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PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WAKEFIELD VA
555 AM EST WED MAR 4 2026
..PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
***THE ANNUAL NORTH CAROLINA STATEWIDE TORNADO DRILL WILL OCCUR
TODAY AT 9:30 AM EST***
AS A PART OF NORTH CAROLINA'S SEVERE WEATHER AWARENESS WEEK, TODAY
AT 9:30 AM EST, THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN COOPERATION WITH
LOCAL BROADCASTERS WILL CONDUCT THE ANNUAL STATEWIDE TORNADO DRILL
IN THE FORM OF A REQUIRED MONTHLY TEST ON ALL NOAA WEATHER RADIO AND
PUBLIC ALERT SYSTEMS. THE ALARM TEST WILL ACTIVATE THE STATE
EMERGENCY ALERT SYSTEM AND BE CARRIED BY LOCAL RADIO BROADCASTERS.
THIS WILL ALLOW SCHOOLS, BUSINESS, AND RESIDENTS THE OPPORTUNITY TO
PRACTICE THEIR TORNADO DRILLS AND SAFETY PLANS. EVERY SCHOOL,
BUSINESS, WORKPLACE, AND FAMILY ACROSS THE STATE IS STRONGLY ENCOURA
GED TO PARTICIPATE IN THE STATEWIDE TORNADO DRILL.
HERE ARE A COUPLE KEY THINGS TO REMEMBER ABOUT TODAY'S STATEWIDE
TORNADO DRILL:
•THE DRILL WILL BE BROADCAST ON NOAA WEATHER RADIO AND THE
EMERGENCY ALERT SYSTEM VIA THE REQUIRED MONTHLY TEST (RMT). THERE
WILL NOT BE AN ACTUAL TORNADO WARNING ISSUED.
•THIS DRILL AND RMT WILL TAKE THE PLACE OF THE USUAL WEEKLY NOAA
WEATHER RADIO ALERT TEST (RWT). THAT IS, THERE WILL NOT BE A WEEKLY
RADIO TEST DONE BETWEEN 11 AM AND NOON TODAY.
•SOME NOAA WEATHER RADIO RECEIVERS DO NOT SOUND AN AUDIBLE ALERT
FOR THE RMT PRODUCT; INSTEAD, THEY MAY HAVE A BLINKING LIGHT ON THE
DISPLAY TO INDICATE THAT AN RMT WAS RECEIVED. AS SUCH, WH EN THE
RMT FOR THE STATEWIDE TORNADO DRILL IS INITIATED AT 9:30 AM EST THIS
MORNING, THERE IS A GOOD CHANCE THAT YOUR NOAA WEATHER RADIO MAY NOT
SOUND AN ALARM.
•SINCE YOUR NOAA WEATHER RADIO MAY NOT SOUND AN ALARM AT THE TIME
THE RMT IS ISSUED, YOU WILL WANT TO DO ONE OF THE FOLLOWING:
MANUALLY TURN ON YOUR NOAA WEATHER RADIO RECEIVER FIVE MINUTES
BEFORE THE START OF THE DRILL, AND SIMPLY LISTEN TO THE AUDIO
BROADCAST TO HEAR WHEN THE RMT IS ISSUED, WHICH WILL MARK THE
BEGINNING OF THE STATEWIDE TORNADO DRILL; OR SIMPLY PLAN TO START
YOUR TOR NADO DRILL ON YOUR OWN AT 9:30 AM.
•THERE WILL BE NO FOLLOW-UP STATEMENTS ISSUED BY THE NWS TO MARK
THE END OF THE STATEWIDE TORNADO DRILL. IT WILL SIMPLY BE OVER
WHEN YOUR GROUP, SCHOOL, BUSINESS, ORGANIZATION, OR FAMILY FE ELS
THAT YOU HAVE ADEQUATELY PRACTICED YOUR TORNADO SHELTER PROCEDURES.
FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE STATEWIDE TORNADO DRILL, AND NORTH
CAROLINAS SEVERE WEATHER AWARENESS WEEK ACTIVITIES, PLEASE VISIT THE
FOLLOWING WEB SITE:
HTTPS://WWW.WEATHER.GOV/AKQ/NCSEVEREWEATHERPREPAREDNESS
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