National Weather Service United States Department of Commerce

Storm Impacting the Northwest U.S.; Fire Weather Conditions in Southern California; Severe Weather in the South

A Pacific storm is bringing areas of low elevation rain, moderate to heavy mountain snow, and high winds to the Northwest. Strong Santa Ana winds and very dry conditions are producing elevated to critical fire weather conditions in southern California. Isolated strong to severe thunderstorms are possible through early Wednesday morning across parts of northeast Texas into western Tennessee. Read More >

The NOAA Weather Radio Routine Weekly Test will be conducted on Tuesday, March 3 at 10:00 am CST instead of Wednesday this week in recognition of Illinois Severe Weather Awareness Week.  This is done to coincide with testing of outdoor warning sirens done by many communities in Illinois on the first Tuesday of the month at 10:00 am CST.  The Weekly Test will return to its normal schedule next week.

Please take a moment to practice your severe weather emergency sheltering plan during the weekly test.  At the very least, answer this question – Where would I take shelter if a tornado were approaching me right now? The best shelters are in a basement, or in an interior room on the lowest floor of the building away from windows and exterior doors.

It is important to have multiple ways to receive hazardous weather information. Having a battery backup weather alert radio is one of the best ways.