Beltrami Co. Joins Other MN Agencies in Severe Weather Awareness Week

Beltrami County is joining other Minnesota emergency management agencies and is participating in Severe Weather Awareness Week to promote weather safety as we transition to the summer season.

April 8-12 is designated as Minnesota Severe Weather Awareness Week, with each day having a hazard topic addressing seasonal hazards.

Alerts and warnings are the topic for Monday, with knowing the difference between watches, warnings, and advisories being one of the main concerns. Storms, hail and lightning are highlighted on Tuesday.

Wednesday’s topic is flooding, with flooded highways being of major concern. Tornado Drill Day is Thursday, with two tornado drills happening that day at 1:45 P.M, intended for schools and businesses; and at 6:45 P.M, intended for families at home to practice their tornado plans.

And a new addition on Friday this year is for extreme heat and wildfire awareness. With this warm winter hitting Minnesota this year, that’s something Beltrami County wants to stress as being important.

“When it comes to extreme heat, obviously we know the dangers surrounded with leaving children and pets in vehicles. Even on warm, sunny days, cars act like greenhouses, and it can be deadly,” said Beltrami County Emergency Management Officer Christopher Muller. “And unfortunately, we’ve had instances here where we’ve had injuries with children being left in vehicles.”

And Muller also says that with Beltrami County and much of Minnesota experiencing a drought comes enhanced wildfire dangers. “Our trees are very dry, water levels are low, and just the inherent risk of wildfire with our dense forest is something we want people to pay attention to.”

The alerts will be going out on Beltrami County’s Emergency Management Facebook Page. The Sheriff’s Office asks the public to be aware of the tornado sirens going off on Thursday, again at 1:45 and 6:45 P.M.