March 8–14, 2026 has been designated as Severe Weather Preparedness Week in Indiana, a statewide initiative encouraging Hoosiers to review their safety plans and prepare for spring and summer severe weather.

Severe Weather Preparedness Week serves as an annual reminder for individuals, families, schools, and businesses to take proactive steps to stay safe during severe storms. Indiana commonly experiences hazardous weather in the spring, including tornadoes, severe thunderstorms, damaging winds, hail, and flash flooding.

State and local emergency management agencies urge residents to use this week to review emergency plans, identify safe shelter locations, and ensure they have multiple ways to receive weather warnings.

“As we enter the severe weather season, preparedness can make a a life-saving difference,” said emergency management officials. “Taking time now to plan ahead helps ensure that families know what to do when severe weather threatens.”

Residents are encouraged to take several preparedness steps during the week:

Create or review a family emergency plan, including where to go during a tornado warning.
Identify a safe shelter location, such as a basement or an interior room on the lowest level of a sturdy building away from windows.
Build or refresh an emergency kit with essentials such as water, nonperishable food, flashlights, batteries, medications, and important documents.
Check weather alert systems, including NOAA Weather Radios, mobile alerts, and local media notifications.
Practice severe weather safety drills at home, work, or school.

Each day during Severe Weather Preparedness Week highlights a different preparedness topic:

Sunday: Introduction to Severe Weather Safety
Monday: Watches vs. Warnings
Tuesday: Severe Weather Warnings and Tornadoes (Statewide Tornado Drill Day)
Wednesday: Lightning Safety
Thursday: Hail and Wind Safety
Friday: Flood Safety
Saturday: Extreme Heat Safety
Statewide Tornado Drill – Tuesday, March 10

As part of the week’s activities, Indiana will conduct a Statewide Tornado Drill on Tuesday, March 10. The state will conduct a statewide test of communication systems at 10:15 AM EDT.

Residents, businesses, schools, and organizations are encouraged to participate by practicing their tornado safety procedures when the test occurs. This drill provides an opportunity to ensure everyone understands how warnings are delivered and how quickly they can move to a safe shelter location.

The drill is intended to help people recognize warning systems such as outdoor sirens, weather radios, and emergency alerts while reinforcing the importance of immediately seeking shelter in a basement or interior room on the lowest level of a sturdy building away from windows.

Greene County Emergency Management encourages residents to sign up for Reverse 911, an emergency alert system designed to send alert texts directly to your phone. Alerts may be sent for natural disasters, community emergencies, severe weather, chemical spills, evacuation notices, or other important public safety information.

Reverse 911 can send more precise warnings and instructions no matter where you are, but only if your mobile number and physical address are registered in the system.

Registration for Reverse 911 requires users to create an account and password and provide their address and phone number. Phone numbers registered in the system will not be used for other purposes or sold to outside parties.

To register for Greene County’s Reverse 911, scan the QR code below or visit: https://greenecounty.genasys.com/portal.en/register.

Severe Weather Preparedness Week highlights the importance of staying informed and having a plan before storms develop. Residents are encouraged to follow local emergency management agencies and the National Weather Service for weather updates and preparedness information.