With severe winter weather gradually receding, it may be time to consider spring severe weather safety. Adair and Guthrie County Emergency Management Agency Coordinator Bob Kempf has some tips.

Kempf suggests checking first aid and survival kits to make sure everything is stocked, replaced, and replenished. He also suggests reviewing medication and insurance records, and updating them when necessary. Finally, Kempf encourages residents to sign up for emergency notifications through Alert Iowa. He emphasizes that alerts are not automatic, and residents have to sign up to receive notifications.

While all of these suggestions are helpful once the snow stops flying, Kempf reminds everyone March has just begun. “We are going through this season change now. We are going to have some freezing rain and ice here in the early months. It’s not unusual for us to have a snowstorm here in March. We can have a lot of power outages. The main thing is, get prepared, make sure you’re staying informed, and be safe.”

Kempf also encourages those who want to be more active in preparing for severe weather to attend the Storm Spotter Training class on Wednesday, March 21st in Menlo. You can also tune in to Raccoon Valley Radio’s Severe Weather Action Team to get the latest storm updates, road conditions, and weather related cancellations and delays. To hear more from Kempf, listen to yesterday’s Let’s Talk Guthrie County program.