At the American Public Works  Association’s Snow Expo drivers and mechanics gracefully maneuver their snowplows through narrow courses, trying to steer clear of “curbs” and “pedestrians” along the way. Others got behind backhoes, wheel loaders and excavators to learn new techniques through friendly competitions.

Training is critical for first responders. The Snow Expo held annually by the Heart of America Chapter of the American Public Works Association(APWA) in the Kansas City area is an important component to that training, by improving performance through competition.

Congratulations to all of the individual competition winners and to Overland Park, KS, the 2011 team competition winner.

Many businesses are reviewing their emergency response procedures even while in the midst of the severe weather season. Lessons learned recently are worth sharing.

Timely notifications have been extremely helpful for Lambert-St. Louis International Airport.  Whether it’s been the past few weeks or the past decade, Weather or Not’s meteorologists strive to keep clients informed.

Tornado survivors in Birmingham, Alabama just a few weeks ago were saying things like, “I didn’t hear the sirens!” It seems every year we need to clarify how sirens are supposed to help save lives:

Sirens DO

Alert those OUTDOORS that there may be a weather emergency in your area.

Sirens DO NOT

Tell you what type or where the weather emergency is AND are not designed to wake you up or alert you when you are INDOORS.

YOU should

GO INSIDE and get more specific information from your TV, radio or Internet.

Have a NOAA Weather Radio, which for less than half the price of a monthly cable bill, is designed to wake you up and give you the specific National Weather Service Warning. Weather Radios are battery operated and are the MOST RELIABLE life saving weather source when used properly.

Have an emergency plan prepared for any instance of severe weather and practice this plan so that everyone knows what to do.

Birmingham’s tornado threat occurred before dawn and Jefferson City and St. Louis area’s severe weather threat occurred during the middle of the night.  Get your emergency wake-up call to keep your family safe.

A⁺ Weather Alerts takes critical storm data and delivers it to you how, where and when you need it.  For instance, it can tell you at a glance when the pavement temperature will rise above above 32°, and when it will fall below.  This one bit of information was especially vital when so many other forecasts for the first major winter storm of the season failed to stay ahead of how the storm was  impacting roads as it moved through the Midwest.  Discover the power and precision A⁺ Weather Alerts with a free trial.