ST PAUL, Minnesota — Emergency officials in the Twin Cities are closely monitoring an incoming weather system that may bring heavy storms, strong winds, and tornadoes.
“I’m usually the guy who stands and says, ‘Don’t get up on the ledge; we’ll be fine.'” Ramsey County Emergency Management and Homeland Security Director Judd Freed stated, “This is shaping up to be a little different.” “This is the first time since maybe 2011 that the Weather Service has given us this much lead time.”
Freed stressed the importance of having an emergency plan and taking weather warnings seriously. “People have a tendency to overreact when they should relax and underreact when they should feel nervous. I don’t want anyone to feel nervous, but I do want them to pay attention tomorrow.”
Freed suggests keeping all electronic devices fully charged and writing down important phone numbers for backup. He also recommends keeping a phone or weather radio nearby to receive weather alerts from reliable sources, as well as being aware of outdoor warning sirens. “If you do hear those sirens tomorrow, stop what you’re doing if you’re outside—if you’re out in the park or wherever—start looking for some shelter and find out what’s going on.”
It’s also critical to identify a space in your home—preferably an interior room, such as a lower-level bathroom or a basement free of windows.
For those who may be on the road during the storms, Freed offered specific advice: “Stay in your car, don’t go running, don’t jump into a ditch, that’s not what we want you to do.” He advised drivers to take the nearest exit or seek shelter in a parking garage, and to avoid driving through flooded roads.
“Use this as the drill that you probably didn’t perform on Severe Weather Awareness Day, right? “It could happen tomorrow,” Freed said. “It would be foolish to not at least take it seriously enough to talk to your family [and] put together that plan.”
