Governor Tate Reeves declared this week as Fall Severe Weather Preparedness Week in Mississippi with an official proclamation.

In 2019, a record-breaking 115 tornadoes were confirmed by the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency (MEMA). April was the most active month for tornadoes last year, but December had a record number of 24 confirmed tornadoes.

The fall can see severe weather other than tornadoes, with damaging wind, hail, flooding and lightning as other potentially hazardous conditions.

“Although the spring is often coined the most active time of the year for severe weather in Mississippi, the late Fall months have proven to be just as active,” said MEMA executive director Greg Michel. “Not every disaster will guarantee federal assistance. We urge residents to purchase homeowner’s insurance and review severe weather preparedness and safety tips.”

Throughout the week, MEMA is partnering with the National Weather Service to highlight different types of severe weather in preparation for Mississippi’s upcoming Fall severe weather season.

The week’s events are highlighted by a statewide tornado drill be conducted at 9:15 a.m. Wednesday. Other items include warning reception methods discussed on Monday, severe thunderstorms on Tuesday, flash flooding on Thursday and winter weather conditions on Friday.

Every day throughout the week, MEMA will post short videos expanding on each day’s topic. The videos will be posted on MEMA’s social media accounts. Local National Weather Service offices will share additional severe weather information.