Hope you enjoyed the incredible weather we had in October. It’s one of my favorite months of the year.  Now, I begin to cringe as we head into November.

Here in Georgia, we have two severe storm seasons. You know how severe storms and tornadoes ramp up in March and April. They also ramp up here in November, although not quite as intense as the spring outbreaks. The last significant November tornado occurred on November 30, 2016. There was an approaching cold front and a strong southerly wind with strong windshear. I was watching our Storm Tracker 2 HD radar, which has the ability to “see the wind.”  There is a mode on the radar called “Velocity.” I can see the wind going toward the radar colored in green. Wind moving away from the radar is colored red. My rule is, “When green meets red, get under the bed.”

The radar was lighting up with lots of greens and reds. Catoosa County got the first warning. Then it was Carroll, Cobb, north Atlanta, southern Forsyth County, not too many miles from Buford Dam.  The next twister touched down in Commerce. By the time it was all said and done, six tornadoes of EF 0 or EF 1 strength had ripped across our area. Damage was considerable but no one was seriously hurt.

The frequency of severe storms and tornadoes has been increasing over the past decade, so much so that, Gov. Brian Kemp, in coordination with the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency and the National Weather Service, is declaring Nov. 6, as Georgia’s Fall Severe Weather Preparedness Day. It’s an opportunity to provide everyone with information and help educate them on how to better prepare for severe weather.

In support of this day, many schools and businesses will be conducting their own severe weather exercise/tornado test which will be triggered by the NOAA Weather Radio’s Routine Weekly Test. All six National Weather Service Forecast Offices will issue this special routine weekly radio test simultaneously across the state around 9:30 a.m.

I hope you continue to enjoy our fall weather but make sure you have a way to stay informed as the cold fronts, which will get stronger and stronger this month, plow into the Southeast.