This week is Severe Weather Awareness Week, and the public is reminded that weather is the most common threat to the safety of Iowans.

Dallas County Emergency Management Coordinator A.J. Seely says the National Weather Service organizes Severe Weather Awareness Week each year at the beginning of storm season, as a reminder for what people should do in those situations. “We haven’t dealt with severe weather, fortunately, for a few months. But as we get back into kind of storm season here, we want people to be reminded of some of the actions that they are expected to take to protect their own life and safety.”

Each day this week has a different theme, starting with severe thunderstorms today. Seely says thunderstorms aren’t the most dangerous of weather events, but are the most common. “We see a lot of severe thunderstorm watches and severe thunderstorm warnings. I would venture to guess that we see severe thunderstorm warnings more often than probably any other type of warning throughout the year. And just because it’s not a tornado warning certainly doesn’t mean that it doesn’t have any risk.”

Hazards of a severe thunderstorm include winds in excess of 58-miles-an-hour, hail greater than one-inch in diameter, lightning, and often torrential rainfall. Seely also points out that thunderstorms can also include tornados if the conditions are right. To learn more about Severe Weather Awareness Week, listen to today’s and tomorrow’s Perry Fareway Let’s Talk Dallas County programs on air and at RaccoonValleyRadio.com.