Dallas County was recently designated a “storm ready” county by the National Weather Service. 

NWS Warning Coordination Meteorologist Chad Hahn officially presented the certification to Dallas County Emergency Management Coordinator AJ Seely during Tuesday’s Dallas County Board of Supervisors meeting. Hahn informed the Supervisors that it’s no easy feat to have this designation as only half of Iowa’s counties have met the criteria. Hahn adds that while it’s impossible to be storm-proof, it’s crucial to have protocols in place to accommodate all that mother nature can throw at a community. 

In reviewing Dallas County’s vulnerabilities, Hahn says he’s gotten a few different events from this year alone to review, “I look at history. I go back, and I look at 1950, and the tornadoes we’ve seen in our counties. I didn’t do that for Dallas County because this year was vulnerable enough. From the May tornado that we had in Waukee to the derecho that we had across the northern half of the County in August. So we know that vulnerabilities are abound, and that’s why becoming storm-ready is so critically important.”

Specific criteria that need to be met to receive this designation include how many ways the county can receive NWS warning information, the number of avenues they can spread that information out in a moment’s notice, and having a formal hazardous weather operation plan.