Severe Weather Preparedness week will commence this year between February 28 and March 6. The National Weather Service and the Illinois Emergency Management Agency hold this event.

Chris Miller, Warning Coordination Meteorologist for NWS Lincoln, IL, issued a press release containing Weather Fact Sheet for 2010 and Severe Weather Preparedness Guide.

The fact sheet includes information about the impacts of hazardous weather, Central/Southern Illinois severe weather statistics and economic impacts of weather forecasts.

March 2 at 10 a.m. Illinois will be conducting a statewide tornado drill to also better prepare residents. The test will be transmitted through the Emergency Alert System and over the Weather Wire as an actual Tornado Warning.

For more information on Severe Weather Preparedness week, visit www.weather.gov/Lincoln under “top news of the day”.