatology
- Wednesday, April 16: Severe Weather Safety
- Thursday, April 17: Lightning Safety
- Friday, April 18: Weather Information Sources
Viewer Tip: Montana experiences a number of different weather hazards, including hail, tornadoes, high winds, and thunderstorms. Next to flash floods, lightning is the number-two killer in the U.S., and Montana experienced more than 363,000 cloud-to-ground lightning strikes per year between 1996 and 2005! If you are outside, watch for signs of approaching storms – darker skies, lightning, increasing wind – and listen for thunder. Head for shelter if you hear thunder, and wait at least 30 minutes after the last audible thunder before you head back out. Remember that pets are vulnerable to lightning strikes too - most outdoor pet enclosures are not lightning-safe.
Find more severe weather information and safety tips at the Montana Severe Weather Awareness Week website: www.wrh.noaa.gov/byz/severe/index.php?wfo=mso.
Season: Spring
(Sources: National Weather Service Forecast Office, Missoula, MT: Montana Severe Weather Awareness Week. http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/byz/severe/index.php?wfo=mso; National Lightning Detection Network (Vaisala). “Rank of Cloud-to-Ground Flash Densities by State from 1996-2005.” http://www.lightningsafety.noaa.gov/pdfs/Vaisala%2096-05%20Rank%20of%20CG%20Flash%20Densities%20By%20State.pdf)
