North Central Region One Water Action Forum

1. Developing a Severe
Weather Plan
Are You Prepared?
Hans Schmitz
11 December 2018

2. Prior Need
• Public spaces need disaster plans – Fairgrounds, Parks
• Private spaces need disaster plans – Community Use Afterhours
• County EMA personnel and first responders need to know those plans
• Personnel utilizing public/private spaces need to know those plans
• 4-H Clubs, Boy/Girl Scouts, Kiwanis, Rotary, Garden Clubs meet in all
sorts of places
• Others?

3. Background
• Breakout Session 2014
• AgSEED Awarded 2016
• Planning Document developed 2016-2017
• Face-to-face meetings Feb. 2018
• Webinar for 2019

4. What & Why
• NWS issues four types of threat notifications
• Outlooks
• Advisories
• Watches
• Warnings
• What brought to you by Sam Lashley, National Weather Service
Forecast Office, Northern Indiana
• Why brought to you by Steve Cain, Extension Disaster Education
Network

5. Outlooks
• Issued 1x daily, unless
special circumstances
exist
• Indicators of near and
long-term issues
generally

6. Advisory
• Highlight special conditions
• Call to pay attention
• Highly variable by region

7. Watch
• First alert that severe weather
is possible.
• Likelihood is great enough to
begin preparations should
WATCH be changed to
WARNING.

8. Warning
Prepare NOW
Severe Weather has
been observed, or
the signs of severe
weather have been
seen on models or
radar.

9. Community Planning
• Your location needs a plan in the event of winter weather,
thunderstorms, or tornadoes.
• Each event is unique in challenges.
• Each location is unique in capacity.

10. Phase 1 – Form
a Planning Team
Identify core
planning team
Engage whole
community in
planning
Phase 2 – Assess
Priorities
Identify threats
and hazards
Assess risk
Determine
operational
priorities
Set goals and
objectives
Phase 3 –
Develop &
Maintain Plan
Develop and
analyze course of
action
Identify resources
Identify
information and
intelligence needs
Write the plan
•Review
•Approve &
disseminate
•Exercise
•Review,
revise, and
maintain
7.10

11. Components of an Emergency Plan
• Purpose
• Situational Overview
• What threat are you dealing with
• Assignment of Responsibilities
• Who is in charge?
• Direction and Control
• How will you get it done?
• Communications
• Phones (you’ll need numbers)
Radios, etc
• Plan Development and
Maintenance
• Resource Requirements
• If you plan for it, you need the
resources to carry out the plan’s
function.
• Visibility
• Where is it posted?
• Is it logical?
7.11

12. Where to Begin?
• Think about your operation /site.
• Identify what assets are vulnerable during different threats
• Insurance and law enforcement can help
• Establish protection measures
• What training might be needed?

13. Winter Storm Warning - Thoughts
• For liability purposes, ideal decision is close or cancel.
• Shelter-in-place criteria if not closed or cancelled.
• Up to one week of food and drink available
• Snow isn’t technically safe to eat after two days (best in the first half-day)
• Source of back-up heat available in the event of power outage
• Unless most people attending also don’t have a back-up source and criteria one is met.
• In this case, reasonable accommodations in the event of a power outage should be
available (think tons of blankets or a fireplace).
• Brave the storm criteria (send them home)
• Roads will be passable for the next hour.
• Overwhelming majority of attendees have a reliable source of transportation.

14. Severe Thunderstorm Warning
• Outdoor meetings must be immediately postponed or cancelled at
the first sign of lightning.
• Evacuation to a nearby building to wait is an option.
• As long as an indoor building with a solid roof is available and will
hold all participants, shelter-in-place is advised.
• Vehicles should not be considered an option, although they are the least
acceptable alternative to staying outside.

15. Tornado Warning
• EVACUATION IS NOT AN ACCEPTABLE OPTION
• 13 MINUTE LEAD TIME MORE LIKELY TO GET MOTORISTS KILLED
• In the event people without reliable transportation exist, those persons will
not be leaving in time anyway
• Shelter-in-place options nearby must be considered
• 80% of tornadoes are EF-3 or lower, but nearest basement gives best options.

16. The Living Resource
• AgSEED Team Members
• Hans Schmitz, Posey County
• Amanda Mosiman, Warrick County
• Curt Emanuel, Boone County
• Austin Pearson, Tipton County (NC3 member)
• Steve Cain, retired EDEN director
• Natalie Carroll, Prof. of Extension Education
• Renee McKee, State 4-H Program Leader
• Sam Lashley, NWS – Northern Indiana

19. Resources!
• https://www.ready.gov/severe-weather
• https://ag.purdue.edu/extension/eden/Pages/default.aspx
• https://eden.lsu.edu
1.19

20. Questions?
Hans Schmitz
126 E 3rd St., Rm. 29
Mt. Vernon, IN 47620
O: (812) 838-1331
C: (812) 483-7554
@hfpschmitz