KYEM AND KET TO HOST VIEWER CALL IN SHOW ON SEVERE WEATHER

FRANKFORT, Ky. (Feb. 13, 2014) – On Monday, Feb 17 at 10:00p.m Eastern , Kentucky Emergency Management, the National Weather Service and the Kentucky Weather Preparedness Committee will team up with Kentucky Educational Television to host the KET Show, Severe Weather – Staying Safe!

The show is part of the Commonwealth’s efforts to highlight Severe Weather Week in Kentucky, which is March 2 through 8.

Show host Bill Goodman will lead discussion among a group of weather and preparedness experts regarding severe weather, historic weather events and weather safety tips. Goodman will also take viewers’ weather-related questions for panelists to answer on the air.

The panelists are Charles O’Neal, Deputy Director of Kentucky Emergency Management; John Gordon, National Weather Service Louisville Office Meteorologist in Charge; Jon Akers, Executive Director Kentucky Center for School Safety; and Chris Allen, Weather Director at WBKO Bowling Green, KY.

Discussion will recap this winter’s arctic cold, the Feb. 29 and March 2 tornadoes of 2012, and historic weather events such as the 2009 ice storm and the 2010 floods.

Viewers who call in will be asked to take part in a short survey to help officials better inform and alert the public regarding severe weather. Five Midland Corp. weather alert radios will be awarded to callers whose names are drawn at random.

“One of the survey questions is who owns a weather alert radio,” said Buddy Rogers, spokesman for KYEM and chair of KWPC. “Last year we found that 67 percent of all callers did not. We found this alarming.”

Weather alert radios are relatively inexpensive to purchase, according to Rogers. “Not only do they provide NWS weather forecasts and warnings, they alert you indoors where community outdoor sirens do not. The bottom line is they save lives.”

Rogers getting that message out will be a focus during this year’s Severe Weather Awareness Week.

Also as part of awareness activities in March, the NWS, partnering with KYEM and Kentucky Broadcasters Association will conduct a tornado test message Tuesday, March 4 at approximately 10:07 a.m. EST. This test will activate NOAA Weather Radios and broadcast media. Schools, businesses, government agencies and citizens across the Commonwealth are encouraged to participate in the annual Statewide Tornado Safety Drill.

A tornado safety drill survey is available online, allowing Emergency Management and other officials to measure and improve preparedness for such occasions. The survey, the Governor’s proclamation, items for an emergency kit and plan, additional weather information and important links are available at http://kyem.ky.gov/preparedness , where you can also like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

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