Severe Weather

Prepare

Severe weather knows no boundaries and affects every individual; by knowing your risk, informing others, and taking action, you can be prepared for when severe weather strikes.

The first step to becoming weather-ready is to understand the type of hazardous weather that can affect you and the area where you live and work. The Dubuque area has the potential to experience a wide variety of severe weather year-round, from torrential rains to tornadoes and heat advisories to blizzards.

Secondly, aside from checking the weather forecast regularly, consider obtaining a NOAA Weather Radio and subscribing to an emergency alert communication system. The City of Dubuque uses Alert Iowa, the state's Emergency Notification system, voice call, text message, or email residents emergency notifications and other important messages, including weather-related emergencies.

Sign up today!

*Please note that Alert Iowa notifications are issued for emergency situations only (utility outages, evacuation notices, floods, etc.), not for storm watches and warnings. You can sign up to receive alerts for watches and warnings at www.weather.gov/subscribe.

Communicate

Your family may not be together when a disaster strikes so it is important to plan in advance: how you will get to a safe place; how you will contact one another; how you will get back together; and what you will do in different situations. Identify a contact such as a friend or relative who lives out-of-state for household members to notify they are safe. It may be easier to make a long-distance phone call than to call across town, so an out-of-town contact may be in a better position to communicate among separated family members.

Be sure every member of your family knows the phone number and has a way to call the emergency contact. If you have a cell phone, program that person(s) as "ICE" (In Case of Emergency) in your phone. If you are in an accident, emergency personnel will often check your ICE listings in order to get a hold of someone you know. Make sure to tell your family and friends that you’ve listed them as emergency contacts.

Assemble an Emergency Toolkit

Emergency Supplies:
Water, food, and clean air are important things to have if an emergency happens. Each family or individual's kit should be customized to meet specific needs, such as medications and infant formula. It should also be customized to include important family documents.

Recommended Supplies to Include in a Basic Kit:

• Water, one gallon of water per person per day, for drinking and sanitation
• Food, at least a three-day supply of non-perishable food
• Battery-powered radio and a NOAA Weather Radio with tone alert, and extra batteries for both
• Flashlight and extra batteries
• First Aid kit
• Whistle to signal for help
• Infant formula and diapers, if you have an infant
• Moist towelettes, garbage bags and plastic ties for personal sanitation
• Dust mask or cotton t-shirt, to help filter the air
• Plastic sheeting and duct tape to shelter-in-place
• Wrench or pliers to turn off utilities
• Can opener for food (if kit contains canned food)

In colder months, it is possible that the power will be out and you will not have heat. Rethink your clothing and bedding supplies to account for growing children and other family changes.

For more tips on preparing for severe weather, visit www.ready.gov.