Another part of the preparedness for the county includes testing tornado sirens. Bergquist says they will conduct siren tests at around 11:15 AM Wednesday, April 28th. This will activate sirens in Jamestown, Buchanan, Cleveland, Medina, and Streeter to ensure they are working correctly.
Because the National Weather Service will not directly be involved with the exercise, the simulated warning will not be broadcast through the National Weather Service all-hazards weather radio system. The Emergency Alert System (EAS) for local AM/FM radio stations and cable television providers will not be activated.
The Stutsman Alert’s notification system powered by Everbridge will also not be activated for this test.
This annual event is intended to remind the public of the dangers associated with severe summer weather.
“To help us prepare, the Bismarck National Weather Service has scheduled a series of severe weather and safety training classes called SKYWARN,” Stutsman County Emergency Manager Jerry Bergquist stated.
SKYWARN is a national network of volunteer severe weather spotters. The spotters are trained on how to spot severe thunderstorms, tornadoes, hail, flooding, and in some parts of the country they report snowfall and ice accumulation.
This year, SKYWARN classes which are normally held in-person, will be conducted virtually via GoToWebinar and will last about an hour, a bit longer based on audience questions.