MOLINE, Ill. — March 6-10 marks Severe Weather Preparedness Week in Illinois, and being from the Quad Cities area, we're no stranger to severe weather.
News 8's Charles Hart spoke with the National Weather Service of the Quad Cities, and Warning Coordination Meteorologist Rich Kinney said 2023 is the year to care about severe weather preparation. This is after the derecho in 2020 and the Davenport flood in 2019.
"This week is also about education," Kinney said. "Knowing the difference between a watch and a warning. So, for example, Tornado Watch — conditions are favorable for tornadoes to develop, nothing is imminent. In a Tornado Warning, a tornado is already occurring or is about to occur, and it's time to spring into action."
Severe weather preparation tips from the National Weather Service:
- Checking batteries in National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration radios.
- Making sure your cellular device has weather notifications.
- Having a shelter plan, in case of severe weather.
- Practice those plans with your family.
More tips from the National Weather Service on severe weather preparation can be found by clicking/tapping here.
"This is, this is an important week for folks. Severe weather certainly can cause a big impact in this part of the country," Kinney said.
News 8 also spoke to NWS Senior Service Hydrologist Matt Wilson about flooding, who said flash flooding is a risk we have here in the Quad Cities.
"Particularly along our small creeks, like Duck Creek," Wilson said. "Anytime we get a significantly heavy rain event, and that's usually something in the range of at least an inch, an hour or three inches, within six hours, there's a potential for those creeks to rise quickly and get out of their banks."
The National Weather Service said flooding is likely from Dubuque, Iowa all the way down to Burlington and all areas in between, but it won't last forever. They said flooding is likely in the Quad Cities region this April and May, and will then water levels should level out to normal.
"This time of year, we're also looking at the end of winter, all the leaves have gone around, if you haven't cleaned out your gutters or your ditches and your drains, you're going to see you're going to see that water not be able to get into the sewage system properly, either," Wilson said.
The National Weather Service said they're looking for weather spotters to track when these weather events happen. You can find more information on becoming a volunteer weather spotter by clicking/tapping here, and clicking on the "become a spotter" tab.