Mahaska County Emergency Management Earns StormReady Recognition
From left to right: Sheriff Paul DeGeest, Oskaloosa Mayor Dave Krutzfeldt, Brenda Brock NWS in Des Moines, Mahaska County Emergency Manager Jamey Robinson, and Jeff Johnson with NWS Des Moines
Mahaska Counties Emergency Manager Jamey Robinson has been focused for nearly 2 years on helping Mahaska County achieve recognition from the National Weather Service and NOAA as StormReady.
“StormReady encourages communities to take a new, proactive approach to improving local hazardous weather operations and public awareness,” said Jeff Johnson with the Des Moines office of the National Weather Service. “It takes a lot of work, they have to go through a fairly rigorous application process, followed by dispatcher training for the dispatchers of required spotter training, visits to our office (National Weather Service in Des Moines) and other things that the county needs to show, particularly in the area of communication and dealing with severe weather as it happens to get this recognition.” Johnson said as he presented the StormReady signs to Robinson at the annual Storm Spotter Training classes held at the ISU extension office.
Mahaska is only 1 of 29 communities in Iowa to attain this recognition. Not all the communities are counties, some are cities and even universities.
Brenda Brock, Meteorologist-in-Charge of the Des Moines office of the National Weather Service, helped to highlight how being prepared for severe weather can help to save lives. She used, as an illustration, a late fall storm that produced a tornado that passed by the ISU’s football stadium, but because of preparedness people were ready and aware of that possibility that day.
Brock then officially presented Robinson with the StormReady award and signs for Mahaska County.
Robinson was then honored, once again, by being offered a position to sit on the StormReady advisory board. His work will be to review the applications of counties or cities that apply for the StormReady certification and to make sure they meet the same guidelines that is required in order for them to be designated as StormReady.
There is the possibility of using Robinsons Hazardous Weather Plan that he built, as there is currently none available. Robinson built the plan, and the NWS and NOAA asked if they could use the plan as a template to help other counties to become StormReady. “I was very honored by that.” Robinson said.
After the presentation the annual storm spotter training continued, with about 30 to 40 people in attendance.
