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2009 Severe Weather Workshop Slated for March 21st
...FREE & OPEN to the Public...
The Amarillo National Weather Service (NWS), Amarillo Department of Emergency Management and Wal-Mart will host a Severe Weather Workshop on Saturday, March 21, 2009. Local television stations KVII-TV, KFDA-TV, KAMR-TV, Coffee Memorial and American Classifieds will co-sponsor the event. The workshop will be held at the Civic Center Heritage Room in downtown Amarillo and is open to the public, FREE of charge. Doors open at 900 AM.
The day will begin at 900 AM with a “Booth Fair”. Numerous weather, safety and emergency-related booths staffed by local and regional exhibitors will be available to the public until 1230 PM. Over 20 organizations are expected to staff booths, including the Amarillo NWS, Amarillo Emergency Management, Wal-Mart, KFDA-TV, KAMR-TV, KVII-TV, KGNC, Clear Channel, Amateur Radio Operators, Weather Lab, American Red Cross, TXDOT, Discovery Center, Amarillo Fire Dept, Texas National Guard, FastSigns, Specialty Supply, 911 Emergency, Chick-Fil-A, Sonic, Storm Shelters by Darrell, Amarillo Area Search Canines, and more! Weather radios will be on sale. KVII-TV Chief Meteorologist Steve Kersh, his staff, and the NWS will be on hand to assist in programming NOAA Weather Radios. In addition, *Coffee Memorial will be conducting a blood drive. All donors will be provided a complimentary “Thank You” t-shirt, a rain gauge, and a pet tornado*.
The General Session will begin at 1230 PM. Topics and Speakers for this session include:
• “A Review of the Historic 2007 Tornado Season” - John Brost, Amarillo NWS Forecaster
• “Recent Tornado Intercepts" - Doppler Dave Oliver & Staff, KFDA-TV Meteorologists
• “What’s New at Channel 4?” - John Harris & Staff - KAMR-TV Meteorologists
• “Tornado vs Downburst: What’s the Difference?” - Dr. Kevin Kloesel - OU Dept of Geosciences
• “Emergency Management’s Partnership with the NWS and Storm Spotters” - Kevin Starbuck, EMC Amarillo, Potter and Randall Counties
For those who wish to become Storm Spotters, the National Weather Service will offer a two hour Severe Storm Spotting Training Session at 530 pm, to close out the event.
The Amarillo NWS would like to express our sincere appreciation to all the many businesses and organizations for their contributions in making this event possible.
